New things

We had a cool couple of weeks here. I thought I would share a bit about them (though, warning, I am extremely tired and should be in bed so this may be short and to the point). Last week was the community Empire Days and we rented a spot at the street market and handed out free lemonade (homemade mint lemonade at that!). It was really cool because people were so shocked at getting something for free. Our purpose was to get some recognition in the community and to invite people out to a barbecue this week. We handed out almost 500 cups of lemonade and it was so much fun. We had a few interesting conversations about faith and got a bit of a flavour for what the area is like.

So... this week was the BBQ. We had no idea how many people to expect and planned for 50-80 (I pushed DH to do more than we should have, just in case), but had about 35 people show up (including the Bible group). I don't think anyone from the market days actually came, no that's not quite true. A bunch of kids (the lost boys we called them) who were next to us at the market (mom was selling hotdogs) came out. The rest of the people were either from the Community Church, or knew someone from the church. We even went around the streets inviting whoever we saw to come out. And actually, a few people did come! I think we only had about 4 people sign up on our email sheet for more information on what we do next, but hey, that's 4 people!

The really cool part about it all is that the whole time I felt like we were living in Bible times. We went out on the streets 2x2 and looked for people to tell about our event. We had a meal together. We fed some people who probably don't get a lot of food. We encouraged some struggling people and built relationships. We modeled our faith for the people we are leading week by week. It was pretty awesome. I told DH that if Jesus were on earth today, this is the kind of thing I think He would be doing. And that, for me, says it all.

(And, P.S., I ended up talking to J and she responded soooo graciously and thoughtfully. I know I can go to her with anything and she is super-sensitive not to rub this in my face. I feel slightly ashamed of how I feel, but I can't help it. I'm totally happy for them... it just makes me sad for us too)