Wednesday 30 Oct
Tash writes about a recent Spring Market and the opportunities it provided her to connect and share stories.
Tash shares, ‘There are places in our country where churches are closing down and Christians are moving out. Places with few Gospel resources and places where people are very unlikely to ever meet a follower of Jesus. In the past month I’ve come to see how the community I serve in is in some ways a spiritual desert.
And yet, in this place, God is at work.
In faith, we pray that the Lord, “will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” Isaiah 41:18b
In early October, a local church held a Spring Market. The church grounds were filled with so many people from the community. People looking through a mass of second-hand goods to find a bargain. Kids getting their faces painted and bouncing on a jumping castle. Women in Niqabs sitting and drinking coffee and chai in a tent, having conversations with followers of Jesus.
Perhaps some had their first ever conversation with a Spirit filled believer.
Others have been in relationship with people from the church for many years. The Spring Market was an opportunity to meet the families of these people and witness God’s love to them. I was able to share some stories from the Gospel with women in the coffee tent, some were new friends from ESL (English Second-Language) or playgroup, others were strangers. I was hoping to share stories while drawing henna tattoos, but I didn’t quite feel comfortable with my skills to do this yet!
One woman I spoke to was Sarah*, who comes along to ESL class every week. Sarah is a new friend who is very open to learning about Jesus.
When I sat with Sarah in the coffee tent at the Spring Market, I asked her what her favourite story was. She said it was the story of the lost son. I told her that I like to call it the story of the ‘lost sons’, because both sons were lost just in different ways. She looked confused and replied, “No just the youngest son was lost!”.
I was able to explain that the older son was also lost because even though he was good and worked hard, he missed out on the banquet. It is possible to be a ‘good person’ but for your heart not to be right with God and your brother.
Please pray that Sarah and others in the community will put their trust in Jesus who came to seek and save the lost.’
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