He held out his hand and reached. The Alecrim marketplace was busy on Saturday morning- shops closed promptly at noon. We had prepared the juice for the coolers and loaded the truck with 2,500 Gospels of John. The month of June has a national holiday called St John’s day, which we originally thought was on the 3rd, but we found out that it is celebrated through the month and culminates on the 24th of the month. We didn’t know that when we ordered 5,000 Gospels of John, but God always has this way of arranging things!
People ran after us asking for copies of the Gospel. As the buses pulled up, Mark held out his hand and hundreds of people took a copy of John for their own. The bus stops were filled with hundreds of people and new people arrived and left every few minutes. Stephanie and Katie walked the streets and shops, and Andrew manned the juice station that the Police had given us permission to set up on the square. Lori and Caroline worked the groups of people passing thru the square.
In the center of the square, an evangelical preacher. with a microphone and large amplifiers, was preaching with fervor. I grabbed William and walked up to the preacher, waiting for him to come up for air. I handed him the gospel of John and had William tell him that we had arrived with 2,500 gospels of John – living water- and that they were FREE to anyone in the sound of his voice. I smiled and walked away. He began immediately in Brazilian Portuguese to announce that a blessing had arrived and like the gospel it was free to whosoever will. People began streaming towards us arms out! It was very hot but we barely noticed.
After 1 hour all the copies of John’s Gospel were gone. Andrew calculated we had given out 42 a minute! God’s word is living and He promised it would not return void- so we leave it there. And pray for the souls that hold that precious word in their hands.
PaulT
TOP PHOTO: Andrew, Katie and Steph at the station in the square
BOTTOM PHOTO: Stephanie and Katie at the shops on the sidewalk
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