The narrow path

Hello....Are you out there, readers?..........

Having just returned from four days of intensive street evangelism in Taraclia, Moldova I have many thoughts that I want to share with cyber space.

Our Youth With A Mission outreach team were in the 10.000 people town for four days and were out talking to people and inviting them to (healing) meetings at the church 4,5 hours every day. At the end of our days on the streets it seemed like everybody had at least two invitations to our meetings.

I personally, and our team in general, had many good conversations with people. We had many chances of sharing our personal testimonies of how Jesus Christ has changed our lives and we had many chances of challenging people with the good news of Jesus Christ dying for everybody's sins and shortcomings. I personally talked to many people where I felt in my spirit that they were very open to get to know Jesus and that these people realized (contrary to most Moldovans sadly...) that money (from the West!) was not going to solve their problems and heal their hurts.

Thursday we had a 2 hour program at the church mainly targeting the youth of Taraclia. I wasn't present that evening since I was in another Moldovan city preaching. A group of maybe 5-7 non-Christians showed up and saw our program and heard the challenge to receive Jesus into their lives. As far as we know only one young woman made the step of faith and became a Christian that evening.

This young woman was also present last night where there was a healing meeting. Sadly no non-Christians showed up last night! Not a single one. After 15-18 hours of solid evangelism and loads of dedicated prayer. Not a single one. Wow.........talk about disappointment!


Many good explanations

I work as a missionary and I've been a Christian many years, so of course I know my lines and know that I need to point to the fact that it's not always that we see immediate results of our work....that sometimes we get to sow and water, but not reap the fruit....that we have helped people one step closer to God and maybe they'll be more open next time they hear the good news about Jesus....and bla, bla, bla.....BUT right now I'm just good, old-fashioned disappointed. Disappointed that nobody showed up. Disappointed that people chose the couch and their tv and their mediocre and dissatisfying lives instead of coming and meeting Jesus and experience his full life.

The path to the kingdom of God is narrow and few find it, Jesus told us many years ago. And that's true. That's a sad, sad truth. Many people in Taraclia heard the good news, but they didn't have the courage to step out, take a step of faith and experience that Jesus is real.

I'll continue to pray for the many people I talked to and witnessed to. I'll pray for the Jehovah's Witness lady who admitted that she would be kicked out of Jehovah's Witnesses if she didn't witness and who couldn't explain to me how that policy corresponded to proclaiming the name of a God of freedom and peace. I'll pray for the two ladies who worked in an Orthodox Church whom we challenged to stop praying to icons and instead focusing all their (religious) energy on Jesus. We prayed for them standing in front of all the icons, and I'll pray that Jesus will become more real to these ladies. I'll pray for Lena, who admitted that her life and her marriage with a cheating and drinking young man was in ruins, and who understood that money wouldn't fix anything. I'll pray for Vitalik whom I had a long talk with and who seemed open enough to understand that I had something (Jesus!) that he was looking for.

I'll pray for these people. I'll pray that God will continue to call on them. I know he will. And I'll pray that these people will stop and listen and will have the courage to step away from Satan's and society's lies and step out into a life of freedom and truth with God! I'll pray and I'll acknowledge that God is God and I am not! He knows best. He has his timing. Maybe we were just there to plant seeds and water them.

Maybe we will hear reports from Taraclia that many people are coming to know Jesus and that they heard about him during our days there. Maybe I'll meet people on the new earth whom heard about Jesus these last four days.

I don't know. Right now I'm just sad and disappointed. But I'll still praise God!

And so ends this little insight into a missionary's heart.

God bless you all!
Torben