Yorkshire Outreach: Day 4 – Wakefield
I still wasn’t feeling well as we made our way to Wakefield (a city I’d never been to before); unfortunately, being poorly impacted my ability to do as much as normal. Yet, despite not being 100%, I did preach a couple of times and hand out a few tracts.
I noticed that Wakefield, when compared to other cities we've visited, was harder. There were unfriendly comments from numerous locals, and at one point a shop owner decided to yell at a couple of team members. It was different, but even the hard ground needed to hear the good news of God’s love.
I commenced the preaching by speaking from John 3:16. As I shared about the love of God, a man began to heckle. At first, he called out, “Why do kids have cancer, and why do people suffer?” He started to walk away, so I replied, “I can answer that. Do you want an answer?” He kept walking. Then, he turned and called out his next objection, which basically argued that since he cannot see God, then that means God isn’t real. I answered his objection, but the man was not interested in answers. He was typical of many that we saw today. They would do a ‘drive-by’ heckle, but they weren’t overly interested in having their objections answered.
Several other team members preached, and a few had a couple of people stop to listen, including one preacher who had an Irish Roman Catholic engage him. There was also a man who listened to a preacher, who then took a copy of John’s Gospel. I spoke to him afterward, and he said he was on a journey, and just beginning to discover who Jesus is. I gave him a copy of ‘The Unique Jesus’ and encouraged him to consider Christ.
I started the preaching, and I also finished it. For the final message, I spoke on ‘God and Creation.’ There was very little engagement, though a Christian man seemed encouraged.
Throughout the day, team members had good gospel conversations, but I couldn’t manage to get any. I did hand out a few tracts. As we left the outreach, I wondered if it was all worth it. I felt that my feeling ill hampered me, but I needed to remind myself that God is sovereign.
When we returned to our team accommodation, I was encouraged to find a message on social media from a lady who had received a tract from me. She got in touch as she was looking for a church in Wakefield. I happily sent her a couple of links.
As I write this, I am still not 100%. I would ask that you please pray for me as I have one day of outreach remaining, and then I am preaching on Sunday. Please ask the Lord to heal and sustain me. Also, please pray for everyone who heard the good news today.
SDG!
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Josh Williamson is a full-time evangelist with The Open-Air Mission. Since 1853, OAM has been sharing the good news on the streets of the United Kingdom. To stay updated about the work of the Mission, please sign up for the free quarterly magazine and monthly prayer notes.
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