Pearl Accepts Christ!

Sunday we went to Northeast Portland to an apartment building we had done a few years back. Most in the building took a tract but did not take time to talk.


We did talk, however, with one young lady that professed to be a christian, but didn't have a grasp on the salvation message of forgiveness in Christ.  She didn't know for sure that she was destined for heaven.  So we went through the message of salvation & especially assurance of salvation. 
 
Next, we turned down a short dead-end street, that was mostly Hispanic.  So Saul did most of the talking. Again,  most were too busy to want to talk, but took tracts. That's what I like about tracts.  People can read them at their leasure, if they can't talk with us at the door.  There were a few English-speaking residents that I talked with.
 
One young man, by appearance, seemed to be into the "punk" lifestyle. He had a mullet/mohawk hairstyle, and had mutiple piercings & tattoos.  He responded gruffly at the door: "No--you can keep your God!"
 
The last house on the block was answered by two young women,  who acted humored by our invitation to accept a tract.  They laughed when we tried to initiate conversation about God & Jesus.
 
Finally, we went to another nearby apartment complex in the area, & proceeded going door to door. A young girl named Pearl answered the door. She had a beer in her hand, but came out to talk with us.  She explained that she had just turned 21 and was celebrating with a beer.  However, when we proceeded to go through the 'Steps to Peace With God" tract, she seemed to be taking it seriously.  She had some church background, although she had never accepted Christ.  After praying to receive Jesus as her Savior, we shared that the bible doesn't condemn drinking, although we need to keep everything in  moderation.  We also left her with a New Testament as we always do.
 
In retrospect, these outreaches make it clear to me that Jesus wisely used "fishing" as an analogy to winning souls.  In fishing,  you don't always get a fish everytime you bait the hook.  Sometimes there's a nibble, but the fish gets away. Sometimes a turtle might gobble the bait. Sometimes the line might get snagged on some seaweed.  But if you keep fishing & don't give up, you WILL catch fish!