Mom had her first airplane witnessing encounter!
She was thinking on the plane for a way to be a way to talk to the lady next to her about the gospel. I told her that since people talk about where they’re from, where they’re going, plans they have, stuff about life and family, that she’d be able to say that she does graphic designing for Christian materials, and be able to give a tract to the person she spoke to. Well….she said she planned to do just that. I told her it was very easy to do, and it flowed in the course of a regular conversation.
Cindy sat between her husband and my mom on the plane. Dad was in a different seating area, as they couldn’t get seats next to each other. I think in the future this is a good idea for Christians. Divide and conquer! Lol.
Mom was able to talk to them about an hour before the flight. They had to fill out the customs form when on the plane they got to Hawaii. She wanted to chat with the wife, and so she asked the husband if she was filling out a portion of the form correctly. He showed her what she needed to know and thanked him. A few minutes later the guy said something to her, and then his wife Cindy started talking to mom. The wife switched seats with her husband so mom and her could talk for a little bit. Cindy and mom talked about where they were from, ancestry; which turns out to be almost the same. How they had never been to this island, they talked about what they did. By doing this, mom got a chance (which she hoped to do) to slip in there that she does graphic art work for me on Christian websites and tracts. She wanted to bring up the gospel so she shared this with the lady. Cindy asked what kind of software she uses. Mom says its old software and she has no training for graphic art work or animation, but enjoys doing it. Cindy said her mother also does graphic art, but has training from college for it, and it's her full time job. This is neat that God set THIS lady next to my mom! So Mom was able to discuss some of those things with her, and then learned that Cindy and her husband go to church. Mom doesn’t know if they are saved, but she was able to give Cindy one of my gospel tracts and encouraged Cindy to check out the website as well. She also offered for Cindy to contact her to talk in the future. So we’ll see how that goes.
Cindy’s husband joined the conversation and they talked about snorkeling and stuff. Mom shared some things about locations in the area that are good (and bad) spots, that we knew from last year’s experience. She told them there are new things on the island that she learned about as well; Some things aren’t there anymore, some cost a lot now, and others have changed. Mom told him she always checks things like that online so she knows ahead of time when they return to places they like to travel what they can and can’t do this time.
When mom left the plane, she left tracts on a couple of seats for passengers getting off or the flight staff to get.
I was so proud of her for doing her best to share the gospel. Mom is very shy around strangers, but is outgoing around family. This was a real step of faith for her. Last year in Hawaii I was able to get her and my dad to go street evangelizing with some Christians I know who witness in Kona every week. We all went out and even my young nephew was participating by handing out tracts. She was shut down a few times during that afternoon, and we shared that information in the Hawaii post (click here to read). She also has spoken to people at her small church whenever witnessing conversations comes up in Sunday School, and she has offered really good tips that encouraged the ones she spoke to. I first shared biblical evangelism material with her at Christmas 2005, and after reading the information and watching videos about it she agreed it was the real gospel, and stopped using modern evangelism methods and materials that are not biblical. She tracted places but not people. Then after a few visits (a yearly thing) when we went as a family to Los Vegas, for vacation at their time share, I was finally able to get them to go out one early evening and hand out tracts near a popular tourist attraction on the strip. Since then she hasn’t gone out, until last year in Hawaii. She does tract regularly wherever she goes, but this was the first time she talked to someone on an airplane about the gospel. She has beat me on that one! Haha. Well, it has never worked out for me to be able to do that; circumstances and the people around me on the planes have prevented it. Though, on hindsight….I could have done like Kirk Cameron and tracted the whole plane on the way to my seat. Perhaps I’ll do that next time I fly somewhere. I rarely fly anywhere, but I’ll have to keep it in mind next time I do!
So I’m exited that she did this, and hopeful that she’ll try for a gospel conversation on the return flight home.
Note: You don’t have to follow a specific method to sharing the gospel. What you include in the gospel is important, but how you get to the gospel conversation can vary. You simply have a conversation and swing naturally from the conversation to spiritual things. This is another example of that. For more examples, read more of the blogs here.
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Sunday, June 13, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Missed Opportunity
Have you ever had one of those days where you wish you could rewind, even for a few seconds, to make sure you got in there to share the gospel? Today was one of those days for me. I went to take care of some things with my vehicle today at the D*M*V*. We’ve been trying for 4 years now to get the title to one of our vehicles. Finally found the lien holder company (they had changed their names twice since we had paid the vehicle off in the late 90’s). They had their name issued on the title instead of my husband’s so this has been a small nightmare. Anyway, today I decided since I had heard that you can’t tract at the D*M*V*, I didn’t bring a stash. But I had a couple Your Moment of Truth tracts in my purse. I took my MP3 player with my Christian Radio programming on it, and decided to listen to that while I waited.
When I got there at 9am the line was wrapped around the building all the way around. This was going to be a long morning. About 10 minutes after standing in line an older lady came out of nowhere and cut in front of me. She said she had forgot something at home and had to come back, and the guy in front of her “saved her spot”. Now, I know that those things are invisible, lol, but with such a line around the building, who cares if someone else is in front of you. I don’t. So I figured maybe this was a divine appointment. Her name I later found out was Nadia. When we started talking she was chit chatting about her vehicle not passing smog inspection and worried about it. I felt bad for her because she was older, and had an older vehicle, and probably couldn’t afford a new one. I took my earphones out of my ear, to make me more approachable. Then, while her back was to me, I told her [to chit chat] I had come to the D*M*V* yesterday both at this location and one another town over, but the lines were far too long and it took so long to wait for a parking spot that I decided to come back today, this morning. She said yesterday was windy, today is nice and sunny, and Sunday was sunny. [I was about to say that I was glad Sunday was sunny, because I do not like to be in the rain when I go to Church, and then I was going to ask her if she goes to church somewhere nearby, and find a way to hand her a good tract, but that didn’t come out of my mouth. And a few seconds later she picked up her phone and started calling people to handle some things while she was in line].
We moved closer to the entrance, and I noticed a sign that said “Products or services provided by advertisers are not promoted or indorsed by D*M*V*” And I wondered, can we hand out fliers here? I thought it wasn’t legal. Maybe the law changed, or maybe they can’t seem to stop the people who do it. I wondered if people leave fliers on the vehicles also. So I started watching the flow of people and looked for security cameras. There were no cameras.
Then, when we were close to the door I found out she cleans apartments and helps older people shop. I told her I had a few friends who do that. I have one friend who actually lives with a very old lady and assists her. I said it’s great when people help out older people, and its such a “blessing” that they have lived so long. I then told her that I have a friend who is turning 100 next weekend. She said Wow. [We were in the door at this point and she was next in line to grab her “number” to be seen. I had hoped we would run into each other again and I’d make sure to give her the tract, and mention to her that I might like someone to come and clean my apartment if she is not fully booked]. She went off her way and I went off mine. I had 35 people in front of me, and it ended up taking 3 hours of my time.
I heard a few people coughing and so I decided to go outside and wait around, popping in every 10 minutes or so to see what “number” was being listed available for the section on my ticket. I noticed a security guard behind me on the side of the building (where he had full view of the side doors and those on the sidewalk in front of it), I had no idea they had guards there. I then noticed another sign saying the same thing as before. Posted on each side of the building. I was walking around, avoiding any one coughing or smoking at the corners (which blows the smoke right to the door and down the side of the building, so the “no smoking 20 feet in front of the doors” sign was useless, because the smoke still blows that way. I started watching the security guard, in spy mode, lol. Wondering what his patrol patterns are. He was on foot. I turned around to see where he was a minute later, and he was gone. I have no idea where he went. How could he move so fast on foot, so quickly. Nothing was happening for him to be so fast. When I looked down the other way, I noticed another security person was there. I thought maybe they turned over at shift change, but not long after that I saw someone else. So I think they have 2 – 3 security people there regularly. Weird. Going to be hard to try and tract this place. And the funny thing was, once I got in the door originally, there was another sign saying said “Products or services provided by advertisers are not promoted or indorsed by D*M*V*” within the first 15 feet in the doorway, heading to the reception desk where you get your “number”. I am interested in seeing if I can tract there sometimes. Even if I get shooed away, there are other ones in the county I can go to.
I saw Nadia ½ way down the walkway as she was returning from her vehicle and entering the building again. I thought “bummer!” cause I wanted to catch her, speak to her for a minute saying it was nice to have met her, and then give her the tract. I kept an eye out for her to go back to her vehicle again, or to leave having finished her purpose there. Since I was outside most of the time it was easy to try to do, but unfortunately I did not see her again. Such a missed opportunity. I suggest anyone who has the slightest opening to say something to someone while you’re in line somewhere…DO IT!, don’t pause to think or wonder, just do it. Give the tract and say something to them related to what you were discussing.
The D*M*V* issue wasn’t resolved. I had the letter documentation from the lien holder bank, but not the D*M*V* forms my husband was supposed to sign. grrr... oh well, next time I'll be prepared with tracts!
When I got there at 9am the line was wrapped around the building all the way around. This was going to be a long morning. About 10 minutes after standing in line an older lady came out of nowhere and cut in front of me. She said she had forgot something at home and had to come back, and the guy in front of her “saved her spot”. Now, I know that those things are invisible, lol, but with such a line around the building, who cares if someone else is in front of you. I don’t. So I figured maybe this was a divine appointment. Her name I later found out was Nadia. When we started talking she was chit chatting about her vehicle not passing smog inspection and worried about it. I felt bad for her because she was older, and had an older vehicle, and probably couldn’t afford a new one. I took my earphones out of my ear, to make me more approachable. Then, while her back was to me, I told her [to chit chat] I had come to the D*M*V* yesterday both at this location and one another town over, but the lines were far too long and it took so long to wait for a parking spot that I decided to come back today, this morning. She said yesterday was windy, today is nice and sunny, and Sunday was sunny. [I was about to say that I was glad Sunday was sunny, because I do not like to be in the rain when I go to Church, and then I was going to ask her if she goes to church somewhere nearby, and find a way to hand her a good tract, but that didn’t come out of my mouth. And a few seconds later she picked up her phone and started calling people to handle some things while she was in line].
We moved closer to the entrance, and I noticed a sign that said “Products or services provided by advertisers are not promoted or indorsed by D*M*V*” And I wondered, can we hand out fliers here? I thought it wasn’t legal. Maybe the law changed, or maybe they can’t seem to stop the people who do it. I wondered if people leave fliers on the vehicles also. So I started watching the flow of people and looked for security cameras. There were no cameras.
Then, when we were close to the door I found out she cleans apartments and helps older people shop. I told her I had a few friends who do that. I have one friend who actually lives with a very old lady and assists her. I said it’s great when people help out older people, and its such a “blessing” that they have lived so long. I then told her that I have a friend who is turning 100 next weekend. She said Wow. [We were in the door at this point and she was next in line to grab her “number” to be seen. I had hoped we would run into each other again and I’d make sure to give her the tract, and mention to her that I might like someone to come and clean my apartment if she is not fully booked]. She went off her way and I went off mine. I had 35 people in front of me, and it ended up taking 3 hours of my time.
I heard a few people coughing and so I decided to go outside and wait around, popping in every 10 minutes or so to see what “number” was being listed available for the section on my ticket. I noticed a security guard behind me on the side of the building (where he had full view of the side doors and those on the sidewalk in front of it), I had no idea they had guards there. I then noticed another sign saying the same thing as before. Posted on each side of the building. I was walking around, avoiding any one coughing or smoking at the corners (which blows the smoke right to the door and down the side of the building, so the “no smoking 20 feet in front of the doors” sign was useless, because the smoke still blows that way. I started watching the security guard, in spy mode, lol. Wondering what his patrol patterns are. He was on foot. I turned around to see where he was a minute later, and he was gone. I have no idea where he went. How could he move so fast on foot, so quickly. Nothing was happening for him to be so fast. When I looked down the other way, I noticed another security person was there. I thought maybe they turned over at shift change, but not long after that I saw someone else. So I think they have 2 – 3 security people there regularly. Weird. Going to be hard to try and tract this place. And the funny thing was, once I got in the door originally, there was another sign saying said “Products or services provided by advertisers are not promoted or indorsed by D*M*V*” within the first 15 feet in the doorway, heading to the reception desk where you get your “number”. I am interested in seeing if I can tract there sometimes. Even if I get shooed away, there are other ones in the county I can go to.
I saw Nadia ½ way down the walkway as she was returning from her vehicle and entering the building again. I thought “bummer!” cause I wanted to catch her, speak to her for a minute saying it was nice to have met her, and then give her the tract. I kept an eye out for her to go back to her vehicle again, or to leave having finished her purpose there. Since I was outside most of the time it was easy to try to do, but unfortunately I did not see her again. Such a missed opportunity. I suggest anyone who has the slightest opening to say something to someone while you’re in line somewhere…DO IT!, don’t pause to think or wonder, just do it. Give the tract and say something to them related to what you were discussing.
The D*M*V* issue wasn’t resolved. I had the letter documentation from the lien holder bank, but not the D*M*V* forms my husband was supposed to sign. grrr... oh well, next time I'll be prepared with tracts!
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