Christian Reach out experiences-2nd in a series
Miss sent Mail
God works in mysterious ways. Some times more mysterious than others.
My husband and I are Christian music vocalists. We love to sing in churches, preferring small churches that can’t afford big time, expensive groups. We sing the old hymns, music from the 60’s-70s written by William and Gloria Gaither or Dottie Rambo. And also some original music written by me or some of our friends.
I send out flyers to churches by the hundreds and seldom receive a reply, maybe two out of a hundred, which is actually considered a normal percent of response in some industries.
Well, a few months ago I told my husband I was really tired of doing all this mailing and getting no concerts booked in the past few months. I said, “Honey, I guess God doesn’t want us to do this anymore or He would open some doors for us. I am not going to waste money on postage, so if He wants us to sing for Him, he will have to let me know”.
About a week later my phone rang! A woman’s voice asked, “Are you Betty Overstreet, the Gospel singer”. I replied, “Yes, I am”.
And a very strange story unfolded. She was given a flyer from me that was addressed to a church that was no longer in existence. She said she guessed the Postal worker thought they could use it. It had been on her desk for a long time, waiting to be returned to the post office. When she picked it up and saw the return address and the name Overstreet-she decided she was supposed to call me.
Her previous husband’s last name is Overstreet and his new wife’s name is Betty. She said she knew it wouldn’t be her husband and his new wife singing gospel music but it was such a coincidence it must be a “God thing”. She told me she belongs to a little church that really can’t afford to pay entertainers and I said, “We don’t charge, we just ask a Love offering to help with expenses”.
We scheduled a concert and when we arrived the members were so happy to see us. By the time we arrived some of them had spoken to members of another church where we had sang and were told they would really be glad we were coming!
It was a struggling church, I discovered by talking to the lady who had contacted us. They have not been able to pay their minister during the last year. They were praying about whether they should close the church for lack of members and funds to pay the monthly expenses.
The evening we were there two new couples attended who had seen an advertisement n the internet. They decided to become members. One is a part -time home owner in the area who attends when he is at his home there. They heard of their plight and donated money to catch up some expenses .
After the service many people came up to me, thanking us for coming and expressing how much they had needed the spiritual uplifting for various reasons.
We feel that our concert that evening will turn their problems into blessings and the church will begin to grow.
God opened the door that was meant to be opened, we walked through the door singing His praises and He met us there!
Pray for what you need with a believing heart and God will listen. He will either give you what you request or something better that He has in store for you.
So as we walk through our lives we must Reach Out to the people God puts in front of us to help, in whatever way He has prepared us. We all have different spiritual gifts and when we put them all together we can do amazing work for Him.
The first story in this series of experiences
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Jesus is my lighthouse
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Do you recognize when someone needs a kind word, a hug, a shoulder to cry on? Sometimes the simplest act by us allows Jesus to touch someone who needs Him. We are to be His arms, legs, body to enable Him to reach those who are spiritually lost. If we