Seeds

Our prayer before going into the Mall of America was that the seed we spread that evening would fall on good soil. The fact is we knew that the seed also falls in the weeds, on rocky soil and is also plucked away by Satan before it can even hit the ground. Seeing that in action is heartbreaking.

Cathy Reed and I paired up. Our focus quickly became young people especially of color. Many had heard of Jesus because of their Catholic upbringing but didn’t understand grace. Juan, one of the first people we talked to, was visibly affected by what he heard about Jesus and his redeeming power. His friend was the one talking to us but Juan was listening to every word. At the end of our conversation, he accepted a Bible and put it in his pocket. He was courteous and polite. But will he read it? Oh, Lord, You work in mysterious ways.

Later we met two young ladies dressed in their finest but were timid. The one had such a beautiful smile and sweet spirit. She listened but it was apparent that the seeds were falling in the weeds. Her friend, more sophisticated and worldly, told us her religion is shaman. (I heard the word but wasn’t sure what it meant until I looked it up later. They believe they can connect to the spirit world and gain powers through trances.) Talk about seed being plucked from the air! Watching her as Cathy spoke, she looked like she was in a trance and you could almost see the scales over her eyes. Her spirit was definitely wrapped up by the power of death and we prayed fervently for them both afterwards. It is so heart breaking to see.

We move on and come across a group of six laughing and having fun. Cathy catches the eye of one of the young men to start a conversation. The two young women hanging onto N. are interested for a moment until they realize where Cathy was taking them and they slide back to the others. It is not long before the others become restless and want to leave but N. is still listening to Cathy intently. They tried to text him but with no luck. Finally, one of them tugs at his sleeve as he walked away to encourage N. to go with them. N. didn’t appear to even notice or care that his friends abandoned him. He is soaking up all that Cathy is saying. Is it possible? Did we find good soil? Oh, Lord, let it be so! He asked some questions. It is easy to see he is not only intelligent but has a gentle, strong spirit. Once we said our good-byes, both of us were giddy over our encounter. N. is one that the Lord will use – we don’t know when or how but we are confident it will happen.

It is incredible how much confidence you have when you feel the Holy Spirit’s presence and see Him working. We know just who to talk to and who to avoid. There up ahead was a group of teen boys and they looked like tough guys with their punked up hair, clothes and jewelry but Cathy shows no fear. “Let’s talk to them.” At first they didn’t know what to think of two middle-aged white suburban women wanting to talk to them. One of them tried to fool us into thinking he couldn’t understand English. (Kids really do think we just fell off the turnip truck, don’t they?) But he, Daniel, and one other boy were listening most carefully. What is the law? Are you a good person? Will you be found innocent or guilty before God? Does that concern you that you are guilty and going to hell? Do you know about Jesus and grace?  Questions that they may have never considered before tonight. Daniel was captivated. Cathy told him his name means “God is my judge” and his eyes widened and he smiled. We are not sure what type of soil those seeds landed in but there is no doubt that the Holy Spirit convicted them that night. Now we pray that they will make the right choice. 

Paula