Iowa State Fair 2012 - Tuesday

Had a great time at the fair today.  I didn't pass out hundreds of tracts, nor did I witness to thousands of people, but the conversations that I did have were genuine, honest, and hopefully memorable.  That's what I hope for at events like this. 

One conversation walking back to my car to take a break was with a woman sitting on her porch.  After several minutes in the natural subjects she told me that she stopped going to the fair after her fiance died in a car wreck they were in 13 years ago where she also lost her left eye.  Last week she told me that her dad passed away and she's just trying to cope with everything.  We talked about heaven, hell, eternity.  I shared the gospel with her in the 1st person and said that she never heard it like that at all.  After over an hour with her I prayed for her, and her family, then gave her a tract to help remind her of our talk. 

I also talked to some 10 - 19 year olds.  Many of them didn't know who Jesus even was.  One kid asked, what the "H" stands for in his middle name (when people blaspheme His name some say, "Jesus H. Christ").  That's not the first time someone has asked that.  Most people I talked to today never knew why Jesus had to die on the cross since God just forgives people.  When I explain to them that God doesn't just let sinners go (Nahum 1:3), but that the payment for sin needed to be made (Hebrews 9:22).  Either we pay that in hell, or Jesus pays it through His blood.  Watching people's eyes light up and finally understand is pretty cool to watch. 

The Iowa State Fair has a special place in my heart which it was the first time I heard the gospel.  When I came here from New Jersey 9 years ago someone witnessed to me at the Noah's Ark Exibit and gave me a tract and took the time to explain the gospel to me.  Even though I didn't understand it, I read the tract over 100 times and it kept bugging me.  It was the catalyst that drove me to ask questions and seek the truth.  Then when I did receive the Lord over a year later, He opened my eyes and understood everything.  It's that thankfulness to God that drives me.  Not that I have to witness to gain my salvation, but that it's my reasonable service in that I want to tell others about the One who saved me.  I want to share that gift.  To God be the glory forever and ever.