Liberty University

Servant Evangelism Report 3

A paper submitted to Dr. Yat-Por Lau
In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the course EVAN 565

Liberty Baptist Theological seminary

By
Lisa Head

St. Gabriel, Louisiana
Saturday, June 22, 2013

Since beginning this course, I have turned my daily neighborhood walks into opportunities to spread the message of Christ. I have been more intentional about meeting my neighbors and learning about their life situations. Most are Christians, which is nice, and we exchange prayer requests. As I walk and pass their house, I lift them in prayer, which is a blessing to me, as I have developed many new relationships just by being intentional about speaking to people. On a walk this past week, I met an elderly gentleman who moved into the neighborhood about four months ago. He has a large piece of property that spent many years being ignored. He is always working in his yard, so I thought he might appreciate some help. I spent Saturday morning hoeing, weeding, and trimming trees with him. I had no idea if he had any spiritual beliefs, but decided to wait until we were sitting down to begin that conversation. Around mid-morning he invited me to sit on the porch with him and have some water, which I was more than ready for in South Louisiana heat! He asked me why I was helping him when he knew I had a large yard to care for myself. I told him that a shared burden lightens the load and then jumped out on a limb where I do not normally go so quickly. I told him that I was a Christian and I was grateful for Christ bearing my burden of guilt on the cross; therefore, I wanted to "go and do likewise" and help where I can to his glory. Mr. Wheldon looked at me for a few seconds and then began to share some personal information with me. He is 85, a widower, and moved out to the country because he could not stand life in a retirement community. His son and daughter-in-law are wonderfully helpful, but busy in their careers, so he spends much of his time alone. He confessed that he does not go to church, but believes that he connects with God as he works in his yard. I was able to honestly tell him, that I used to believe the same way. I used to believe that nature had its own spiritual connection and the more time I spent there, the more connected to God I felt. But then I came to know Jesus, and realized that I was missing out on a huge part of God's creation by isolating myself in nature. I was missing out on relationship with others, which we were created for! Then I asked him if he felt that lack as well. He admitted that he often did, especially since his wife died ten years prior. He did not seem to want to talk further at that point, so we went back to work, but when we got done, he gave me a hug and thanked me. I told him that I was grateful to God for the opportunity to get to know him better and I hoped he would consider coming to church with me sometime to get to know the best part of God's creation. He told me he would think about it. What a blessing it was to serve in God's name! Now every time I walk by, he waves me over to say hello. Next time I see him, my plan is to invite him again, and I hope and pray he will say yes!