Keswick Market Report
May 2025

Tom O'Donnell and Robert McGibbon

Keswick always has many visitors. Some just a bus journey away, but others on a long term holiday. This Saturday in May was busier than usual, perhaps because it was to be followed by a Bank holiday and people could stay an extra day.  However we were not here to people - watch but instead to share the gospel.

My first memory was of two young lads from Manchester who wanted to try out the guessing box.  Once a few objects had been discovered, the challenge is to tell of a Bible Story which mentions the “found object”.  These lads managed quite well and were happy to take a few tracts with them, to explain  of the Saviour we talked of.

Later a lady called and asked for some Bible Study notes for her 14 year old grandson, just a little job to find some at the right level for him.  Our mission field can be right near us and sometimes grandparents can speak to their grandchildren too. We encouraged this lady to pray for her grandson and promised we would too.

Soon after a family of ten called by. They did include three generations. Whilst we talked with the adults, the younger children again tried the guessing box. What a useful tool this is, we can even hear passers by saying, “ Look a guessing box.”

Tom had a visit from a Jewish lady and she told him how they only had the Old Testament. He told her she could find out for herself the  fundamental difference between what she had been taught and what we believed by reading Isaiah 53, which tells us of the Mishia who is Jesus.

Robert was challenging a young girl to explain a Bible story which could be linked to the object she had just discovered in the guessing box.  Might be tricky as she further explained she was a Muslim.  What a chance to answer her question of how the two systems of belief had arisen. So we told of how Sarah and Abraham dad waited many years for God to fulfill his promise that Sarah would bear a son.  Abraham had a child by Sarah’s maid, Hagar and called him, Ishmael.  The girl was delighted that her brother was called Ishmael.  I continued to tell about Isaac being born and of him being the  fore-father of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Towards the end of the day, a grandfather and grandson who lived in Hull, were spending time on the guessing box.  The grandfather was helping out his grandson, so I asked him to let the lad have a go on his own so we both could see how much he knew of the Bible.  It turned out that the granddad was a retired Anglican vicar who still helped out by taking services as required.  It was great to see the love between the two and how the lad was encouraged to attend church and listen to the message.  They were pleased to have visited the stall and we were very much encouraged by the grandfathers appreciation of what we were doing.

If you are still reading this…. You will have been given six pictures of the witness at Keswick. We could have written of more but please pray for those mentioned here. Every week two people are in the market at Keswick to witness to people from all parts of Britain and sometimes further afield.  This world needs the gospel today.