Kathie: At the Plaza on Easter Sunday afternoon we were anticipating the impact that might be made by the showing of THE CROSS from the Billy Graham My Hope America videos. We had already decided to use monitors instead of big screen, then because of technical problems ended up just showing it on a laptop. But the sound system was strong so the message was heard throughout the plaza.
During setup I spoke with a young couple Brittany and Brad who had both been transient for several months and met during that time, became friends and now are engaged. I told them about the video that was getting ready to start and they seemed interested and went right over to the benches by the setup, even though Brittany had never heard of Billy Graham.
They were very absorbed in the video and I was looking forward to talking with them when it was over. But just before the end they suddenly got up and walked over to join some friends down the walk.
I was trying to think of a way to break into the group without being too obnoxious since they seemed to not have interest in speaking further. In the meantime Jim made some follow up comments about the video over the PA and ended with the invitation for anyone who would like to have someone pray for them to come over and speak to one of us. Immediately a young woman from the group of friends started purposefully toward me and Brittany was with her.
Allison shared a couple of needs and then gave Brittany a chance to share a request. She said she and Brad were trying to get to family in Tennessee where they have jobs and shelter lined up, but didn’t have money for bus tickets. She asked me to pray that they could find a way to get their tickets for the following day. I told the girls I would be glad to pray for those concerns, but first I talked to them about the importance of their own relationship with God.
Most of the conversation was with Allison, who said she was a believer, but expressed some pretty bizarre ideas that seemed to come from various experiences in her background. She was skeptical and resistant to much of what I offered, but I think Brittany is pretty much a blank slate when it comes to spiritual matters and she was listening to it all. Then I prayed for their specific needs and that God would reveal Himself to them in how he worked in those.
Eventually we said our goodbyes and I promised to continue to pray for them. I invited some more people to come in close for the second showing of the video and 2 of them did. Just after it ended I saw Brittany running down the walkway toward me with a huge smile on her face.
She came up and hugged me and said they had
received the money to buy their bus tickets for the next day!
Brittany and I ended up talking the whole time others were tearing down the equipment and loading vehicles. Brad came up for part of that time – he seemed to have more spiritual background although I didn’t get to talk much with him about his own relationship. But God got their attention and is certainly working in their lives in a very specific, personal, and obvious way. I have been praying that God will bring others into their lives who continue to draw them to the Savior.
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