Evangelism and Illness – Winchester Outreach
This morning, when I woke up, I felt something wasn’t right. My body was aching, and it felt like I had just been hit by a truck. But since I am getting older, I figured I must have slept badly, and now I’d have to put up with the consequences for the rest of the day. I was wrong.
The team was smaller today, as only three of us could make the outreach. There were also fewer people in the city centre, as the university students were missing. But despite this, many tracts were distributed, and conversations took place.
One older man stopped as I offered a tract, he said he was considering what was after death as he didn’t want to die. I shared the gospel with him and urged him to consider Jesus. He was thankful for the tract and other literature which I offered.
Around this time, an older lady with a walking frame came by. She was struggling to make her way up the street to the pharmacy, so she asked if we could help her. What she needed was for someone to hold her walking frame steady while she slowly walked behind. The challenge I had was with my height, being 6’3” doesn’t make it easy to hold things steady for shorter people, so Liz stepped in. For over an hour, Liz helped this lady. Her absence lowered our team strength, but the hour she spent with the lady was a gospel opportunity. When they returned, the elderly lady was thankful and asked for literature. I saw her again later in the day, and she called out her appreciation. Good works open doors for gospel ministry.
It was at 12:30pm when I decided it was time to preach. I still wasn’t feeling well, but I thought it would pass. I spoke today on “Your Life and its Shortness.” As I explained the reality of death, an older lady came by to tell me what she thought. The language that flowed out of that old ‘dear’ would have made many sailors blush. But her abuse did bring a few people in to listen to the preaching.
One young lady stood to listen while smoking a cigarette, as did a young man. They paid attention as the good news was explained, and then at the end of the message both asked for a copy of the New Testament.
When I finished preaching, my body was aching, and my head was spinning. I knew something wasn’t right, so I decided to pack up the outreach about fifteen minutes early. The drive home was a challenge; when I did get home, my whole body hurt and I could barely stand. My wife packed me off to bed, and I spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping. I would value your prayers as I have two more outreaches scheduled for this week, and I’m preaching in Reading on Sunday.
Please also pray for those we met today. It was a slower day, but the gospel still spread.
SDG!