Dalston Show - August 2024

Here the weather was gloriously fine. We were so grateful for David Johnston's help in bringing the van from Penrith and taking it back at the end of the day. This saved us so much time. We had to be on site by 8-30 and the visitors were allowed in at 10 so we had plenty of time to set up.  Some exhibitors had even arrived the previous evening.

Once again the guessing box proved to be popular. This time we also brought a Splat the Rat game to engage with people in conversation.

Not all the people who tried the games were children, for example,  a lady teacher from Wigton, found it hard to identify the objects in the box.  Her partner believed that the Earth was flat so we had a good conversation with him concerning God's creation of this planet and the rest of the universe.

During the day, there were many opportunities to speak with groups of people.  A group of ladies from a church in Carlisle enquired about the work of the van. They  were very interested in the flipper flappers and we gave them a few to try out, along with some other literature.  There were stalls representing local churches and it was good to talk about the gospel with these people too. It was good to share what the Lord is doing in our county currently.  

One thing you can never forecast about any show- is who you will meet.  Our surprise was to meet a group from our home town of Maryport. There were other visitors from more distant parts such as, Northumbria, Northern Ireland, and even Scotland.  During the day, John did a lot of tracting around the field, so the gospel was spread by this means too. This year we seemed to have even more children coming to the stall than previously.  They do know stories from the Bible and they demonstrate patience in listening to the gospel. One family is remembered because I had to ask the father to show his children how to play Splat the Rat whilst I was working with a group at the guessing box.  All was well and they were duly rewarded with some tracts and a few sweets.

Please pray for a young man who came towards the end of the day and asked for one particular tract.  I reassured him that all were free. He was accompanied by an elderly gentleman and spoke briefly of his search for peace.  I encouraged him to read his Bible. They didn't stay long but we felt the young man's urgent need.  The Lord does want people like these we met, to believe that Jesus, God's Son died to save them from their sin. Who knows we may be the only ones ever to tell them this.

John Hill and Robert McGibbon