Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Virginia Show the Truth Tour, Day 2 (October 17, 2006)

Tuesday morning, jjust Ben, Hannah, Aaron, Sam, Jesse and I were able to go, because we didn’t have the van yet. The others planned to head over with the van on Wednesday and we would just swap vehicles. So, we set off late again. This time, we didn’t get lost, but we missed the stop anyway. Since we were late and they were about to pack up, we just didn’t go to it. Tuesday was an incredible rainy day; rainy and cold. Because of all the rain, we all just headed over to Grace Free Will Baptist Church (some went to a museum) and didn’t do the middle stop of the day. We had planned on going to Virginia Commonwealth University, but since it was so wet and cold, we figured most students wouldn’t stand around and talk. Upon arriving at the church, Billy Joe and the Pastor of GFQBC were debating the depravity of man. It was quite an interesting debate. Ben got into it, and I listened for a while, but eventually went over to talked to Rachel Snow some. A little later, the Pastor suggested that we pray for the remainder of the tour, so we did. We sang a couple of choruses (“Oh, How I Love Jesus” and “How Great Thou Art”) and then prayed. It was very nice. After the time of prayer, I went to the back of the sanctuary to work on my schoolwork. Ben, Hannah, and I decided shortly thereafter to go find some food for lunch, so we stopped at a Papa John’s and ordered a pizza. We went back to the church and at 3:15, we left to do an intersection stop. On this stop, I was assigned to a sign. We were right by the street, standing in the grass, and thankfully, the rain had stopped. The manager of the Friendly’s (ha—not so friendly, eh?) came out and said, “I appreciate what you’re doing, but I don’t want you doing it on my property.” It wasn’t his property, though; it was public property. Nonetheless, I let Ben replace me, because he is better at dealing with people than I am, and I went over to where he was standing, in front of another shopping center. Before long, a girl walked over and asked me a couple of questions and walked away. She was with 2 guys. One of them worked at the Panera Bread in the shopping center. He came up to me to tell me they might call the police. Sure enough, a couple minutes later, the manager came out and said he had spoken to his landlord and if we didn’t get off the property, he was going to call the police. Again, I was on public property, not private property. Ben came to my rescue and just let the manager know that we didn’t really care if he called the police, because they would just settle it when they got there. Within 10 minutes, a police car pulled up. The officer was nice; you could tell he was just trying to do his job. Unlike many, he wasn’t hostile or rude to us or anything, though he insisted that we get off. So, after going back and forth with him for a while, Ben and I agreed to leave where we were, and the officer agreed to talk to Mr. Green. They spoke, and then the officer made a couple of calls. About 10 or 20 minutes later, he came up to Ben and I to let us know we were right, and we could stand by the road, as there’s a right-of-way that is public property. I was thankful to the Lord for that policeman and his gentleness with us. After the stop, we went out to Golden Corral for dinner with everyone. After dinner, we headed to the home we were staying in for the night. It was a brand new, empty house, owned by a Christian in the area. He actually let us use 2 of the houses. It was very nice. We all piled into the room on the first floor and did a group devotion, which was wonderful. We read 2 Timothy 2 (I think), and just talked about preaching the gospel and getting into pointless conversations, etc. After that, we stayed up about half an hour longer, and then went to our rooms. I shared a room with Lauren and Hannah, and a girl from Wisconsin named Stephanie. She’s pretty cool. We talked until about 10:30, and went to sleep.

To see my post about Day 1, click here.

I'm Home!

Hey everyone,

I'm home from my just-over-2-week trip. What a wonderful time of ministry and fellowship it was. It is such a thrill to serve the Lord on college campuses. There are always wonderful conversations, and I pray that God will bless our efforts, and that they will bring forth much fruit for His glory!

Of course, as always, it was great to see Ben, as well! I love him more than words can really say.

I finished up my journal about the Virginia Tour we did, organized by Denny Green of Life and Liberty Ministries this morning, and plan to work on my journal about the Philadelphia Tour, organized by Michael Marcavage of Repent America, later this week. I think I'll just post one day at a time, as those entries are fairly long as it is. I'm going to try to keep up with regular posting (I know, I know...I've said it a million times, but really! I'm going to try), now that I'm home. I am planning to finish up my schooling in about a month and a half, and then there will be a glorious reprieve from that for 3 or 4 months, until I start Bible College. How is everyone doing?

-Mary Jo

Friday, October 20, 2006

From the Road

So, our last stop on the Virginia tour just ended. We're in Silver Springs, MD. This stop was an intersection. I am in the van outside an office with wireless, so I'm going to post about the first day. I'm still alive...we're headingback to the Murches' tonight, and the PA tour starts on Monday...

>>MJ

The first day was Monday. Ben and I were up at 4, and the family (everyone but Mr. and Mrs. Murch) were planning to leave a little before 5. I took a shower and got my things ready, and Ben put everything in the car. At 10 after 5, we still hadn’t left. After a number of mishaps, Aaron found that he had to get frost off the window of the other vehicle. So finally, at about 5:15 we set off. Aaron was driving the Mercury and Ben his spiffy new car. We needed to get to where we were going about 7:30 or so, but we ended up getting lost. So, about 8:45, we arrived and parked. The stop was basically over. But, it was nice to see everyone and say “hello” and catch up some. Lauren, Sam, and Jesse Murch have been away since September at Jason Storms’ School of Evangelism in Wisconsin, so everyone was, of course, thrilled to see them. Lauren and Jesse have been debating Calvinism extensively since departing. Elijah ran up to Jesse with a large hug and an even bigger grin and the first words out of his mouth were, “Are you still a Calvinist?” Of course, thankfully, he is. After crossing half of the street, I was introduced to Serg and Ben, a couple of guys from the school of evangelism. The stop ended shortly after we got there. Everyone packed up, and I was standing outside the Graces’ van talking to Rachel and Talitha Snow, Christina Grace’s sisters, and I looked around and everyone was in a vehicle, and Ben’s car was no where to be found! In a panic, I hopped into the front seat of the Grace’s van, at their urging. I called for Ben on the radio, but he didn’t respond, so we took off. I decided to call him on the phone and he seemed rather concerned that I wasn’t in his car. I had been concerned that he had forgotten about me! So, Billy Joe Grace made a U-Turn and I got out of the van at a stop light (which turned green by the time I was told I could get out) and ran across the street to Ben, and got in the car. After this mishap (small, but a mishap nonetheless), we headed to McDonald’s and got some breakfast. I ate with Hannah, Ben, and Jesse. Before too long, Serg came up. I learned very quickly that he’s an Armenian and everyone he meets knows it. He’s a real funny guy. He’s 22 and is from Los Angeles. Shortly after, I met his girlfriend, Karin. She’s the same age as he is, and is also Armenian, though not as show-off-ish about it as he is. She also is at the school of evangelism. After breakfast, we went outside, where I met Jason Storms and his wife, Sarah, as well as their two precious daughters and adorable baby boy. I got to hold him some…he is quite a chunk! He’s such a happy baby. Jason and Sarah are a really sweet couple. Jason is full-time in the ministry as an evangelist, and she’s (not surprisingly) a housewife and Mommy. After hanging out outside for a while, we piled back into the vehicles and headed for what would be our last stop of the day, though everyone else went to another one. We passed out lit and did signs in the business district of Downtown Richmond. It was great. A lot went out, the gospel was preached, and the police did not give us a hard time. There were some people who complained to the police and many businessmen and women didn’t take literature, but in all, it was a good stop. Mr. Murch asked us to head home and skip the last stop on Monday, because he and Mrs. Murch hadn’t seen Lauren, Sam, and Jesse in so long, and he wanted some extra time with them. So, we had about a 2-hour drive home, and arrived before dinnertime! It was nice to hang out with everyone.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Bye, Again!

Hey y'all...no time for a long post...just wanted to say "Bye" again! I'm leaving for evangelism, and then from there to the airport. My flight is leaving at 2:50, and I'll land in Raleigh/Durham, NC at 4:25 or so. Your prayers for my flight, and for the tour would be very much appreciated! If I can, I'll keep y'all updated.

-MJ

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Wow!

Hey everyone...

It's been so long since I've written a real entry. I've been so busy since I got home it's crazy! The Lord is so good, and life is going rather nicely, if I might say so myself. :) I've been busying myself with schoolwork, and I should be done in about 2 months!!! I'm very excited. I've got only 4 weeks left of Anatomy and a bit longer than that of American Government, and American History will be the last class I finish. I've got tentative plans for my post-highschool life, as well. My Dad said I can take a few months off, so I will enjoy a three month reprieve from school. During that time, I hope to do a lot of reading and evangelizing. After that, I plan on starting a correspondance degree from Homestead College of Bible. It is a quite unique program, in that credit hours are earned from studying a book of the Bible.Each book is worth a certain number of hours. I plan to get a Bachelor's degree, which will take about four years. But, that shjouldn't be a problem. It's something you do at your own pace, so it won't get in the way of anything more important. It should be profitable though. Studying the Bible is NEVER a bad thing! :)

As I type this, my next trip to Virginia is drawing nearer! Haha. I'm leaving on Saturday afternoon for Virginia for a ministry tour. My plane lands at the Raleigh/Durham airport at about 4:30, and Ben is gonna pick me up (in his new car!). I can't wait to see him!!! In case you didn't know...he's the most wonderful guy in the entire world. :D <3 (hehe).

The tour starts on Monday and lasts til Friday. It's a campus tour, so most of the days, we spend a good chunk of time on a University campus passing out tracts, the men preach, and we've got aborted baby signs as well. We have a couple other stops to pass out tracts, show the signs, and preach at busy intersections each day, as well. Denny Green of Life and Liberty Ministries is leading it.

After the Virginia tour, it is possible that we will go to Philadelphia for a tour there with Repent America. That lasts from Monday the 23rd to Friday the 27th. We may just go for part of it or something. We shall see! I've never been to Philadelphia. From what I've heard from the people who have, though, it's wicked. I wouldn't go by myself!

It should be an excellent time of ministry, and a sweet time of fellowship. Our LORD is so gracious! He allows us to have a wonderful time as we serve Him. Your prayers would certainly be appreciated. So many lost people are going to hear the gospel...if God is willing, may some of them repent and follow Him!

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm gonna try to update more regularly. If I can, I'll update while I'm on the tour. If I don't ever have internet, I'll keep a journal on my computer and post it when I get back.

Ta-ta for now!
Mary Jo