Las Vegas – March 2009
My family and I decided to vacation somewhere a little warmer last week. When Hawaii didn't pan out, we opted for Las Vegas. How I longed for a beach vacation, but Vegas really sparked interest as well because of the evangelism opportunities. If there was ever a place that needed some of God's light, it was Vegas. I've been there twice before and it really has earned the nickname “Sin City”.
Prior to leaving, I connected with the Las Vegas Outreach Team and was invited to participate in some of their activities on the strip and given a phone number for Frank so I could call for info when I arrived and got our plans sorted out. I had some misgivings after viewing YouTube videos of various outreaches in Las Vegas. The preaching seemed so harsh in the videos...it seemed very different from my experiences in California with the Ambassadors Academy and the Living Waters/Way of the Master videos. But, I chalked it up to the fact that the street evangelists there are faced with dealing with drunk/high people and competing with constant noise. Music is constantly pumped everywhere you go along the strip and Fremont Street. I honestly don't know how people function in that environment.
Although my husband was ok with me participating in outreach activities, once we got there, it became increasingly difficult to get some “free time” for me to do this. I managed to have him agree to Sunday night at Fremont Street @ 6:00PM until 8:00PM at the latest. It wasn't as much as I would have liked, but at least it was some opportunity.
Since I had several days ahead of me before the activity and I was itching to talk to people...something hubby doesn't like me doing, so I decided to put a bunch of Celebrity MDBs in my shirt pocket, with the million end sticking out. I was amazed at how many people noticed my “cash”. Whenever I caught someone looking at my “cash”, I say “I see you checking out my millions...here's one for you” and I'd hand them one. It worked great in crowded elevators and I'd just pass them out to everyone. During the entire week, I never had one person grumble or scoff at me while doing this. It was fantastic. It was also great that my hubby could see people very happy to receive these tracts.
Whenever we were walking, if someone tried to give us a hand out...like the porn card slappers and the time share hawkers, I'd just hand them a MDB. A couple of times, the Time Share hawkers said “You better be careful, carrying your money like that in full view”. So I'd say thanks a million and slap one in their hand. Well, they thought it was hilarious. A waitress at Denny's asked about my MDBs so I gave her one and she came back later to ask for another two for her daughters.
The highlight as far as tracting went was at the Terry Fator show at the Mirage. If you are unfamiliar with him, YouTube some of his videos. He is an amazing ventriloquist/singer who won America's Got Talent two seasons ago. After the show, we lined up to meet him. My daughter and I talked with him briefly, telling him we enjoyed his show. Then I took his picture with my daughter, got his autograph and I handed him a Canadian, Eh MDB. I explained it was a gift for him and even though it was only worth about $730,000 US, there was a million dollar question on the back. He laughed, thanked me and slipped it into the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket. Cool eh! We tracted Terry Fator! I prayed very hard that night hoping that he'd find that tract and read it and the Holy Spirit would convict his conscience.
Out of respect to my husband, I did not have any 1-2-1 conversations during the week, except at Fremont Street when I met up with Frank from the LVOT near the Four Queens Hotel. When I arrived, he was deep in conversation with “Bill” and about half way through The Law. I pulled out my Giant money tracts and began distributing to people walking by. The entire pack of 100 was gone within 15 minutes. I listened to Frank lovingly go through the Gospel with Bill and there was a Hawaiian gentleman standing nearby listening. He asked if I was with Frank and I told him yes and asked if he had any questions or wanted to talk. He told me that the Hawaiians have their own culture and spiritual beliefs and that their beliefs were around long before Jesus arrived. I asked him what would happen to him when he dies. He said that we just die...it's over. I'm not very familiar with Hawaiian spirituality, so I continued asking questions. He said that they have one main god, but have other gods as well. He claims that Hawaiians are actually the true descendants of Adam and Eve and they have genealogical proof that they are direct descendants. He insisted that the Garden of Eden was in Hawaii. I tried to turn the conversation back to his sin and he said that they have their own ways of getting right with God. (If I recall, it's burnt offerings to Pele from the little I remember learning when I was in Hawaii last year) I explained that the God of the Bible is the Judge of the Universe and we will all have to face him at the end of our life. God provided Jesus as our Saviour who has paid for our sins so we wouldn't have to face eternity in hell. He kept trying to take me down rabbit trails and I was praying for Frank to finish his conversation with Bill to come help me. I explained again about belief in the God of the bible, but he kept saying that their gods were around long before the bible was written. He clearly was not open to seeing that he was in need of a Saviour. I thanked him for his time and gave him a couple of different tracts and he left. I really didn't know what else to say to him and I hoped he would think about what he had heard from both Frank and myself and that his conscience would be convicted by the Holy Spirit.
Frank and I finally introduced ourselves to each other. He said he was exhausted after being at an all night prayer vigil, but was happy that I had agreed to join him. He hadn't arrived much earlier than I had but he said that already God had provided some wonderful opportunities to share the Law and Gospel. Frank was using the Living Water's Intelligence test sign and had a small portable Fender PA on him. He had a very gentle manner with people that were passing by and checking out his sign. He'd engage in conversation with the Intelligence Test and then ask people if they'd mind being asked some more questions that would delve a little deeper into their soul. Most people were very willing to participate.
I mostly handed out tracts to people passing by and allowed Frank to continue what he was doing. The combination of the tracts and the Intelligence test worked very well together as the tracts got people to slow down instead of just passing Frank by. As Frank would go through the Law with people, it was amazing to see their faces as they felt the conviction of their conscience. The two hours went by incredibly quick. I really wanted to continue as the atmosphere was very good and people were open, but hubby and daughter returned to collect me and Frank admitted that he was exhausted anyways.
Prior to being saved, Las Vegas to me was a place to blow some extra cash, get a little tipsy and get caught up in the Sin City culture. Now I only see it as one huge big fishing pond. God is so good. He promised me a new heart with new desires, and it's so cool to see that evidence! All Glory to God!
My family and I decided to vacation somewhere a little warmer last week. When Hawaii didn't pan out, we opted for Las Vegas. How I longed for a beach vacation, but Vegas really sparked interest as well because of the evangelism opportunities. If there was ever a place that needed some of God's light, it was Vegas. I've been there twice before and it really has earned the nickname “Sin City”.
Prior to leaving, I connected with the Las Vegas Outreach Team and was invited to participate in some of their activities on the strip and given a phone number for Frank so I could call for info when I arrived and got our plans sorted out. I had some misgivings after viewing YouTube videos of various outreaches in Las Vegas. The preaching seemed so harsh in the videos...it seemed very different from my experiences in California with the Ambassadors Academy and the Living Waters/Way of the Master videos. But, I chalked it up to the fact that the street evangelists there are faced with dealing with drunk/high people and competing with constant noise. Music is constantly pumped everywhere you go along the strip and Fremont Street. I honestly don't know how people function in that environment.
Although my husband was ok with me participating in outreach activities, once we got there, it became increasingly difficult to get some “free time” for me to do this. I managed to have him agree to Sunday night at Fremont Street @ 6:00PM until 8:00PM at the latest. It wasn't as much as I would have liked, but at least it was some opportunity.
Since I had several days ahead of me before the activity and I was itching to talk to people...something hubby doesn't like me doing, so I decided to put a bunch of Celebrity MDBs in my shirt pocket, with the million end sticking out. I was amazed at how many people noticed my “cash”. Whenever I caught someone looking at my “cash”, I say “I see you checking out my millions...here's one for you” and I'd hand them one. It worked great in crowded elevators and I'd just pass them out to everyone. During the entire week, I never had one person grumble or scoff at me while doing this. It was fantastic. It was also great that my hubby could see people very happy to receive these tracts.
Whenever we were walking, if someone tried to give us a hand out...like the porn card slappers and the time share hawkers, I'd just hand them a MDB. A couple of times, the Time Share hawkers said “You better be careful, carrying your money like that in full view”. So I'd say thanks a million and slap one in their hand. Well, they thought it was hilarious. A waitress at Denny's asked about my MDBs so I gave her one and she came back later to ask for another two for her daughters.
The highlight as far as tracting went was at the Terry Fator show at the Mirage. If you are unfamiliar with him, YouTube some of his videos. He is an amazing ventriloquist/singer who won America's Got Talent two seasons ago. After the show, we lined up to meet him. My daughter and I talked with him briefly, telling him we enjoyed his show. Then I took his picture with my daughter, got his autograph and I handed him a Canadian, Eh MDB. I explained it was a gift for him and even though it was only worth about $730,000 US, there was a million dollar question on the back. He laughed, thanked me and slipped it into the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket. Cool eh! We tracted Terry Fator! I prayed very hard that night hoping that he'd find that tract and read it and the Holy Spirit would convict his conscience.
Out of respect to my husband, I did not have any 1-2-1 conversations during the week, except at Fremont Street when I met up with Frank from the LVOT near the Four Queens Hotel. When I arrived, he was deep in conversation with “Bill” and about half way through The Law. I pulled out my Giant money tracts and began distributing to people walking by. The entire pack of 100 was gone within 15 minutes. I listened to Frank lovingly go through the Gospel with Bill and there was a Hawaiian gentleman standing nearby listening. He asked if I was with Frank and I told him yes and asked if he had any questions or wanted to talk. He told me that the Hawaiians have their own culture and spiritual beliefs and that their beliefs were around long before Jesus arrived. I asked him what would happen to him when he dies. He said that we just die...it's over. I'm not very familiar with Hawaiian spirituality, so I continued asking questions. He said that they have one main god, but have other gods as well. He claims that Hawaiians are actually the true descendants of Adam and Eve and they have genealogical proof that they are direct descendants. He insisted that the Garden of Eden was in Hawaii. I tried to turn the conversation back to his sin and he said that they have their own ways of getting right with God. (If I recall, it's burnt offerings to Pele from the little I remember learning when I was in Hawaii last year) I explained that the God of the Bible is the Judge of the Universe and we will all have to face him at the end of our life. God provided Jesus as our Saviour who has paid for our sins so we wouldn't have to face eternity in hell. He kept trying to take me down rabbit trails and I was praying for Frank to finish his conversation with Bill to come help me. I explained again about belief in the God of the bible, but he kept saying that their gods were around long before the bible was written. He clearly was not open to seeing that he was in need of a Saviour. I thanked him for his time and gave him a couple of different tracts and he left. I really didn't know what else to say to him and I hoped he would think about what he had heard from both Frank and myself and that his conscience would be convicted by the Holy Spirit.
Frank and I finally introduced ourselves to each other. He said he was exhausted after being at an all night prayer vigil, but was happy that I had agreed to join him. He hadn't arrived much earlier than I had but he said that already God had provided some wonderful opportunities to share the Law and Gospel. Frank was using the Living Water's Intelligence test sign and had a small portable Fender PA on him. He had a very gentle manner with people that were passing by and checking out his sign. He'd engage in conversation with the Intelligence Test and then ask people if they'd mind being asked some more questions that would delve a little deeper into their soul. Most people were very willing to participate.
I mostly handed out tracts to people passing by and allowed Frank to continue what he was doing. The combination of the tracts and the Intelligence test worked very well together as the tracts got people to slow down instead of just passing Frank by. As Frank would go through the Law with people, it was amazing to see their faces as they felt the conviction of their conscience. The two hours went by incredibly quick. I really wanted to continue as the atmosphere was very good and people were open, but hubby and daughter returned to collect me and Frank admitted that he was exhausted anyways.
Prior to being saved, Las Vegas to me was a place to blow some extra cash, get a little tipsy and get caught up in the Sin City culture. Now I only see it as one huge big fishing pond. God is so good. He promised me a new heart with new desires, and it's so cool to see that evidence! All Glory to God!
