North Lonsdale Show, Ulverston - July 2023
The weather was warm and sunny and this brought out many visitors to the show.
The first visitors to the van were four children who attended the local primary school. They arrived shortly after the show opened to the public and on seeing the Guessing Box, they were anxious to have a go. During the following conversation it was obvious that they had a knowledge of the Bible. This they had gained from their school. They were able to retell from their knowledge of a number of the Lord’s parables, particularly those found in Luke’s Gospel chp 15, incidents found in the Old Testament e.g., the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Daniel in the lion’s den and the Lord’s pathway to the cross, (the last supper, garden of Gethsemane and Calvary). It was good to be able to remind them of the purpose of the cross. When they left they were given a selection of the Josh and Jade tracts.
As the show was held on a Wednesday during the school holidays there were many other children who were present and visited the Guessing Box. Sadly, not all had the same knowledge of the scriptures. There were some who were insistent that ‘’Little Red Riding Hood’’ was in the Bible!
A gentleman visited the van and was quite happy to talk about the Bible and particularly what follows after this life. It became evident that he was still grieving after the death of his wife some 2 months earlier. We were able to set out the Bible position and that there is a doorway into heaven. He left with a copy of the booklet ‘’God’s Story’’ together with a tract on Facing Grief. We trust that his heart may be opened to God’s salvation and the peace that only God can give.
A middle-aged lady came and spent some time looking at and handling some of the literature on display. When asked if she needed any help, she was happy to talk about her situation and admitted that she prayed every night – but not to God! When asked who then did she pray to she was unable to answer and replied that the act of praying brought her comfort. She was reminded that the Lord himself prayed on many occasions. He prayed to his Father in heaven and left his followers with an example of how to pray to God.
During the course of the day a number of believers approached the van with a word of encouragement. One of these was a lady who had spent many years as a missionary in Mozambique.
Many tracts were given out during the day and we trust that these will be read and the result will see fruit from the seed sown.
Barry Cummings, David Johnston