Saturday was another great day @ SMI. Heres a snapshot of the major events:
-We spent half the day going door-to-door in HP and then most came back to the Bala house a little earlier than usual, 3:30 pm, due to the 100+ degree heat index.
-The pool was the place to be after we got back.
-Dinner @ 6 included the worlds best chili and cornbread.
-The talent show started at 7:45 and the opening act was an increasingly irresistible band sensation called 2 Samuel 12:7 which reads thou art the man KJV. Many excellent acts were displayed from different styles of dance to skits and poetry. We ended the show with salsa dancing lessons for everyone.
In other, even more awesomely exciting news: Our patient A accepted our invitation to meet us at Grace and Peace (our church) on Sunday, another patient A is making strides towards letting go of a grudge towards his neighbor with God’s help, and patient R accepted Christ as their Savior.
Theres an interesting story about R. We had been going door-to-door for at least an hour prior to their visit, knocking on about 20-some doors with either no answer or no interest in having us come in. The fact that it was a Saturday morning made us think that most people were sleeping. In the case no one answers, we pray for the people living in the house that God would become real to them or that they would hear the gospel (something along those lines). One of those times we were praying I had Psalm 23 pop into my head.
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his names sake.
So I prayed it.
Lord, lead us to the doors where you want us to go so that we can tell about how you restore our souls.
A few doors later, we met R. She was not interested in any physical health assessments, but instead welcomed us because we also wanted to talk about spiritual health. We later found out that R had been fighting cancer for 15 years. When we asked her about her faith background she mentioned she was Catholic, but she did not have any understanding of the afterlife. She said she did not read her Bible because she never liked it that much. However, she did have a favorite passage, one that her mother read her when she was a little girl Psalm 23! We later went on to explain what we believe and the hope we have in Jesus, and she wanted to commit her life to Christ. It was such a privilege to share that time with R and reflect on how God answered our prayers in such a distinct way.
Heres a peaceful song on Psalm 23. I find it refreshing to go back and dig into a really familiar passage like this one because there’s always plenty more to uncover. If you’re adventurous, sit back, close your eyes, and meditate on the words. “The Lord is my shepherd. He leads me perfectly “Sam