Texas weather never ceases to amaze us. As we set up our table, we had the weatherman’s assurance of a beautiful but windy day. We no sooner were set up when a neighboring vendor said, “Look over there,” as he pointed to the South. There were some VERY threatening black clouds….as Curt reminded me of the weather report. Within a few minutes (which is very typical of Texas clouds), they not only disappeared but left not a drop of rain. The day turned out to be very beautiful and not even windy, however, a breeze was much appreciated with the temps in the 90’s.We continue to learn there is no such thing as ‘typical’ as far as visitors to the table outreach are concerned. Throughout the day bunches of kids saw the color crayons and pictures, and what child isn’t interested in dinosaurs? All 30 copies of the coloring sheets and crayons left the table! Kids love dinosaurs, and it’s so easy to connect with creation, even with Behemoth, mentioned in the Book of Job.
A fellow showed up at the table, and we weren’t sure what he was after. He opened a conversation with a ‘nice arrow,' to which he responded with quite a spiel on how he and a theater-type group will use it as they perform skits on Maya Indian legends. He went into quite some detail on some of the Maya and other Native Indian pagan practices, emphasizing Maya prophecy of the 2012 coming of the Messiah. Along with the arrow, he noted the frequent use of the Star of David! He appeared to be connecting Christianity with paganism. Of course, hind-sight kicked in later on why we didn't ask him more about what exactly he believed.
Our Pastor made his usual brief visit, and it was fun to listen to him discuss the prospect of visiting our missionaries who just left for Honduras. As he left, we reminded him how blessed and encouraged we are by his faithful visits to the table outreach.
Ahhh, then came ‘Sylvia’. Sylvia began preaching boisterously to us about the love of God for everyone. She asked what THE name of God was and asked me to look up Psalm 83:18 in my Bible. She was adamant about the name of ‘Jehova’, whereas my Bible said ‘Lord’ (NKJV), even after I said ‘God’ has many names like ‘Jehova Jira, Jehova Nissi’, etc.. She then continued with her ‘ministering’, now on the belief that everyone has a ‘second chance’ at heaven and then asked for our name and phone number…. which I gave her. I then asked her, "With what denomination are you affiliated?"......We should have known…..Jehovah’s Witnesses. There again, hind-sight later kicked in with God’s truth in Exodus 3:13 & 14 …. “Moses was told by God to tell Pharaoh “I AM” is My name and He that sent you.
How exciting, a gal and her brother started checking and pulling out ‘Mormon’ materials off our table and then reported she was Mormon. I pray the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself in a mighty and powerful way, as I think she is going to be more than a little surprised that the materials refute Mormonism.
Another exciting young visitor was interested in our two booklets on Creation/Evolution.
Fun, Fun, Rueben and Annie – our mentally challenged friends greeted us with open arms – we haven’t seen them for a couple of months
And it’s already 12:00 with 3 more hours to go. Oh Lord, how we thank you for each person You send to our Table. We pray for Your continued wisdom for the remainder of the day here on Jackson St. Give us a calm Spirit as we speak with many people with differing ideas as to who You are. Help us to be a shining light for our neighboring vendors…And the strength and stamina to attend a quincenera (15 years old) in Matamoros, MX afterward.
It was a looooong, but GREAT day!!!
Curt and Janie Rolf
Rio Grande Valley, TX
