Dear Saints,
Subways ministry is so fantastic, but it’s been very extreme this year. I’ve seen some nasty hatred, had a run-in with the Police, shared Christ with people from many different countries, and so much more.
I’ll briefly share some highlights so we can praise God together!
As you’ll see in the photos below, Steve, a friend of mine who is a Missionary in Argentina, came to minister in the subways with me one day. God used his fluency in Spanish to open a lot of doors with the Spanish-speaking people we run into.
But not everyone was so happy to hear Steve speak in Spanish.
One woman heckled him as he spoke in Spanish, yelling at him viciously, telling him to “get out of her country” and to “speak English” and other very down-right mean things about people who speak Spanish.
I realize that immigration is a controversial issue, but regardless of ones position, we ought to treat people with basic respect. And as Christians, God wants us to reach ALL people with the gospel, regardless of what language they speak.
More disturbing was the way some high-schoolers were taunting a trans-gendered man. I saw a man who was obviously trying to dress as a woman. So sad. But then the high-schoolers started yelling at him and saying things really loud like, “That dude thinks he’s a girl! What an ugly girl! He’s messed up!”
I personally believe that it is unnatural and wrong to be “transgendered,” but that doesn’t mean it’s ever okay to embarrass and harass someone who has been deceived by the homosexual agenda. We must show respect to all people and treat them kindly. I was horrified to see these kids bully this man so.
Right before this happened, I was sharing Christ with these kids. I pray that the gospel message will change their hearts and that God will save them. Perhaps when they see someone transgendered, instead of publicly mocking him, they’ll realize that the righteous do not need a doctor, but the sick, and that God has called all people everywhere to repentance, not public ridicule.
One of my favorite conversations I’ve had recently was with an older Jewish woman named Mildred.
She let 3 or 4 trains go by to keep talking with me about being Jewish and believing in Jesus!
She told me that her next-door neighbor is a Pastor, a really great guy and that she thinks I sound just like him by the way I talk about God. I’ve already contacted the Pastor and we’re praying for Mildred’s salvation!
Here’s a quick funny story. I gave a Chinese woman a booklet in Chinese and her son, about age 9, gave me “high-fives.” I said “Zai Jian” (goodbye) as they got into their train, and the boy’s jaw dropped and I heard him say, “Wow, Mom! He speak Chinese!” Of course that was one of the only phrases I know in Chinese! 🙂 Please keep the many Internationals we meet in prayer, that God would save many of them.
We had a run-in with the Police that worked out amazingly-well!
I was leading a team by myself, and a Subway Inspector came up to me and was obviously agitated. He commanded me to leave immediately because he said what I was doing was illegal.
Typically, if approached by authorities, we move on to another location. It’s a big city after-all. But I felt convicted to calmly stand my ground. So I asked him to please tell me what law my team and I were breaking. (I knew that we weren’t breaking any laws.)
He told me that nobody wants to hear what I’m saying and that this was, and I quote, “his house” and he’s kicking me out.
Now I knew that he really just didn’t like the Christian message, but that doesn’t mean he can bully people he doesn’t agree with.
So I respectfully told him that if he couldn’t site a law I was breaking, then I would continue to stay at this spot.
He told me he wanted me to come with him, but I asked him under what authority he could detain me. (I knew he had no authority.)
He got more angry, and told me he’d call the police and I agreed that he should do that.
Here’s where this gets really amazing! Typically when the Police get involved, they side with the Subway Inspector. Also, typically when I preach in the open air, I get a few people to take gospel tracts and sometimes they say nice things to me. But this time it was different in a GREAT way!
The Police Officer arrived just as I began preaching a message using an actual manger as an object lesson for the gospel. And I rarely get such an overwhelmingly positive crowd of listeners. I literally had people coming up to me to shake my hand and thank me. I had parents bring their children up to touch the manger and to take the gospel tracts. And the Police Officer saw all of this! (The message was captured on video and you can watch it below. It’s about 4 minutes long.)
Still, the Police typically do side with the Subway Inspectors, and this Officer did ask me to leave.
I asked him what law I was breaking and he said that the Inspector said I was being obnoxious in sharing my faith.
So I asked him if he thought I was being obnoxious, and he stopped, thought about it, and said, “No, I don’t think you are.
I suggested that the Subway Inspector doesn’t like Christianity and was misusing his position to break the First Amendment, and the Police Officer agreed with me! He told the Subway Inspector that I wasn’t doing anything wrong and he needs to allow me to continue! That’s an amazing victory for Jesus and I’m soooo excited to report it to you so we can all rejoice!
I don’t know the name of the Subway Inspector who was so angry, but please lift him up in prayer that God will reach him. If God can save me, He can save anybody!!!
Here’s a very-short Christmas-themed message I shared in the open-air down in the subway. I invite you to spend four minutes to check it out to see what it looks like to share Christ underground.
Please enjoy these photos that were recently taken in the subway…
https://picasaweb.google.com/102024819319825275847/201401Subway
I hope this update encouraged you! And please come and join our team in the subway sometime!!!
Thank you for your prayers, notes of encouragement, and financial support. Without all of those, we could not be reaching the lost for Jesus Christ!
Please feel free to share this with others you think would be encouraged by it!
all for Jesus,
Mark (and family)
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