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Patience
in the Harvest
A
few years ago in an evangelistic outreach in a local neighborhood
using the Jesus film, I met a man who gladly took the film to watch.
Upon returning in a week the man borrowed some other films and a
book. We began to meet regularly to read the Bible. Over the months
that followed, the Lord opened his eyes to see, understand and accept
the good news of the righteousness available in Christ. Recently,
after 3 years of knowing him, he agreed to start meeting on a one-on-one
basis for personal discipleship training. After our first meeting,
he was amazed that it was possible for a man to speak on a personal
and intimate basis about the role of the Godly husband and father.
Soon after this the man mentioned to me, “That first day I
met you at my door, I didn’t know what you had but I knew I
needed it.” While this is an all too rare occurrence here in
Poland, God is preparing the hearts of Polish people to receive
his grace.
Both this man
and his wife attended a Christian marriage conference. The following
year they faithfully attended a weekly home Bible study.
Few Polish men
and their families have ever read the “rules” to the true
game of life that is written in God’s holy word. The vast majority
are busy spinning the wheel, occupied with getting a little bit
more than their contemporaries, in the hope that they will win the
game. Rare is the Polish family who will take the time to seriously
evaluate their lives according to God’s rules and play accordingly.
Sad will be the day when many find the game of life is over and
their lives' accumulations are of as little value as the colorful
paper money of a child’s board game.
Would you pray
that God’s spirit would be poured out upon tens of thousands
of Polish men and their families and that they would have a true
understanding of the rules to the real “Game of Life”?
Would you be willing to go or send others to be that one-in-a-thousand
that can live out kingdom values in their midst?
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'Pockets
of Culture'
by Susan
Killmon
How
often do you put your hands in your pockets?…When you’re
standing talking with someone, when your hands are cold, when pondering
problems in life, or when you just don’t know what to do with
your hands? Nothing significant is meant by putting your hands in
your pockets, right?! A friend of mine, Magdalena, invited me to
come speak in her Advanced English Course at a nearby university.
Both she and her English teacher were Christians and desired to
lead the students to Christ. Their first goal was to find students
interested in discussing spiritual matters and begin a Bible study
outside of class. The class was given random prepared questions
to facilitate a group discussion about it's religious beliefs. This
provided a natural opportunity for me to share "Who the Christ
of the Bible really is" and how He had changed my life.
A week later,
I was practicing a skit with a few Polish friends for the Christmas
“Wigilia” in Kozanow. Artur said that he should speak
with his hands in his pockets to give the impression of rudeness,
arrogance, and even rebellion (in the skit). All of a sudden, I
remembered being in Magdalena’s class sharing my testimony
with an atheist on my left, an occultist in front of me, and a humanist
at my right, with my hands in my pockets!! How was I to know that
putting my hands in my pockets could give such an impression? Nothing
in my American culture had taught me that I shouldn’t put my
hands in my pockets. As I reflected on this, I didn’t remember
ever seeing any Polish person put his hands in his pockets, except
for his coat pockets when it was cold outside. Did I “turn
off” some of those students to the Gospel message because I
appeared to be rude and arrogant in my body language? Maybe. Embracing
and becoming effective in another culture means learning from mistakes
the hard way. Praise God that He is above all cultures and works
despite our cultural blunders! My friend Magdalena told me that
10 of her 15 students have met together for discussions on spiritual
truth!
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An
Early Harvest
by Susan
Killmon
The
past few months have been filled with evangelism in the apartment
buildings around my neighborhood. One family that has been special
to me during this outreach is Teresa and her daughter, Magda. When
my friend and I knocked on her door, Teresa was a little reluctant
to watch the Jesus Film, thinking that we were probably Jehovah's
Witnesses and that she would be required to buy the video. Later,
she began meeting with us for Bible Study in her home. We could
see that the Lord was working in her heart as she understood for
the first time that salvation came not by “good works”
but by “faith alone” in Jesus Christ. Since then, Teresa
has received Christ. She says that she no longer dwells on her problems,
and can’t wait to return home from work to read her Bible.
She no longer feels lonely, but feels set free from the guilt of
her past and knows that Jesus will never leave her. Teresa is now
attending the Baptist Church. She says she is glad to finally be
attending a church where she feels accepted and where the people’s
faith is real.
Magda, Teresa's
daughter, was 23 years old and had lived in the U.S.A. for four
years with her father. It was there that Magda began her search
for real Truth and met Christ through a Presbyterian ministry. Despite
the hardships that she endured growing up during Communistic times
in Poland, Magda missed her mother and sister and decided to return
to Poland. Magda had been looking for a “new Church home”
in Wroclaw and after seeing the change in her mother, started attending
one of our church-plant Bible studies as well as the Baptist Church.
This is just one of many people that God prepared for the Harvest!
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