My Step out by Faith
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15.
Recently there was a Youth Conference up in Brisbane, Australia. All of the youth that were there were given an opportunity to canvass after morning classes. Christopher Cosen and I went together in the little town of Lowood. Christopher, who is fifteen years old, was a great help to me. Over the few times we went canvassing we made some good experiences, including some funny ones. First I will tell you some of the funny experiences.
On the first day we went, we were nervous so that’s when we really had some funny experiences. At one of the first doors we knocked, a lady came to the door. Chris and I suddenly burst out laughing before we said a single word. Somehow we survived through it without totally falling apart. At the end of the conversation the lady said, “I hope you have better luck next time.” We hoped so, too.
Not too many doors along we came to another door where this young man was. He was smoking a cigarette and we offered him a “Stop Smoking” pamphlet. He said, “Well this is not a very good thing to be giving to me while I am smoking.” We didn’t say much. When we asked for a contribution, he said, jokingly, “No! But I will give you some marijuana.” We, of course, said “No thanks,” and we left.
The funniest experience was when we were half way through our time of canvassing. We knocked on this one door and a young lady came to the door. She asked us what we wanted and Chris said we were giving out pamphlets and then he told me to give her a pamphlet. I totally froze and without thinking stood there with the pamphlets in my hand behind my back. Chris said again, “Give her a pamphlet,” but I was still so nervous it didn’t register what he was saying. Finally Chris had had enough and said in a very loud voice, “GIVE HER A PAMPHLET!!” Finally I realized what I had been doing and gave her the pamphlet. The young lady was not near so happy any more because I didn’t give her the pamphlet soon enough.
On the first day of our canvassing we were quite discouraged because nobody was kind and we were nervous. The Lord blessed our efforts though and things got better as we went on. I will always be thankful for the Lord’s help. On the second day we made some better experiences.
We met this one elderly lady who was visiting a friend. Once we told her that we were in the neighborhood telling people about Jesus, she brightened up. She said that she was a Christian and was happy that we were doing what we were doing. She accepted a magazine and gave a contribution.
At another door we again met a man who was smoking and we gave him a “Drugs and Alcohol” pamphlet. At this point, he really opened up to us about his life and how he used to go to church. We encouraged him in his attempt to stop smoking. He obviously was very happy that we cared enough about him to come by his door. We ended up giving him several pamphlets and a magazine and he gave us a contribution.
The Lord blessed our efforts greatly in our time canvassing and who knows who will be saved from the seeds of truth planted there.
In conclusion to all young people around the world, my message to you is that you don’t have to be an adult to go canvassing. The Lord can use anyone to do His work and it is very encouraging to see God’s work going forward.