Witnessing at Pioneer Square

Off and on I go to Pioneer Square in Portland, Oregon which is a melting pot of cultures & beliefs.  I hand out Gospel tracts on the corner, and get to talk about God & Jesus with people that stop.   Today, when I first arrived there, I saw a teenage girl walking by, reading a cartoon bible tract.

"Oh", I blurted out, "That looks like one of the tracts that I hand out."  She said her name was Layla, and she had just been handed the tract by someone up the street.  She said she was Muslim, but had a few friends that were Christian.

I shared with her my understanding of the difference between Islam & Christianity; mainly that Jesus is God, and He DID die on the cross. (Koran states that Jesus DIDN'T die on the cross.)  She seemed sincere & open to talking so I shared "Steps to Peace With God" (a tract by Billy Graham) with her. I also asked if she would like a New Testament, and she said yes.

I asked her about her parents, and she said they were practicing Muslims & probably wouldn't read the bible tract. But when I offered her a tract I had that was in Arabic, she accepted it and said they would definately read it.  (It seems that some from foreign cultures LOVE reading anything in their mother tongue.)

Later, I was approached by a young man "Serge" who was registering people to vote. I talked with him for quite awhile. He had just graduated, and is on vacation here from Georgia (formerly of the Soviet Union).

He was volunteering with a group that was registering people to vote. While talking with him, he shared that his parents were orthodox, but  while he believed,  he hadn't been following his religion that closely. He had left his bible back in Georgia. I offered him a New Testament. "You're GIVING me a bible--you mean for FREE??"  He couldn't believe I was offering it for free. He gladly accepted it & was actually excited to get it.

Although I do door to door evangelism more than street evangelism, Pioneer Square is always stimulating & unique for it's diversity.  It's also enjoyable fellowshipping with a few others I've gotten to know at the Square; Marty Kennedy, & Ron & Karen Rohman. Here is a link to a website by Ron and Karen Rohman that has pics of ministry at the square. They have  been doing street ministry at Pioneer Square for over 25 years:   http://www.awakening1s.net/TestimoniesPhotos/photoindex.htm