Confessions of a Pittsburgh Missionary: It Won't Return Empty

July 4-18, 2015

I know I’m terribly behind on a blog update so I am going to update you on the past two weeks once again. I am finding it harder to keep up with all of the paperwork and office work that has to be done this year much more than last year. I’m not totally sure why but if you think of it, please pray for me! My office to do list can get a bit overwhelming at times. Hence why I’m making it a priority to blog (it was one of the more fun things on my to-do list).

July 5-10 started another week of ministry and once again we had two clubs. AJ had left me for Mahaffey yet again. So Mary Cooper, a Westmoreland County summer missionary, came and stayed with me so she could help out in Pittsburgh. I was very grateful for her help. We had two clubs. Our first club of the day was at Rankin Christian Center. Chloe and I had gone to this club last year and had a blast with the kids. Once again, Mary and I had a blast with the kids this year. They were certainly a lively bunch that kept both of us on our toes. But they were also passionate and enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed them.  Our evening club was my home church, Fellowship Alliance Church, Soccer Camp. This started on Sunday and went until Thursday. It was a delight to have Cathy and the rest of her crew join us to help out Sunday through Tuesday. It’s always fun when we get to work together. At soccer camp, the kids spend most of their time learning soccer skills and playing the sport, but during a 30 minute rotation, they sit and listen to a story from us. The CEF team does a lightening round club (cutting out most everything except a Bible lesson, memory verse, and a few songs). We get to see a lot of kids and it’s a lot of fun. On the last night of soccer camp, it rained and we had to huddle under roof. I was pleased that since we were confined to the small dry place, all of the parents that had stayed also heard the gospel as I presented it to the children. We didn’t hear about any decisions made by parents, but the word of God does not return void. Pray for any seeds that were planted in the hearts of parents. By the end of the week, we had 9 salvations at Rankin and 2 at Soccer camp. Praise God!

Harvey enjoys helping us set up for Soccer Camp.

July 13-17 was an interesting week. AJ was back and his younger brother, Caleb, also tagged along a couple days. We had three clubs. The first two clubs were at housing developments in McKeesport.

Our first club at Crawford Village went relatively well. There were both good days and bad days. Sometimes the kids could get a little rowdy but in mind, they behaved pretty well. I got nervous when we arrived on the first day and the director of the YMCA program that we partnered with came up to me and said, “We’ll do our best to help you… we’re rooting for you. We have twice as many kids as last year.” With that expectation in place, anything short of chaos was bliss. Later in the week he told me that for some reason they only had half as many kids as usual and they were giving us their best behavior. While part of me was disappointed to hear there were a lot of kids that we were missing, I believe it was also a blessing in disguise. A team of 2 or 3 simply couldn’t have handled a crowd as big as he said they usually had. While I would have loved to reach more kids, I’m not sure any of them would have heard the gospel if the room was chaotic the whole time. In moments like these it’s best to remember that God is sovereign. While I would have opted for more kids, God knew who needed to be there and knew what we could handle. We still reached 44 children at Crawford and saw 12 of them make first time salvation decisions.

The second club of the day was at Harrison Village. Harrison was one of the more challenging clubs I have ever done. Last year it was a difficult location because there was no structure and we couldn’t get any of the kids to participate in the club. We had to do open air activities like face painting and other games instead of a club. I was pleased to hear this year that they had reopened a YMCA lunch program and this year there would be some sort of structure for us. The kids at Harrison were great. I was excited to Sinai again, a little girl I’d run into last year that accepted and noticeably changed in her behavior for the Lord. The kids were enthusiastic and I could tell they enjoyed having us. The YMCA leaders, however, could not have cared less that we were there. We soon discovered that our new challenge at Harrison was no the children, but the leaders. The leaders gathered around a desk while we did the program with the children. They played cards and didn’t bother to talk quieter than usual. Occasionally they would even burst out laughing or yell across the room to someone. Most of the leaders were really nasty to the kids and yelled at them for even small things. It was really ironic when they’d scream at the kids any time they got even mildly jittery or noisy. Since we were in their domain, I didn’t feel comfortable asking them to be quiet. So AJ and I learned how to use our stage voices even in a small classroom. I made sure to thank the leaders before leaving on Friday. One of the leaders told me “thank you” and that she had really enjoyed. I don’t know if she meant that, enjoyed it because we took care of the kids for an hour, or was just being polite. But all of those leaders sat in the room while we shared the gospel with the kids, both at Harrison and at Crawford. I may never know what effect we had on the adults in both of those rooms. But I know that God’s word is powerful and does not return empty.

Kids playing games in the gym at Rankin Christian Center.

One little girl at Harrison Village stole my heart. She came back to talk to me one day and I started going over the gospel with her. When I asked her, “Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you?” She shook her head no. Now if you have never been involved in children’s ministry before, you may not know that it is very rare to find a child that doesn’t believe in Jesus. There is a reason that God calls us to a “child-like” faith, it’s because children readily believe! But this little girl, Leilani, didn’t. I asked her why and she told me that she wasn’t sure she could believe that Jesus died and rose again if she was there to see it. And she wasn’t sure she could believe in God if she couldn’t see him. My heart broke for her. I explained some reasons why we can believe in God like using the “air is invisible but it’s there” analogy or even explaining that I could feel God because I had a relationship with him. But none of them convinced her.  I explained to her that I didn’t want to convince her, I wanted her to believe on her own. I told her to pray and ask God to show her if he really is real. She felt kind of strange praying that, but I also prayed for her. I didn’t see her after that so I don’t know if God had shown himself to her or not yet. I believe God can work miracles for little Leilani and reveal himself to her in a way that is meaningful to her. I don’t know how he will do it yet, but I know he can. Pray with me, that God will speak to Leilani and that she will have an open mind and heart when he does. I may never find out what happens to Leilani, but I know that the word of God does not return void.

Our third club for the week was with a church in Allison Park. That club was completely different from the first two clubs of the day. We still had fun with the kids though and I was impressed with a lot of their knowledge of the Bible or quick-wittedness. At the end of the week we had reached 97 children between all three clubs and seen 15 salvation decisions. 

Pray with me for all of the leaders, parents, and children that heard the gospel in these past two weeks. Pray that the gospel would resonate in their hearts and speak loudly to them. Pray that God would reveal himself, not only to Leilani, but everyone who hears the gospel. The word of God does not return void. I don’t know how the gospel will change those that heard it these past weeks, but I know it will.

Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”