Tag Archives: Missions

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A Passion For Souls

Last week, I was reading my Bible in Romans:

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:”~ Romans 9:1–3

Ouch. I don’t think I can honestly say that even my grandparents or other close family, much less the average American or Briton, my ancestors. Not even my own siblings. Is that wrong? Is Paul saying that we need to so badly want our family, fellow-citizens to be saved that we would go to Hell if it meant they would go to Heaven? I don’t know. I don’t think so; but could we perhaps want it enough that we would go outside our comfort zone? You could spend $2,000,000,000 on tracts, missions, etc and it would be easier than going to Hell. Could you give $20, $50, $100? It would be far easier to spend the rest of your life as a missionary in Africa or China. Are you willing to go on a missions trip, knock on some doors, hold a banner? “The Lord is…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (1 Pt 3:9)

There is no greater reward than to know that someone has come to Christ through something you have done. Your reward will be great in Heaven. Let us see souls the way God sees them, get a passion for them, and get out of our comfort zone and do something for them. “Hear their cry…”

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Friday Nights in Auckland

My apologies again for taking so long, but with institute, a computer science course, and several repairs on the house, car, and computer, I haven’t had much time :). However, here is something about one the things we did in New Zealand.

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, with 1,377,200 people living within its limits. The city  is 402 sq.  mi (1042 sq. km) with a high point of 2,257 ft (688m), and a low point of sea level (It is on the coast, after all ;)). Auckland is known as the City of Sails due to the large number of sailboats based there. It was to this city that we went, every Friday night, with our Bible, tracts, and Scripture signs.

Auckland City's location within New Zealand

Auckland City’s location within New Zealand (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Auckland has a bit of the feel of New York City, but without quite as many people. But just because there were not as many people does not mean that there was no one to talk to; there were too many! We did what we could, but there were many people nearby that did not get the message of Christ. Throughout the time that I was in New Zealand, the only people we saw more than once  in Auckland were the police patrol in that area and the shop owners, with the exception of three young men that we saw twice. The good news is that we were not alone. Almost every night there were people right across the street from us, and a few times Pastor Gustafsson came out with a few of his members. Of course, we had the typical strange encounter now and then, such as: a drunk man arguing with me about something so crazy and mystical I can’t even remember what it was, a man dancing to music from another man (the funny thing was that he looked like a marionette), and the cookie vendor who gave Matthew and I some free macadamia nut cookies, which were a premium cookie, although this was more nice than strange. All in all, we had a great time while giving out the gospel. It was also during one of these nights that Jillian met Vicki, a student at Auckland University, which led to a Bible study at the University. That’s all for now; I’ve got to leave some for more posts, after all.

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New Zealand

The Snyder FamilyIt’s now “official”; I’m going to New Zealand! I’ll be helping the Snyder’s, a missionary family we’ve known for years. Originally, I was going for one year, but, due to new requirements for religious workers, I am not able to apply for a work visa (needed for a visit longer than three months). Instead, I will be going on a three-month visitor visa and applying for a work visa over there to finish out the year if we get the necessary paperwork in time. I will be leaving New York around Memorial Day, stopping in California to visit relatives, and arriving in New Zealand on June 2.  Some of the things we will be doing include:

  • Children’s Bible club
  • Teaching in the schools
  • Nursing homes
  • Street preaching
  • And whatever else Mr. Snyder says

Please pray for me and the Snyder family. I will be posting updates as often as possible.