John Heron and Alan Evans have kindly provided this report from the Keswick Market.  

The weather proved to be a typical December day with the usual rain but thankfully no wind.

It was a joy to meet so many Christians who called to encourage us and sharing how the Lord was blessing them and their church.

The number of passers-by increased later in the day and many happily accepted a Christmas leaflet and a number of children had a go with the Guessing Box.

Two young men from Bangladesh, many of whom belong to the Muslim faith spent time talking about the Christian faith and they took tracts away. Pray they will find the truth in Jesus.

Another two young men from Glasgow pushing their father in a wheelchair engaged in conversation and when offered leaflets, taking them one said out brother needs this i.e “Purpose of your Life” – do pray for this family. 

Later in the afternoon, a stall holder came and asked us to pray for her having walked up to a stall where she learnt the young man who worked on the stall and had sadly taken his life earlier in the week – do remember these dear people with real needs.

John Heron and Alan Evans

John Heron and Alan Evans have kindly provided this report from the Keswick Market.  

It was great to see the sun shining at Keswick as we set up the stall. 

We enjoyed a wonderful day of witness for the Lord. A group of young people arrived - one lad in particular asking for a Bible which he promised to read. While we were still talking to these young people, a middle aged man walked up and spoke to Alan saying, “I would never normally come to a stall like this but a number of circumstances have taken place in my life which are more than coincidences. I am beginning to think there must be a God and need some answers.” It was a joy to help this seeking soul. We gave him ’10 Reasons to Believe in the existence of God’ – please pray he will find the Lord. 

A lady came looking for a booklet for a friend who was dying of cancer. After searching for a suitable tract, she left only to return in an hour asking for more as the tract was so good and she had other friends who would benefit from the tract. What a privilege to share the Gospel to both young and old as they passed by and took tracts and how blessed we were to meet a good number of Christians from different parts of the country and we left with the sun not only shining in the sky but in our hearts.

John Heron and Alan Evans

Robbie Williams and John Heron have kindly provided this report from the Keswick Market.  

In contrast to last Saturday, the forecast was appalling. We thank the Lord that most of the day there was no wind and the sun even came out for an hour. 

In the morning, we had a long talk to a young lady who was disillusioned with the Catholic Church – we spent time explaining the difference between religion and true Christianity and a relationship with the Lord Jesus – she readily took “Why Jesus”. 

Many children stopped to use the Guessing Box giving us the opportunity to hand out sweets, pictures, booklets and bookmarks, not missing out parents who often are happy to accept tracts. 

A young Asian man was happy to talk and after explaining to him the simplicity of the Gospel, he admitted to the emptiness in his life and he gladly took a tract and the “On your Mark” booklet. A little while later another Asian man asked for a Bible, do pray the Word of God will produce much fruit. 

We returned home encouraged by the many good conversations as we encountered so many open and seeking souls not forgetting other Christians who gave encouragement to us.

Robbie Williams and John Heron. 

Jim McCallum and John Heron have kindly provided this report from the Keswick Market.  

We were so blessed with great weather – no wind or rain and lots of sunshine. There were many opportunities to share the Gospel, soon after we set up, a young lady from York stopped and shared how she was brought up as a Catholic but was now seeking the truth, asking for a Bible and taking literature which will show her the way to the Lord.

A girl from Slovakia asked if she could have a Bible and also a lady from Liverpool took a large print Bible. A number of young people came to the Guessing Box, a great opportunity to share with Parents. 

One of the stall holders called especially to say how sorry she was to hear of David Locke’s passing away and expressed much appreciation for his words of counsel and help. 

We spent quite a time talking to a young man who was a muslim and was now an atheist, he was happy to talk of his spiritual journey and said he would listen to us if we would look on a particular web site. He happily took a Bible and Why Jesus – please pray that the Lord will speak through His Word.

Jim McCallum and John Heron

John & David Filby have kindly provided this report from the Keswick Market.  

A glorious day with sunshine, blue sky and a crowd of almost 30,000.It was good to have the support of my wife and Tom and Margaret Dawson from Ulverston at various times of the day as by 10.00am the number of people visiting us increased steadily.  The first visitor was an Indian who read through “Why Jesus” before asking questions but saw no reason to give his allegiance to Christianity, Hinduism or any other faith.

During the day I spoke to over 70 people, a mixture of believers and unbelievers and a lot of children tried the guessing box.  The UCB publications –Extreme and Book of Hope are particularly useful for teenagers, “Journey into Life” and “Why Jesus “ great for general give away. The Radio Bible Class publications which answer specific points are a real help and the Daily notes as popular as ever.

It was good to have the folk from RBC visit the van, we are so grateful for the supply of literature and for the offer of new titles- many thanks!

It was a privilege to pray with a lady experiencing a difficult time in her life and not being a believer feeling she had no where to turn. WE talked about Jesus as comforter and counsellor.She was nervous about being prayed for but decided we should pray and afterwards thanked me with tears. I was reminded of how difficult it must be for unchurched folk to understand why we do things like praying, those are things we take for granted are unusual to many.

Prayer was requested – “Just pray for Jim who has been struggling with doubt for the last three months.

Tim has a great testimony and seeks to be light and salt in parliament – please pray for Tim .

So, the end of a fruitful day, thanks to all who visited the van with a word of encouragement, those who spelled me off from time to time- but it’s only just begun- seed needs watering with our prayers.

Gordon Egglestone - Westmorland show 10th Sept 2009

Robert McGibbon and Tom O'Donnell have kindly provided this report from the Cockermouth Show. 

After considerable rain in the days before the show, it was a surprise that, after a dull start to the day, there was no rain and the field seemed to dry out quickly. We were given a good site on a main thoroughfare, next to men selling wind turbines. Two of these men were very interested in the work of CGO, one was from CofE background and the other was from a Pentecostal Church.

The stall on the other side was for Guide Dogs for the Blind. As we already knew three of the helpers, it opened up conversations with the other 2 helpers. Please pray that something of what was said may be remembered.

Quite a number of children visited the stall to try out the guessing box and Tom entertained them with rope tricks which incorporated a gospel message. (It was convenient being opposite the toy stall.) It was a surprise to meet again a girl that had visited the stall with her father at Silloth. Also the lad whom we had helped get to first aid at the 2008 show with a bee sting called to say, "Hello and thank you again."

People seemed to be comfortable to take tracts for themselves and we had a good selection within easy reach.

Tom was able to renew contact with some of his customers to his dental lab.

At the end of the show a Christian young man who works on the Osprey project and was at the show representing RSPB, called to ask for prayer for his unbelieving girlfriend. He selected a number of tracts in the series "10 Reasons to Believe........." Pray these may point her to the Saviour.

Robert and Moira McGibbon with Tom O'Donnell.

Robert and Moira McGibbon have kindly provided this report from the Keswick Show. 

Keith and Marion Bullock have kindly provided this report from the Appleby Horse Fair.

Introduction

Here are just a few of the contacts we made … 

Just a few of the Contacts

Nicholas: A middle aged Irishman, who had travelled over for the Horse Fair. He was very friendly. He said that he’d been a Christian all his life, which meant that he had a wrong view of what a Christian was. He said he wasn’t very religious although he’d been brought up a Roman Catholic. He was very willing to listen and took a GOJ and a number of different tracts. We felt he was challenged by what he’d heard and he admitted that he really would have to give more thought to spiritual things. 

Glen: Glen was a local man, who lived in sheltered accommodation. He was a little on the simple side. He admitted that he had a sister who went to church. It turned out that one of the team with us knew his sister, and said that she was born again. It was good to be able to encourage Glen to listen more carefully to what his sister told him. he took a SOHCD because he said he liked to listen to his CD player at home. God can break through the barriers that this man has. 

Sonny: Four gypsy lads approached us and we thought that were bent on trouble. They had that look about them!! How wrong we were. Three of these lads, who were actual Christians, but the fourth, Sonny, wasn’t. It was great to encourage him to get right with the Lord. He knew what he had to do but didn’t want to give up a life of sin. He said that he was “enjoying himself too much”. He listened as we warned him of impending judgement if he failed to submit his life to Christ. He went a bit quiet, and his friends urged him to think again.

Paul: He was another local man, middle-aged, who had come to the church where we were based, thinking that a soup kitchen was on the go. It had been cancelled for that week. We had a nice chat with him, and with his limited ability, he managed to understand the basic idea of what it meant to be right with God. He took a SOHCD.

Colin: This elderly man, was a visitor, and just stopped to look at the literature on offer. At first he seemed to be quite sympathetic, saying he was a churchgoer. However when we began to get down to the challenge of the cross, and the fact that we were all sinners, he didn’t like it one little bit!! He told us to “back off” saying that if we persisted in saying what we’d said, he would walk away. We managed to calm him down and get the conversation back onto a more friendly footing. However he did take a number of leaflets, and said he would read them. His sister wasn’t much friendlier either. 
 
Stuart: He was an elderly Irishman who thought that the Bible was really just picture language. We explained to him that there were things in the Bible that were pictures of what would happen, and proceeded to tell him about the Passover, and it’s significance. He listened and we could tell he was quite intrigued by what he’d heard. The conversation really developed and we went on to talk about a creator God. Again he was quite fascinated by the views that we had, and said that he’d never really given it much thought. We gave him the book, “And God Said” which he was pleased to receive. He seemed to be quite an intelligent man, and we do believe he took on board a lot of what we’d said.
We also gave him a John’s Gospel. 

Christine and sister Sheila: Now this conversation was truly amazing, Various  team members spoke to Christine first. She was a very talkative middle-aged lady, whose sister could hardly get a word in edgeways. It turned out that she was in spiritualism and went to a Spiritualist church. She was adamant that this was right and that she’s found great comfort in it. We explained that just because she may have found comfort in it, that this didn’t make it right. She was the sort of person that you could pretty much say anything to, and she would take it on the chin. It transpired that she had had a bad experience of some church, and this had caused her to turn to spiritualism for help during a crisis in her life. As the conversation developed she took more and more booklets from us. She kept saying that we could never change her, and we agreed with that, saying only God could. Even though she said that she wasn’t about to convert, she still wanted the booklets and CD’s. She said that she would definitely read them. The “banter” was very good, and we were able to convey the truth in a friendly, but emphatic way. Sheila, her sister, listened all the way through, and made the occasional comment. They both went away really challenged with the gospel. We urged them to get away from the dangerous things they were dabbling in.
 
Don: A gypsy man in his 60’s who had come to Appleby to try and be reconciled to his wife, who he’d divorced 25 years before. There was every chance that this was going to happen. He was scrap metal trader, and extremely wealthy. He thought that all faiths led to God, but we managed to help him see the unreasonableness of that argument. It was a profitable conversation which ended with him taking a John’s Gospel and a Tel-It tract based on the theme of horses and racing. He seemed quite appreciative of the talk, and we parted on very good terms. We wished him well with trying to get back with his former wife.
 
Jimmy: He was an very arrogant gypsy man, in his 40’s who said he’d come to Appleby, from London, to have a “good time. He openly bragged about his sexual exploits!! We confronted him quite forcibly. His language was foul. Amazingly he didn’t seem to resent what we said, but calmly listened. We told him about how much God hates sin, and that one day, unless he repented and turned to Christ, he would face the judgment of God. It was quite hard hitting, but in the end he actually thanked us for talking to him. He wasn’t anywhere near as confident as he made out to be. A lonely, dissatisfied soul, who was trying to find some meaning to life. He took an Ultimate Questions and a John’s Gospel.
 
Tony: A gypsy man who John Heron had spoken to, on a number of occasions, over the years, when he had witnessed during the Horse Fair. He had resisted the Lord. However this year, he was invited by a gypsy evangelist, to hear the gospel at Appleby Methodist. Tony was saved on the Sunday evening. We were able to visit him at his caravan, and enjoy a cuppa with him and various members of his family. He was able to tell us of how the Lord had dealt with him. See photo above of man sitting on caravan step. This is Tony!

Robert McGibbon and Tom O'Donnell have kindly provided this report from the Silloth Show.

Tom and I arrived on Saturday morning at about quarter to nine.  The weather was so much better than last year  when there was constant rain.  The secretary  allocated our place on the middle row behind the main ring.  We pulled up just behind  a couple who had a caravan for the woman to tell fortunes from and the man had a stall for selling toys.  This man first complained that we weren't straight and in line so we put that right, then he could be heard to say, "The opposition has arrived!"  He must have read what it said on the van!  At first we had thought that the site was poor but the Lord whose plans are perfect, had put us in a place of His choosing and we went on to have a wonderful day.  So we then set about setting the tables with tracts Bibles etc out  and the weather continued to be brilliant.

TOM did some tricks with a length of rope and this got us quite a crowd. The trick involved three tubes: one white, one red and one black.  He was able to remove the black tube leaving the red and white ones still on the rope.  Tom told the people how the blood of Jesus could cleanse and remove our sin and make use right before GOD.

We continued to have a good number of people visiting the stall.  We were given 12 New Testaments from the gentleman who had bought the old CGO unit. He said that he had bought them in a job lot and would we like  to have them?  A young lad from the Aspatria Army Cadets was happy to take a "camouflage cover"  New Testament.

I spoke to a RE teacher who took some literature which she said would be good in her lessons.  I told her to read them herself and that they weren't just stories for kids.  Later a nurse came and asked if she could take a tract.  She lived in Carlisle but worked in Kendal.  I asked her if she had a Bible and she said she had.  We also had a young girl from Egremont who had visited the stall last year.  Many children tried the guessing box and parents and grandparents looked on.  Towards the end of the day Moira had a long conversation with a lady Methodist minister who was impressed with the good tracts we had.  She left with addresses for Tellit and Attracts.  Then a man from a nearby catering stall from Parr Street at Kendal came to encourage us.  He had seen how busy we had been!  In fact I think we had given out more literature and tracts than I have ever distributed on any day before with CGO.

Robert McGibbon and Tom O'Donnell.