For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ

The work here is progressing-- boldly, nobly, and independently-- but no surprise there! I am learning that the work of the Lord does continue always, but we must chose whether we sit and watch as it marches swiftly past us, or if we will jump in and join the ranks of the Lords Army.

This week Hna. Clark and I decided to do things a little differently. Scared of the white people that live in our area, we had softened our door approach-- barely mentioning the name of the church, and mostly offering to sweep their driveway, if their hired help hadn't gotten around to it anyway. This, turns out, it hardly an effective way of spreading the light and knowledge of the gospel. So, after an inspiring chat with our wise and beloved sister trainers, some serious thought and a lot of prayer, Hna Clark and I decided on our approach.

Knock, Knock, Knock!

"Uh... Hi. Can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Sister Clark, and this is Sister Hales."

"We're the new Missionaries in the area, and we wanted to come meet you and your family."

"Can we come in and teach a message about Jesus Christ?"

And wouldn't you know it, some people actually say "Yes!"

Cleo is from Egypt, and though she feels firmly set in her Egyptian Orthodox Christianity (ask Dr. Griggs all about that!!) she invited us into her sitting room, and offered us something to drink.

While she was up turning off the TV, Sister Clark turned to me, "NOW what do we do?!"

Well, we did what Missionaries of Jesus Christ do-- we taught her about the Lord's Gospel.

And that was just the first day. Since then, we have seen a change in the way the Lord works with us.

When we stand up, boldly for what the Lord has taught us, He is there, just as he promised the prophets and missionaries before us. "There I will be also, for
Yesterday we found Iris. A few years ago she "converted" from Catholicism to Christianity, but recently, she has not been back to church. There was recently a death in her family, and some other trials, and she just didn't feel like her old church was centered on Christ. They just got together to say they went to church, but that's not what church is about.

I thought about the line in PMG that says the Elect are looking for the church, but sometimes they just don't realize it yet. Cleo doesn't know that she's looking for the one true church, but she will recognize it. We taught her parts of the first discussion and set a return appointment for next week.

And I wonder what she would have said if we'd knocked on her door "Hi, we're representatives of Jesus Christ, but we're too scared today to teach-- can we do your breakfast dishes?"

"I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up."

This is the greatest work ever.