Unusual Witnessing Experiences

Has anyone had any unusual witnessing experiences lately? Witnessed to anyone unusual?

On Saturday evening I went out with my co-missionary (pastoring another church in our town) to the Kaimono Koen ("Shopping Park"), an outdoor mall near the bar district. We've had some interesting times there, giving tracts and witnessing to street musicians, drunks, a fortune teller (she never takes a tract), etc.

I gave a tract to one man who then said, "What's this?" in a very aggressive way, which is unusual for Japanese (must have had a couple of drinks already). When I said, "It tells the life of Christ," he said, "Oh, okay," and walked away.

Two young men took a tract and then one said in careful English, "Are you a foreigner?" I said, "Yes, I'm from America," whereupon he said, "We are too. We're from Hong Kong!" "Aha," I replied, "Wait a minute." The look on their faces when I pulled out Chinese tracts and gave them to them was wonderful!

An old gentleman saw the title of the tract, "The Word Became Flesh," and responded in very polite Japanese, "What does this mean?" I explained that Christ came down in human form to be the message of God to us. He said, "I am a Buddhist, but I understand that," and took the tract with him to read after bowing two or three times.

Missionary D. and I stopped for something to drink in our Mister Donut's, then walked back to our parking place giving out tracts as we went. Lo and behold, there were some young ladies getting their pictures taken with some huge men dressed in yukata (summer kimono) with topknots on their heads. Yep, it was a bunch of pro sumo wrestlers in town for a demo tourney! Amazingly, almost all of them took tracts, except for one huge guy sitting sourly on a bench! We didn't recognize them, so they were probably lower rankers.

Giving tracts and witnessing to Buddhists, drunks and sumo wrestlers: great! Serving Jesus Christ: priceless!!

 

Hi, Steven.

Well, yes and no. Since the Japanese have a culture of politeness, it is fairly easy to get out tracts. But often when we try to witness they show apathy, resistence ("Japanese are all Buddhists") or even mockery. The previous Saturday I gave tracts to a couple of young men who then smirked and laughed. One of them said, "God, huh!" I replied, "Don't laugh at God. He is the One who can send people to Hell." He still smirked.

Japanese politeness often extends only to people with who they have a relationship. Confucian societies (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) put a great emphasis on the basic relationships, but feel no obligation to pay attention to strangers. This can be seen, for example, when you get on a train during Tokyo rush hour, which I've done many times. Forget politenesss--you can get clobbered!!

 

That's a sweet story, faithgirl. Thanks for sharing!

 

I loved this story! It painted a clear picture in my mind. So often people are more open than we think they are.

 

I've stuck tracts in all sorts of places and to all sorts of people: in telephone booths (some of this cell phone generation might not know about that), in public restrooms, to salesmen, JWs, Mormons, store clerks, etc.

I first got a burden to give out tracts in college when I read that the Communists conquored China with their literature while the church of Jesus Christ missed our opportunity.

 

What an unusual story, Su Wei. Thank you! :wavey:

I've never had a case just like that, but I always believe I'm planting seed, of course. Then I like to imagine how that person got saved sometime later! :jesus:

 

Out on street evangelism today we were led to a man with tremendous burdens. He was recently divorced, has hepititis, can't work because of his physical condition. However, he found a Bible and began reading it. He reads three pages a night, and has read the NT through several times. His favorite book is Acts, which he reads over and over and has marked extensively. He said several times that he had been looking for a church that taught the Bible as it is, since he had learned that the Mormons add their book and the JWs do such silly things as forbidding blood transfusions. He would literally die if he were not allowed blood transfusions, since he is to go in the hospital and begin a new treatment in 8 days!

Today the local JW "elder" called and has questions for me. We talked a couple of weeks ago, and then I gave him my Japanese outline commentary on Galations, and my Japanese translation of John 3. In the JW Japanese Bible it has "make your faith work" for "believe" in several places, and I wanted to show him that was wrong. So we'll talk Sunday afternoon at 5:00. Please pray. raying:

 

Well, now, that was interesting! The JW "elder" and his wife were just here, and we talked for almost a half hour at the door. I had objected to them about a translation in their Japanese Bible based on the English New World Translation. The Japanese translators had misunderstood the English "exercise faith" and translated it as shinko wo hatarakaseru, or "make faith work." So this gentleman went to a lot of trouble to "help" me, even writing to the translation department at JW headquarters!

At any rate, we had a good conversation, and of course they buttered me up real good. I was able to give my salvation testimony, though, and they seemed blessed by it. Time will tell if they are truly seeking God or just seeking to convert a Baptist missionary! :smilewinkgrin: raying:

P. S. I didn't invite them in, as per 2 John 9-11. I still am treating them as false teachers at this point.

P. P. S. They gave me a really nice Japanese JW reference Bible. I never turn down a Bible--no matter how poor a translation it is! :smilewinkgrin:

 

I think these folks are lonely way up here on the North island. Plus, they've been losing folk lately from what I hear, so they may be discouraged. We'll see what God will do, amen? :godisgood:

 

Praise the Lord, mima, for that opportunity to witness all unknown to one of God's special people! :jesus:

 

Thanks, tinytim. That fascinating story exactly fits the thread title, Unusual Witnessing Experiences. May God save his soul. :thumbsup:

 

I've been scanning in the pages of a book on friendship I wrote about 30 years ago which was never published. In the book I found the following witnessing experience I had completely forgotten ever happened!


The war in Viet Nam was over. America had pulled out and the communists had taken over South Viet Nam. At that time many had fled the country with little more than the clothes on their backs, seeking new homes.

Chi was one of those refugees. He was a helicopter pilot for the south in the war, and was fortunate to escape with his family. The U. S. government settled him in a home and gave him a job welding in the plant where I worked to pay my college bills.

Working with Chi was fascinating. I learned about a very different culture, and I began to see some of the great turmoil of his nation duplicated in the soul of Chi. I told him about Christ, who has gone to prepared an eternal home for us. Chi knew he was searching for something, but was not sure what: peace of mind, a nice home, prosperity.

One day I mentioned Heaven to Chi. His sad words were, “I am not good enough to go there.” What joy I had in telling him that all will go there who trust Jesus to get them there. Jesus has given to us an assurance that He is preparing a home for us:

"1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3).

Another day, on our break period, I felt constrained by the Holy Spirit to go over to Chi and quote Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Chi received a personal invitation from Jesus to come to Him for rest! Though Chi did not accept Christ then, he became interested in the Gospel. Months later, after we had both left that factory, I saw him again. When I asked if he had become a Christian yet, Chi grinned and said in his Vietnamese accent, “No, but I go to Baptist church and I sit in back and I listen!”

I have assurance in my soul that I will see Chi in Heaven. That poor, lonely refugee from Viet Nam found an attraction to Jesus, who is such a hospitable Friend.