Hi Everyone
Well, I knew it would be a tough start today. Today we were doing abortion ministry outside Christchurch Public Hospital, alongside the Project139 Ministry. And by all the warnings Glen gave me, we were up for a torrid time, and by, was he right!.
8 of us lined up on the footpath facing the hospital main entrance, holding our signs. We were advised not to engage verbally with anyone if provoked, unless they were willing to have a respectable discussion.
Everything was going peacefully until a group of protesters from the local high school caught wind of us being there. They stood facing us with their own signs, trying to verbally intimidate us. We managed to ignore them long enough. Then they changed it up after a few more arrived. One of the students had a bluetooth speaker, and they started playing extreme sexually expicit music. One of the other girls began an explicit dance on the ground. I couldn’t watch, so i lifted the sign in front of my face to shield my eyes from it. It wasn’t all bad. Andy and Sonya were able to have reasonably polite conversations with a couple of the students, and Andy had a great conversation with an Asian couple. That was my first ever abortion ministry. Would I want to do it again? Only by God’s grace!
We walked to speakers corner at the Square, and Marty (from the abortion ministry) open-air preached, using the words of the New Zealand National Anthem, which is actually a prayer of protection.
After lunch, we decided to spend the afternoon in and around around Cashel St with walk-up conversations. I was walking with Andy when we bumped into a couple of the hospital protestors. They were trying to convince him that abortion was justified because of rape. When they asked him if rape was wrong, Andy said why should the baby be murdered through the sin of the father?
One of them asked me if rape was wrong, so I asked her which sin is worse, rape or murder? She didn’t like that answer! They weren’t being reasonable, so when questioned again, Andy went pre-sup on them, saying that according to their worldview, it’s just one clump of cells lording it over another clump of cells, so why should it matter? They went ballistic, abused us, and walked away. These kids are so blind. O Lord, please save them!
When we arrived at Cashel St, I had some very good conversations…
Jordan: This young Catholic man had a misinformed understanding of how he could get to heaven – by his good works. I told him that all he was doing was bribing a judge who was about to pass sentence on him. I then took him through the law to show how bad he was, and not a good person at all. He understood he was in trouble, so I gave him the good news. He was nodding his head, taking it all in. I told him that confessing to a priest would not absolve him of any sins, rather placing his faith in Christ. I asked him when he was going to do this, he said as soon as possible, so I gave him some other resources, and encouraged him to read his Bible.
Victoria, Benji, and Christina: This group of friends passed me, and I gave them tracts, and asked them if they could answer the million-dollar question for me – what happens after we die? They all answered go to heaven. I asked them if there was a God, and they said yes. Would they be accountable to Him? Yes, they said. So I took them through the law to see how good they were, but they weren’t good at all. They all admitted they would be sent to hell for their sin. I asked them if someone else took their punishment, would it be a good thing? They all said yes. I told them that was exactly what God did for them when He sacrificed His Son on the cross. They all agreed they needed to place their faith in Christ and not rely on their own goodness to get to heaven. They all said they would do this today! So I pointed them to read the Gospel of John, and get hooked into a good bible-believing church.
Ryan: His eyes lit up when he saw the million dollar tract. But his smile soon disappeared when I asked him the million dollar question. He said he hadn’t really thought about it much. When I brought up the building / builder analogy as proof of a creator, he said it made sense. I asked him what this creator thought of him. He thought he was pretty good, until the law exposed him for what he was! He came to understand that eternal life is only possible through faith in Christ. He said he would think about it when he walked away. When I finished talking with Ryan, I walked back to Glen & Andy, only to find they were engaging with Ryan as well! He told them he didn’t believe what I was saying. But at least he now knows the truth.
Daisy: This young girl was dressed like a flower power girl from the 60’s. I couldn’t get a coherent response from her, as she was too busy spinning and twirling her dress. At least she took a tract.
Blake: This man thought he was onto a good thing when he got his tract. He told me that through many people, God was trying to say something to him. I said that He was – he was saying that you needed to repent and place your faith in Christ. I took him through the law, and explained why faith was necessary. He said it all makes perfect sense. When I asked him when he was going to do that, he said “I’m getting there”. He pulled out a Bible and told me he was reading it. I said that the Bible is God’s inspired words, so if he really wanted to hear God speak to him, he should keep reading it!
So it was a good day today. No, it was a great day. There were lots of challenges, especially at the hospital. But God provided many opportunities for the Gospel to go out, so in the end He gets the glory!
Blessings
Craig
