WRITE YOUR OWN STORY!

The card was staring me in the face!  I gazed back and said, “I LOVE this card!”  I am so thankful for the story that God has given me.  It’s the story of Jesus in my life and the thrill of sharing Him with others.

We each have stories.  We each have adventures.  How imperative it is to relish the life episodes that come with our name emblazoned on them…from God!

This blog is entitled “Ministry Adventures with Cathy.”  How would you define an “adventure”?  Adventure means “an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous experience or activity.”  “Escapade” is a synonym for adventure.  Escapade means “an act or incident involving excitement or daring.”  Really?  Hazardous and daring?  Perhaps I should change the name of the blog.  Although….

I have several good friends who enjoy fantastic adventures…traveling hither and yon.  “Hither” for me consists of driving to various neighborhoods, some out-of-town, or out-of-state, to speak at churches, Bible studies, and/or gatherings of one sort or another.  The “one sort or another” could become hazardous!  A young man pulled a gun on me in Central Park when I was sharing Jesus with him within a group setting.  “Yon” is traveling to the East coast once every few years to speak at churches and meet one-on-one with people.  At times the “one-on-one” scenarios prove to be rather daring esp. when I’m ejected from a pre-arranged appointment or flung against a large garbage dumpster because I gave a man a pamphlet about Jesus!  But, when I think of my journeying friends who are truly relentlessly escapading (??), I wonder how I could keep up that pace as so much is transpiring on the homefront.  And, I’m LOVING the homefront!  Are you following me?  (Am I following me?!)

Within the last three weeks I’ve participated in two Missions Conferences which have been enormous blessings.  I listened to the stories of others…of how God has gifted them with divine encounters…of how challenges became victories!  And I shared the same.  Every one of us was passionate.  I pray that I will always listen passionately to the stories of brothers and sisters in the Lord because they are from God!  Within the last three weeks with out-of-state company visiting, I remained on the homefront. Therefore, I engaged in regular ministry activities which included studying, writing, and delivering 16 messages, connecting with those who attend the multiple classes, and coordinating a Purim (book of Esther) celebration in addition to arranging multiple Passover Seders.  Sounds mundane, you say?  Au contraire!

One afternoon at a retirement community where God has placed us to teach a weekly Bible study for nearly 14 years, a sweet Holocaust survivor, having lived through five concentration camps, joined me in singing, “Jesus Loves Me This I Know”!

A Jewish Caregiver and her client who is a Holocaust survivor, asked me if they had missed the Messiah!  The Caregiver came to faith in Jesus!

The Jewish man’s face expressed shock when I told him that Jesus is the Messiah.  “You know the Messiah?  Please tell me about Him.”  We talked for two hours.  I discovered that this dear man, claiming to be an atheist, while growing up in Russia had many questions about God!  During his youth he voiced those queries but was told he couldn’t be given the answers as he is Jewish!  My friend and I asked him if he knew God loved him.  His answer was “Yes.”  We asked our dear friend if he believed Jesus died for him.  He desired to ponder the answer.  During our next visit he reminded us of our question and conveyed that he believed Jesus died for him.

During a Bible study with mostly Jewish people, I asked, “Why did the multitudes follow Jesus?”  One frail, rather cantankerous woman who continually told us that she had been dragged to the Bible study kicking and screaming, answered with, “Because He is God!”  Years later, one month before she died, my friend, Evelyn, prayed to receive Jesus.

We sat with a Jewish Caregiver from South Africa.  My friend had given her a book about Jesus.  Helene shared, “I’ve got to tell you, I’m absorbed with Jesus.  I’m wondering if we (the Jews) missed Him.  I never thought that Christians cared for Jewish people.”  Her absorption with Jesus led to her placing her faith in Him!

My new Jewish friend met us at a bustling restaurant.  She walked toward our booth passing many luncheon guests, waving her hands and yelling, “I believe Jesus is the Messiah, I believe I’m a sinner… what do I do now?”  That day my new Jewish friend became a new creation in Jesus.

Adventure?  Excitement?  INDEED!  For me it doesn’t get any better!

During the past three weeks with all the uplifting journeying, God led me again to Acts 18:9-10 - Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you…for I have many people in this city.  And to that, I say, “GLORY HALLELUJAH!”

I will be forever grateful to live and breathe in this rock solid, soul-stirring adventure as I tell HIS story for HIS glory!

Cathy Wilson
cathylouwilson@live.com