2 Witnessing Stories (from my Bus driving adventures)

I wanted to relate to you two stories of ministry that occurred recently at my work at Aristocrat Limo and Bus Company:

1st- This past Spring, I sent out the following e-mail in my June 4th "Prayer Notes": "Pray for a man named Greg- the husband of my tour guide in Philadelphia this week, Candi. As we were talking, she mentioned that her husband had non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and that he was receiving a Stem Cell transplant next week. As many of you know, Sue's brother, George, received a stem cell transplant over 25 years ago, when it was a relatively new procedure. So, I had lots to share with her about our experience. When I mentioned about putting his name on my "Prayer Notes" e-mail, she broke down, and cried. You could see that she was deeply moved that many perfect strangers would bring his name up to the Lord in prayer. So, pray for him, that his treatment would go well, and that this entire process would draw both of them closer to the Lord." Well, I saw Candi again recently while taking a tour group to Philadelphia. I recognized the name, and when I saw her, I said, "I remember you from a previous tour- how are you?" Well, she remembered me, and remembered our talk, and in about 3 minutes, she related how she remembered that we had prayed for her husband, and that OUR PRAYERS WORKED. She said that he had the transplant, and that he is doing much better. She had taken the summer off to be with him, and help him with his rehabilitation. Now she is back to the work she loves- leading tour groups through Philadelphia. She related how much it meant to her that we would pray for her and her husband. She hoped that she would see me again to tell me how he did. Wow, my friends, sometimes we need to remember how deeply our prayers affect people, and how much they accomplish for the Kingdom! Keep up the good work of praying for these people.

2nd- I thank God for my conversation with another driver at Aristocrat named Joe. Joe was the man who trained me when I began work with Aristocrat. He is a retired policeman from Irvington, NJ (now living in Long Valley). We ended up doing a lot of local jobs together. We would sometimes get coffee together, and just talk. Again, I did the "asking questions" thing- just entered into his story, and kept on asking questions including the "faith question" (he is of a Catholic background). Last week, we had a cross country meet at Freedom Park in Randolph. And, while the runners were running, we just began talking. Soon, we began talking about our moms and dads. Both of his parents have died- dad in the late 1980's and mom in the late 1990's. Once again, I asked about how his faith impacted him at these moments. We began talking about life after death. I told him about my study entitled, "Life After Death". I started to relate to him some of the specifics about what the Bible teaches about the afterlife. Joe was really tracking with me, and said he never knew all of this. I talked about personal faith, about the faith of my mom & dad and my grampa (a Lutheran Minister who had a deep impact on me as a child), about how it was transmitted down to me, and how we were transmitting it down to our kids, etc. Then, Joe began to "unload" about some of the stuff he experienced as a cop- the first death he witnessed (as he was the first responder to a 19 year old kid who "OD'ed" on drugs), about the first time he ever had to draw his gun (fortunately, he didn't have to shoot), about some harrowing and "close call" times he had in his 25 years as a cop. Wow- I don't know that he ever had someone to "unload" all of this to- it just seemed to come out of him. He just was looking for someone to listen to. We both spoke about how much comfort and peace our faith gives us, especially at times of grieving and loss, etc., etc. Needless to say, this was a witnessing opportunity that the Lord had orchestrated...and, then, before you knew it- the kids came back from their cross country meet. Once again, my friends, I learned the importance of witnessing through listening and praying. Just listen to people- listen to their story- and bring in the "faith question" when you get the chance! And, pray for these people. Believe me- the Lord is working on them and in them, if you are ready to hear it and respond to it! Again, I thank God for the many opportunities I get to witness even in my everyday work driving a bus for Aristocrat! Little did I know when I took this job how much this would be a forum for ministry and a learning experience for me in relating ministry to everyday life.

Transition into a "House Church"

For the Christmas and New Year Holidays, we will be moving into a "house church" worship format after the final Bible Study and Prayer meeting. We will have Sunday School for the children and youth at 6:00PM, and Adult Bible study on issues regarding our proposed Statement of Faith. This will be followed by worship at 7:00PM (with messages on the Christmas holidays). Then, on December 31st (New Years Eve) we will move into a Sunday morning Sunday School/Adult Bible Study and Worship service. Here is a schedule for the next few weeks:
Sunday, December 3rd- 7:00PM- Final prayer meeting and Bible study- [Epilogue-"Master Plan"] (Address-Tom & Suzann Zoltner- 4 King Hill Ct. Denville)
Sunday, December 10th- 6:00PM- Sunday School for the Children and youth; Adult Bible study on our proposed Statement of Faith (Including such topics as The Bible, The Trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Salvation, the Church, the etc. The first topic of study will be the section on "Means of Grace", specifically Baptism and Holy Communion)
7:00PM- Worship (Zoltners- 4 King Hill Ct., Denville)- message on the Christmas theme
Sunday, December 17th- 6:00PM- Sunday School/Adult Bible Study
7:00PM- Worship (Mescalls- 6 Gunther Rd., Mendham)-message on the Christmas theme
Saturday, December 23rd (note change in day)- 5:00PM- family dinner
7:00PM- Worship (Location- Our Home- 1A Point Pleasant Rd)- message on the Christmas theme
Sunday, December 31st- begin morning Sunday School/Adult Bible Study & Worship
9:30AM- Sunday School/Adult Bible Study
10:30AM- Worship (Location- Our home- 1A Point Pleasant Rd.)
Sunday, January 7th- 9:30AM- Sunday School/Adult Bible Study
10:30AM- Worship (Location- Mescalls- 6 Gunther Rd., Mendham)
Please pray for us as we make this transition into our "House Church" format.