Hey again!
This post is more or less covering all the years we have been street preaching. I want to encourage and warn here, if you take a stand for Christ, whether street preaching, witnessing, at work, even at home, there can/will be a cost. Over the years we have become friends with many people around the US, some were pastors, other street preachers, people interested in street preaching and some christian friends we met traveling. We developed close friendships with many of them. We often heard, "We have your back.", or "We will be friends forever." I almost cringe when I hear this now. I have grown from this though.
I am talking about people who no longer fellowship with us. Each time it happens it hurts. I will honestly say it hurt most the first time, and you will have to make a choice whether you are going to continue on in the ministry the Lord has called you to, or if you are going to give up, turn bitter, and/or quit. Yes, it is hard, because sometimes you have grown close to the person who rejects or turns on you, but you have to press on.
Let me share with you something I told someone a couple of years ago after a dear friend told us she could no longer fellowship with us. She separated with us because someone we knew and occasionally street preached with allowed women to preach with him. Now, he knows our feelings on female street preachers, and never has one of them preached with us when he was there, but.... Of course it was our fault and we should have corrected him. One, he will stand or fall before Christ. He has a strong testimony as a street preacher and if she felt like what he was doing was wrong then maybe she should approach him. (Technically a male relative could do it for her as she is single.) Of course when we mentioned that she was out from under her head and out in the workplace rather than at home and we still welcomed her out with us, she immediately responded that she knew we would bring that up. Never once was that mentioned to her over the years she went out on the street with us, except as sisters in the Lord encouraging one another to do right. Anyway, back to what I told our friend. Basically I said, that yes, it does hurt and the first day I usually cry. Next is the frustration that someone can not be mature enough to live with it, or deal with the issue properly. Now, I have decided to wait and watch before becoming close, no matter what they decide to do, I am going to continue my course. I am not going to give up and quit just because someone else does. So if I seem to be quiet or not overly outgoing when meeting someone new, it is because I have learned to be a little more careful.
Of course there have been many that have joined us on the streets. They get that first glow about them and decide that this is what they also have been called to do. They start meeting us at large events, they have zeal, and then...they quit. You are too hard or maybe they tell us that we are doing it wrong, or now it is no longer for them. You know, I understand not everyone is called to be on the street, but as christians we are all called to tell others about Jesus Christ. And it would not bother me in the least if they decided not to street preach any longer, and they continued serving the Lord, but it does bother me that all of the sudden we are no longer friends. Really? You can't be friends anymore?
One time we had family invite us to their home for dinner, and yes, this has actually happened more than once. First the husband sat there and kept saying, "I can not believe you are sitting here at our dinner table." "I still can't believe your family is visiting my home." I honestly get the creeps when people do that. These are usually the ones who start preaching for awhile and then fall by the wayside. They seem to think it is glorious to go out on the street and preach. It is so exciting! Yes, I love being spit on, cursed at, having beer and other beverages thrown on me, along with items like beads, bottles and even a lawn chair one time. It is wonderful to have people punch at you, or have women expose their bodies in front of your family, have sodomites kiss in front of you... This is when they usually quit and end our friendship.
Yes it will happen, but just decide ahead of time that you are pressing on and won't quit.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
First Arrest
Hi Again!
As we started out we figured we would go to a certain area and street preach and if possible J would try to get meetings in churches. He wanted to share about the need for christians to be witnessing wherever they were. Passing out tracts, talking to people and of course street preaching. He was also able to teach on the cults. He is a former Mormon and spent years studying the cults after he became a christian. (I will have him share his testimony some time.)
So, we left Malta, NY and started south. The Lord continued to bless by opening doors to meetings and we stopped and street preached on corners as we made our journey. A pastor in PA who preached on the streets regularly had a court case going on and had need for J to fill his pulpit for a period of time. He asked if we would stay in the prophet's chamber and if J would take over services for a month or so. While there we continued preaching on the street corners. The day we were scheduled to leave they were going to the "Gay" Pride Parade in Harrisburg PA. We decided to join them on our way out. It was a great preach.
We had just decided we needed to head out, when the unexpected happened. My husband was arrested as he crossed the street. They cuffed him and placed him in their paddy wagon. I approached another officer and asked why he was arrested. I was told he had entered a buffer zone between the park where the "PRIDE" festival was and the preachers. I asked if he had warned my husband first. He said he did not know, but they had been warning preachers all day. Now my husband had been wearing a bright, fluorescent, orange vest with a verse on it, all day. He had our two sons trailing him as well as some of the girls. It could not be that hard to remember him. He was taken downtown to the police station. They had him there for approx. 30-45 minutes and released him pending the court case.
The court date arrived and we proceeded back to PA. We were told that we had the most pro-sodomite judge around. Anyway, they called my husband up and questioned him first. He stated that he had never been told there was a buffer zone to avoid. The judge proceeded to ask the arresting officer where the buffer zone (15 ft.) came from. She replied her superior officer had told her that. So, he was called to the stand and when asked the same question, he stated that the Park Manager had told them to set up a 15 ft. Buffer Zone to keep the preachers away from the park. So, technically there was no law or ordinance found to back up what they were enforcing. The judge threw his hands in the air and said, "Then why was this man arrested?" Needless to say, they were 3 other preachers arrested that day for varying reasons. They found another one not guilty and the last two guilty. I guess that was supposed to make everyone happy, two for the preachers and two for the sodomites.
Being the wife of a street preacher is NEVER boring!
As we started out we figured we would go to a certain area and street preach and if possible J would try to get meetings in churches. He wanted to share about the need for christians to be witnessing wherever they were. Passing out tracts, talking to people and of course street preaching. He was also able to teach on the cults. He is a former Mormon and spent years studying the cults after he became a christian. (I will have him share his testimony some time.)
So, we left Malta, NY and started south. The Lord continued to bless by opening doors to meetings and we stopped and street preached on corners as we made our journey. A pastor in PA who preached on the streets regularly had a court case going on and had need for J to fill his pulpit for a period of time. He asked if we would stay in the prophet's chamber and if J would take over services for a month or so. While there we continued preaching on the street corners. The day we were scheduled to leave they were going to the "Gay" Pride Parade in Harrisburg PA. We decided to join them on our way out. It was a great preach.
We had just decided we needed to head out, when the unexpected happened. My husband was arrested as he crossed the street. They cuffed him and placed him in their paddy wagon. I approached another officer and asked why he was arrested. I was told he had entered a buffer zone between the park where the "PRIDE" festival was and the preachers. I asked if he had warned my husband first. He said he did not know, but they had been warning preachers all day. Now my husband had been wearing a bright, fluorescent, orange vest with a verse on it, all day. He had our two sons trailing him as well as some of the girls. It could not be that hard to remember him. He was taken downtown to the police station. They had him there for approx. 30-45 minutes and released him pending the court case.
The court date arrived and we proceeded back to PA. We were told that we had the most pro-sodomite judge around. Anyway, they called my husband up and questioned him first. He stated that he had never been told there was a buffer zone to avoid. The judge proceeded to ask the arresting officer where the buffer zone (15 ft.) came from. She replied her superior officer had told her that. So, he was called to the stand and when asked the same question, he stated that the Park Manager had told them to set up a 15 ft. Buffer Zone to keep the preachers away from the park. So, technically there was no law or ordinance found to back up what they were enforcing. The judge threw his hands in the air and said, "Then why was this man arrested?" Needless to say, they were 3 other preachers arrested that day for varying reasons. They found another one not guilty and the last two guilty. I guess that was supposed to make everyone happy, two for the preachers and two for the sodomites.
Being the wife of a street preacher is NEVER boring!
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
The Beginning
Hi All!
I figured this site might work a little better if I start from the beginning. After this first post, who knows where I will go, but at least we start here.
Shortly after we were married back in 1982 we spent several weeks looking around at travel trailers and motor homes dreaming of traveling the USA and sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the time we had a lot of zeal, but I believe the Lord needed us to grow quite a bit before we began a ministry like this. We still continued to witness, door-knock, etc. but put the idea on a back burner.
After our 6th child was born we headed to northern Maine and spent a year doing missions work up there. I believe that during this time the Lord was preparing us for the years we ended up spending on the road. Prior to heading to Maine my husband began taking homemade signs out by the roadside and preaching. We continued this while in Maine.
Right about the one year mark, J came to me and said he felt like the Lord was calling us to go on the road. The Lord had also laid it on my heart to do the same thing, so it was so easy to agree to GO. We had some planning to do, which included locating a travel trailer. We found one on eBay and sent a downpayment. A pastor/friend of ours rode with my husband down to get the trailer. When they arrived they realized that the trailer had a bent axle. The gentleman was very nice and returned most of the deposit. They stayed overnight and prayed about what to do. They decided to head back to Maine on Sunday and check out RV dealers on the way. Many were closed, but they found one that was open that had just repossessed a trailer. Now this was during the middle of winter, and it was severely cold. We only had $1000 to spend on a trailer. My husband asked the salesman about the trailer which he said had been brought in and had not even been cleaned yet. So, they offered him $1000 and said we would clean it. He almost laughed at them, but said he would speak to the boss even though he was sure he would say no. Well, guess what? When my husband offered him $1000 cash, he took it. We had a trailer!
They towed it back to our home in northern Maine and our daughters and I began cleaning the trailer. This was no simple cleaning job. They had literally taken the trailer the way it was. They had cut the water hose, unhooked it from where it was and left everything inside the way they found it. There were cigarette butts in the sink and under furniture, dirty clothing was everywhere, along with many other unclaimed items. The other problem was as soon as we sprayed cleaner on the counters, sinks etc. it froze. Yes, FROZE. We had a small electric heater hooked up, just so we could stay semi-warm in our winter wear while cleaning. We managed to get rid of all the trash and get it at least partially wiped clean, good enough to start heading south.
A man we knew who ran a small dealership a few hours away knew what we were doing and asked what we were going to use to pull the trailer. He knew the Suburban we had and he didn't think it would last long. He called and told us to stop by. He had a newer Suburban, obviously in better shape and he offered us a trade! Yes, he was a brother in Christ, and he wanted to help us get started.
So, we prepared to actually leave. We had a trailer that we had not actually plugged in yet, a newer Suburban, 6 children and a desire to serve the Lord. We headed down to New York and parked at a church we had known for a short period of time. We were able to stay in the church while the trailer thawed out. Once that had happened we were able to hook up to electric and water and see what would or would not work. Other than some minor fixes the water heater had cracked from freezing. The pastor there said he could hook up a new water heater, but he would like to change it from gas to electric and he wanted to put in a slightly larger one. What a blessing!
After a couple of weeks of rest and doing repairs we were ready to head out. 8 of us, in a Suburban, pulling a trailer, and taking off to wherever the Lord would lead. No home other than our trailer. Beginning the adventure of our lives.
More to come!
I figured this site might work a little better if I start from the beginning. After this first post, who knows where I will go, but at least we start here.
Shortly after we were married back in 1982 we spent several weeks looking around at travel trailers and motor homes dreaming of traveling the USA and sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the time we had a lot of zeal, but I believe the Lord needed us to grow quite a bit before we began a ministry like this. We still continued to witness, door-knock, etc. but put the idea on a back burner.
After our 6th child was born we headed to northern Maine and spent a year doing missions work up there. I believe that during this time the Lord was preparing us for the years we ended up spending on the road. Prior to heading to Maine my husband began taking homemade signs out by the roadside and preaching. We continued this while in Maine.
Right about the one year mark, J came to me and said he felt like the Lord was calling us to go on the road. The Lord had also laid it on my heart to do the same thing, so it was so easy to agree to GO. We had some planning to do, which included locating a travel trailer. We found one on eBay and sent a downpayment. A pastor/friend of ours rode with my husband down to get the trailer. When they arrived they realized that the trailer had a bent axle. The gentleman was very nice and returned most of the deposit. They stayed overnight and prayed about what to do. They decided to head back to Maine on Sunday and check out RV dealers on the way. Many were closed, but they found one that was open that had just repossessed a trailer. Now this was during the middle of winter, and it was severely cold. We only had $1000 to spend on a trailer. My husband asked the salesman about the trailer which he said had been brought in and had not even been cleaned yet. So, they offered him $1000 and said we would clean it. He almost laughed at them, but said he would speak to the boss even though he was sure he would say no. Well, guess what? When my husband offered him $1000 cash, he took it. We had a trailer!
They towed it back to our home in northern Maine and our daughters and I began cleaning the trailer. This was no simple cleaning job. They had literally taken the trailer the way it was. They had cut the water hose, unhooked it from where it was and left everything inside the way they found it. There were cigarette butts in the sink and under furniture, dirty clothing was everywhere, along with many other unclaimed items. The other problem was as soon as we sprayed cleaner on the counters, sinks etc. it froze. Yes, FROZE. We had a small electric heater hooked up, just so we could stay semi-warm in our winter wear while cleaning. We managed to get rid of all the trash and get it at least partially wiped clean, good enough to start heading south.
A man we knew who ran a small dealership a few hours away knew what we were doing and asked what we were going to use to pull the trailer. He knew the Suburban we had and he didn't think it would last long. He called and told us to stop by. He had a newer Suburban, obviously in better shape and he offered us a trade! Yes, he was a brother in Christ, and he wanted to help us get started.
So, we prepared to actually leave. We had a trailer that we had not actually plugged in yet, a newer Suburban, 6 children and a desire to serve the Lord. We headed down to New York and parked at a church we had known for a short period of time. We were able to stay in the church while the trailer thawed out. Once that had happened we were able to hook up to electric and water and see what would or would not work. Other than some minor fixes the water heater had cracked from freezing. The pastor there said he could hook up a new water heater, but he would like to change it from gas to electric and he wanted to put in a slightly larger one. What a blessing!
After a couple of weeks of rest and doing repairs we were ready to head out. 8 of us, in a Suburban, pulling a trailer, and taking off to wherever the Lord would lead. No home other than our trailer. Beginning the adventure of our lives.
More to come!
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