"We Have a Date with God!"

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” Acts 18:9-10

Washington Cathedral raises the financial budget for the AFE School in Honduras that pays for salary, food, etc. Jackie and I just returned from visiting there. We just had a short time and Jackie was determined that one of the things we would buy would be Bible covers. Our Spanish is limited and everyone seemed to direct us someplace else in the city. Finally we entered a shop and Jackie said, “This place is not going to have Bible covers.” I looked at the man behind the counter and said, “You never know. This guy is a Christian.” She said, “How do you know?” But, before I could answer, the man said, “My name is Christian and I am a follower of Jesus Christ.” And he spoke in perfect English! (I could tell because he was listening to a sermon and the store was full of Christian artifacts.) Jackie told him that we were shopping with money that was raised by a sweet girl by the name of Rachel to buy things for an auction that will raise money for the kids living in the city dump. He asked who our connection was and we told him about Rey and Elise. “Oh!” he said. “I saw them on T.V. [Good morning Honduras] I really want to help!” So he sold us everything at half-price and then took 10% off the total. If they didn't have what Jackie wanted, they even sent someone to run to another store to buy it and bring it back! After the sale he shared his faith with me and I invited him to come to the church I had preached at the day before. We have never had so much fun shopping. When we returned we told our kids, “That was such a blast - it felt like a date!”

We are praying that we can all reach out with our faith to touch three people. Easter is a great time to just walk across the room and start a conversation- - - Have someone over for dinner- - - Help someone in a way that initiates friendship. And you never know the good that can come by simply reaching out.

When we were at the dump, there were three new children there. The oldest was about seven. They had fresh faces and the look of terror. We were handing out popsicles, cookies and water in the 90+ degree temperature. People were mobbing us, but these kids were too afraid to come over and let us help them. I asked Pastor Jeony if he knew them and he said, “Not yet.” Jackie asked me to wade my way into the dump to give them something, but they ran when I approached them. We begged Pastor Jeony to make sure that he and Rey would try and build a friendship with them and develop trust through serving them so that “Together for Transformation” can save their lives.

When we reach someone this spring, we are helping reach someone who will not only benefit from a positive, authentic relationship with Jesus, but they may become a person that saves lives. What an adventure!! (I guess we could call this a date.) We have a date with God to experience all the joy of really reaching out and making a difference in three people’s lives.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White