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Rusty Cockling, Robert & Moira McGibbon
Rusty Cockling, Robert & Moira McGibbon
The week before the show on Saturday 5th July, the weather had been WET, VERY WET but, in Maryport, it wasn’t raining.
Praise God for answered prayer. We set a time schedule to arrive at Penrith at 8.15 am, pick up van from Edith’s and back to Skelton for 9.00 am, and set up stall for 9.30 am then ready for the visitors. The show field was really wet and muddy. Thankfully we were placed only a hundred yards from the gate and what’s more, next to the stallholder we were beside the previous year. The stall holder to the right of us didn’t show up. Perhaps the weather put him off.
Thankfully, Rusty arrived from Kirkby Stephen to help, he wasn’t detered by the weather conditions. We were really pleased to have his help and fellowship for the day.
Hello all praying friends. This time I want to introduce you to a diverse number of people who came to the van at the show ground just outside Skelton.
Our first visitors were two girls and a boy, they were school friends from Appleby, and like many who visit, they wanted to try the ‘Guessing Box.’ It is an excellent aid when sharing the gospel, with the visitors, they are always keen to try it out, attempting to test their knowledge using it. Small objects are kept inside the Guessing Box, it is now ready and prepared for visitors to try it out. They put their hands inside, touching the different objects, we ask them to choose one and take it from the box, as they show us the object in their hand we ask them if they can relate a Bible story connected with their “finds” in the box. This informs us how much they know of the scriptures and how we can then give a gospel message from the story which they remember.
The conversation moved on to what they were going to do in their lives. The boy seemed keen to stay when the girls left. We gave him a New Testament and showed him the section with the Psalms. I pointed out Psalm 23 which I considered he would like, being from a farming background. Next came another three youngsters from Whitehaven who also tried the guessing box. They were given Josh and Jade tracts which children love to read.
Along came a boy and a girl from Appleby who tried the guessing box. We do find that because the box is bright and interesting it presents a challenge which maybe explains its popularity. Two more children accompanied by their mother and two dogs arrived, we were given opportunity to talk of Jesus and they accepted children’s tracts.
The next threesome of children came from Hawkshead, they tried the box and another game we made up called, “Splat the rat.” An explanation: a model of a rat is dropped down a drainpipe and the aim is to hit the rat with a baton as it reaches the bottom. We were told that someone else on a different stand also had this game so when there was a break, we went to find out. One of the ladies on the stall said her husband had made their game the night before. They were using a tennis ball as "the rat" which fell down the drainpipe too quickly to catch at the bottom of the drainpipe. I took her back to our stall to show off our rat constructed with a duster secured in sticky black tape and legs made from the same tape and cut to resemble legs.
A lady who attended the church in the barn came with her two children. They were pleased to tell us of Bible stories and related how they read from the Bible every day. This family were pleased to meet us on the van and told how they had settled in Penrith after their arrival from Poland. They took copies of the Josh and Jade tracts.
A young boy from Bedlington, Northumberland, was struggling to tell a Bible story so I was helping him with one when his dad came looking for him, so he stayed and listened too. It's amazing how the gospel can be presented from any Bible story. The weather seemed to get drier but there was still plenty of mud.
A lady came asking to try the 'Guessing Box.' Her mother accompanied her. She explained that she worked in Manchester looking after buildings. What interested me was her answer when she explained that she felt God had helped her recently. I asked if she had thanked the Lord for his help. The other woman then became anxious to leave so they went without even taking any tracts. I certainly would have liked more conversation with her. Pray for this lady that she will come to know the Lord as her Saviour. We can only present the gospel on the day; we don’t know if the Lord will use someone else to lead her further; we are merely a link in the chain of his service.
Overall, it was a good day. Many people were contacted and lots of tracts were given. The most popular were the dog tracts. So everyone who stopped to give their dog a drink from our bowl was given one. We can only present the gospel in one way or another, but it is the Lord who saves souls.
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