Friday, August 20, 2004

PHASE TWO: PROCLAMATION

Today we started evangelism with the usual 56.7 km hike to the Greek Evangelical Church here in Halkitha to pick up some literature for tonight's proclamation evangelism.

With butterflies in our stomach but the Lord on our minds, we hit the streets. We always feel like contestants on Fear Factor as they walk to their next objective- except instead of competing $50 000, we compete with Satan for the souls of the lost. Man that sounds epic and in essence, it is.

Isaiah 58 teaches the foundation of fasting. One of God's requirements during the experience is to give your meal to those cannot afford it. Today, some Greek gypsy chidren were approached by the team. We asked them what they'd like from the local fast food store. After we took their orders, they followed us and wanted to spent some time with us! They watched the premier performance of "The Jacket of Sin" while clutching onto their balloon animals made by Veronica. Everyone has a purpose on our team and it's great to see that God gave everyone a job.

We started PHASE TWO: PROCLAMATION at 9pm, knowing that dozens of other teams were doing the same at the same time, a feeling of empowerment. ( Jonathan's brilliant idea ) The first spot we found was by the salty waters of the Mediterranean Sea, a truly scenic location. Although the restaurants blared their music louder than usual, we went on with the program and were met with minial crowds. We were somewhat discouraged and went to look for an alternate location to win some souls.

We ended up in this platia loaded with children who flocked to Veronica and the gang for balloon animals. When we perfomed "The Jacket of Sin," they stuck around to watch and ALL wanted literature packets! We gave out all 40 tonight- a huge encouragement. The team then gathered for a huddle where we thanked God for our success. This left us with a feeling of accomplishment and a great end to the night.

I would like to bring forward a request for prayer right now. I am responsible for the translation of Shawn's messages. My Greek is very limited when it comes to translating. I have the words in my head as I understand them when they are spoken to me. But when it comes to accessing them for my own use, I come up blank. It's like they are encrypted files inside my head. Shawn is somewhat forced to dumb down his messages for translation. This was semi-acceptable today as the crowds consisted mainly of chilren, but when we deal with a adults, this will not suffice. So here's the deal:

TOMORROW : 2PM ( for Canadians ) PRAY FOR THE KEY TO THOSE WORDS IN MY HEAD! I know that God can accomplish anything and we desperately need this. Pray hard! Pray with all your strength! Pray without ceasing!

Paul Roides

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