The snow has finally melted in Latvia and God is opening more doors for effective ministry - but there are many adversaries (see 1Cor16:9).The week leading up to Easter was a great opportunity for evangelism. I went out everyday for about 2 or 3 hours, trying to give out as many "good person" comics as I can (I had another 3000 Latvian ones printed) they are actually twice as big as the ones we gave out last summer and people are drawn to them. Each day I've had dozens of conversations with individuals who never understood or never heard the gospel before.
The very first people that I spoke with on Tuesday were 3 young women sitting at a bench outside Riga's Central Station. They spoke English but I used as much Latvian as I could. They thought they were good enough to go to heaven but after going through the 10 commandments they understood they are guilty and destined for hell! So then we shared the good news of what God did for them so they could go to heaven and what they must do to be saved. One girl still had questions about the Bible but the other two were ready to turn to Jesus from their sins and trust in His death and resurrection to justify them. "The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ" (see Galatians 3:24). We prayed together there under the spring sun outside the train station. It was a great beginning of 6 days of evangelism.
But not everyone was as receptive. The second day on the train into Riga, I tried sharing with 7 different people and was rejected 7 times. No one sitting around me wanted a gospel tract and some spoke harshly against Christianity. So I got up and tried again with others, but still more cold shoulders. It made me upset and I started to question if I should go on that day or not. But God encouraged me with 1Peter chapter 1 and chapter 4. After reading that, I was ready to reach out again, counting it a blessing when I am insulted as a Christian. Each day, God sent at least one helper from our church along with me. Marion, Agnese and Christa faithfully shared the gospel with hundreds of people too. However, besides the faithful few, and inspite of all the tracts and invitations, no one new showed up at church Sunday
We'll continue meeting in Riga Sunday morning for English service and in Ogre Sunday afternoon for Latvian service. Both groups are small but growing in their knowledge of God. There's a total of 14 adults and 8 kids (including our family). Everyone is enjoying going through the Old Testament and finding Jesus. I taught the book of Ruth on Easter, showing how Boaz could be compared with Jesus Christ, as a kinsman redeemer. Plus a devotional about the evidence and importance of the resurrection of Christ.
We trust that the word of God will not return void. He is glorified through the preaching of the gospel. It's a blessing to see people repent and put their faith in Christ but you never know how many people we will see in heaven because they repented after they read a tract or talked with us. The test for effectiveness is not how many people show up at my church this Sunday but how much glory God gets on judgment day, and I think that sometimes he keeps us from seeing the fruit of our labors right away so that our joy and our crown will be in heaven. It is disappointing when no one new shows up at church but we need to be encouraged by looking to the Lord to keep our hand to the plow, not growing wearing in doing good, knowing that we will reap if we do not loose heart (Galatians 6:9). His word will not return void (Isaiah 55). Our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1Cor 15:56). He has appointed us to bear much fruit that will remain (John 15).
So that's a short update of what's going on here. I'd love to receive an encouraging comment from anyone keeping up with this blog. Thanks for reading!
