Mission Good Friday 2009

We were very blessed to take part of Tony Miano's Mission Good Friday (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=778483179#/event.php?eid=156081235275&ref=mf) yesterday in Portland, Maine. Being April, Maine is still cold and not many people out so we were a little nervous as to how this would work for us here.
But God prepared the way before us!

I am currently leading the Way of the Master Intermediate Training Course at our homeschool group to a group of teens and one young man, Daniel, wanted to come out with us. I didn't think his parents would let him join us so late at night as we went after our Good Friday service. But Daniel called and told me his parents said he could come so off we went to pick up Daniel at 8:30pm EST. Praise the Lord for such wonderful, willing parents!

We decided to head into Portland as that is where people would be, but as we arrived there were no people in site..dead, looked like a ghost town.

We headed over to a little park and found a close parking spot, which is unheard of on a Friday night in downtown Old Port!

We bundled up as the weather was supposed to reach 27 degrees and headed over to the park benches where Daniel jumped up on the bench and loudly read Matthew 26. There was 1 gentleman who sat and listened a little before getting up to leave.

My son Jonathan then jumped up and read chapter 27, again, no people, just a few folks walking very fast to get to their destination.

Jonathan finished and Elizabeth jumped up on the bench and she read chp 28. Again still no people. But we were praying that maybe there might be an open window in one of the many buildings so we pressed on.

We decided after the reading to walk around the area and tract folks. My twins as usual were tracting anyone they could find!

We stopped at the side of the road where there were 3 benches and we realized this was the place to stay as folks were walking this sidewalk to get to their destinations, so I jumped on the bench and started reading Matthew 26-28.

I hadn't gone too far into chp 27 when a group of teens came and started talking to Jeff. We didn't grab anymore pics after this point as we were all talking to someone! PTL!

Then another man came over, Andrew, and I was able to speak to him, a hurting man who was broken by his decisions that have kept him away from his children, led him through a divorce etc. I shared the full law and Gospel with Andrew and he was very thankful.

No sooner had Andrew left when I noticed my daughter speaking to a young man. This mans name was Seth and he was an atheist, but a very polite one. Seth and I spoke for a long time, I answered all his questions, the usual questions we hear from professing atheists. Seth's countenance began to change before our eyes! His eyes filled with tears as I told him why we have a Good Friday and why Jesus had to die. He went from being an atheist to ending the conversation saying I had given him a new perspective on the things of God and he would truly seek this out. I went to shake his hand and instead he grabbed me and gave a hug and said thank you so much. We gave him an invite to our church's Easter service which we're offering a free ham dinner after the service. Please pray for Seth! He was so humbled and really searching. I pray he e-mails us or shows up at our church.

All this time Jeff was still speaking to the group of unruly teens, one who was a professing Christian, goes to a prominent church in the area, and yet she was swearing, saying Jesus had to have sinned because He was human and she said the Bible isn't true, and yet was still saying she was a Christian and she was offended that we questioned her Christianity. One of the other teens was so intellectual, but asking ridiculous questions. It seemed a wasted time but as we know, we can't ever know what is going on inside their hearts and what God is accomplishing for His purposes. Jeff pressed on and gave them the full Law and Gospel. There was one teen, Kayori (something like that) there that after I pulled the 2 unruly ones away, Jeff said Kayori became very humble and receptive to hearing, his mouth was stopped and the look of conviction was there. Please pray for this young man Jeff as Jeff said he was a different young man towards the end.

We were out there for 2 and a half hours, half frozen but rejoicing in the seeds that were sown and knowing that His Word was loudly proclaimed to a very lost and dying world!! It was an amazing night! To God be the glory!