challenged

To a yummy lunch of roasted chicken, curried veggies, couscous and butter tart add three inspiring speakers and you have an unexpectedly grace-filled afternoon. That was yesterday at our church’s missionary conference ladies’ luncheon.

Nancy Bersaglio began with stories of how they have known God’s presence and protection in Zambia. She told of one evening when her 17-year-old daughter burst into their room after they’d just gone to bed with, “There’s a snake in the house!” They got her safe into their room and after a bit Serge, her husband, peeked out the door to see a spitting cobra in the middle of the next room.

Everyone left the house through the window, Serge called an exterminator company but when that lot came back with guns and poke sticks (or whatever they use to hunt snakes), the critter was no where to be found. What followed was an hour of searching every nook and cranny of the house for that snake. They did eventually find him - coiled in daughter’s laundry hamper. “She has kept the t-shirt, stained with snake blood as a souvenir,” Nancy told us.

Then we heard from Monika - a beautiful pastor’s wife from Poland, who told her story through an interpreter. For some reason her husband was required to take some training in Paris and he really really wanted her to be there with him. The problem was, they have two young children. And so with great sadness, Monika packed her babies off to their two grandmas and took the bus to Paris, crying all the way. “But when I got there,” she said, “I discovered why I needed to be in Paris.”

A 97-year-old Jewish woman (Jacques Chirac’s mother) had already gone through eleven interviewees when Monika applied for the job to be her ‘nurse.’ She was hired and over the next few months witnessed to this woman, who eventually came to faith before she died.

Finally we heard from Tamara Lowe. What a treat! Tamara and her husband do “Get Motivated” seminars for business people. They speak to stadiums filled with thousands about success techniques for business. However, they never fail to tuck into each seminar a session called “The Spiritual Side of Success.” In that session Tamara gives her testimony and explains how to become a Christian. (This is billed as an optional session – but, according to Tamara, people rarely leave.)

Tamara’s topic to us yesterday afternoon was how to share our faith. She started out by telling us what she was like as a 17-year-old new Christian – she told everyone the good news!

Soon after she came to know the Lord she moved into a house with a family. Every day on coming home she’d have stories to tell about people whom she’d shared with that day who had decided to follow Jesus too. One day after telling how a woman she’d struck up a conversation with on the bus had asked Christ into her heart, her hosts said to her, “Tamara, you’re doing this all wrong. This is not how to share your faith. You should do it like us – just the live the Christian life. People will watch and be curious about why you’re different. When they ask you about it, then you have permission to share the gospel.”

“Oh,” she said. “How many people have you led to the Lord this way in the last while?”

The answer was predictable. None.

Unfortunately, that douse of cold water put out the fire in this young woman for about ten years. But she’s back! Yesterday she gave us these tips on ‘Fishing’ packaged neatly in the acronym SHARE:

S-tart conversations about Christ.
(Some conversation starters: Are you very interested in spiritual things? Have you ever made the wonderful discovery of knowing Jesus Christ personally? Want to hear some good news?
H-ave an agreeable attitude (enthusiastic, joyful, listen to the other person)
A-nswer objections (study to know what you’ll say to the common objections)
R-epentance prayer
E-ncourage and equip (take discipleship responsibility for this baby Christian if possible).

She also introduced us to a very neat evangelism tool called EvangeCube.

I left the afternoon feeling energized and challenged. Now the question is, will I accept the challenge? Will you?