Day two of our missionary training was full of new experiences. Since we were working to become missionaries our training leaders said that we must be comfortable sharing the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus, with strangers. They gave each of us a bus pass and said, “We will see you back in three hours and we want to hear some good stories.” Talk about being out of our comfort zone!
We ended up in downtown Orlando Florida in the middle of a huge outdoor shopping area. Jennifer thought she would attempt talking to the store workers, she figured they couldn’t run away from her. She entered a Hollister store and asked the clerk, Rudy, where the clearance section was (she is a bargain shopper all the way). They struck up a conversation and he asked her why she was in town. As soon as she mentioned the word FamilyLife, his eyes locked onto hers. He said, very intently, “Do you do counseling?”
Rudy went on to describe that he was in a serious relationship with his girlfriend but they were running into some serious religious issues. He asked if their relationship could work...if there was hope. Then the Holy Spirit took over Jennifer and provided her with an inspiring response, “I don’t know about your personal relationship, but I do know that if your relationship with Jesus is not in the right place, none of your other relationships will be.” Jennifer continued to share with him about how to re-commit and strengthen his relationship with Jesus. As they ended their conversation Jennifer offered to pray for him. He said, “Yes...please, I can use all the prayer I can get.” Jennifer prayed with Rudy by the Clearance rack in the Hollister store.
About four weeks later, Jennifer decided to call Rudy and see how he was doing and to let him know she had been praying for him. Rudy shared that things were not going well with his girlfriend and he could really use someone to talk to. Earlier that same week we had gotten word that FamilyLife had rolled out eMentoring. eMentoring is an exciting new outreach of FamilyLife that connects people with an “email mentor”. Participants can remain anonymous and share their struggles with a trained FamilyLife volunteer mentor who will encourage and provide biblical resources and help. Jennifer encouraged Rudy to go to eMentoring and he showed great interest in getting signed up.
We may never find out the end of Rudy’s story but we do know God is in control and He gives each and every one of us the opportunity to touch people with the Love of Christ.
We challenge you today. If you know someone hurting or struggling in their marriage or family, encourage them to visit www.familylife.com and click on the “Get Help” link. Give it a try! We would love to hear your good stories.
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