Lost Sheep

A few months ago, I taught my preschool Sunday school class about the lost coin and lost sheep. Even though there were many other sheep, the shepherd still worked hard to find the one that was lost. Lately, I have thought of these parables in relation to our team's work in the community. We have handed out hundreds of flyers in various areas and waited patiently for the fruit of our labors. Wednesday and Thursday night's meetings were well attended by fellow Christians from the Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian Church, but no one from the community came. While this could have been a disappointment, the team was undaunted. We continued to pray for people to attend the meetings. Last night, a mother and son from the community came to the meeting in Gartlea. We are very grateful for the encouragement gained from just two visitors attending the meeting! This has proved our efforts have not been in vain... like the shepherd in the parable, we sometimes have to work hard to find that one little lost sheep. Of course, it was not the mission team who brought the two people to the meeting last night, but it was God Who worked through us.

This morning, we finished "chapping" on doors with leaflets. God gave us the energy to complete the last few communities while many of us were feeling exhausted from this past week. We have done alot of painting the past several days, so it was good to get a bit of fresh air! A few people we spoke with seemed interested in the meetings... we are praying they will decide to attend. Even if no one else from the community comes to the meetings, I believe our efforts will not be in vain. We have had the opportunity to speak to many people who do not usually think about God or any kind of religion. They claim to have nothing to do with any kind of religion and do not realize their great need for a Savior. In distributing flyers with two new Christians' testimonies inside, we pray the Holy Spirit will use us to work in many lives. Who knows? Maybe one of the "lost sheep" is sitting inside their house reading the flyer right now. Perhaps, they decided not to come to the meeting, but God is using the testimonies they read to touch their hearts. God is the only One Who can read hearts and plant a desire for a Savior in a person's life.

So, even if we do not see the amount of fruit that could be expected from the labor we have put into the community, it is all worth while. God will produce fruit in His own good and perfect timing... even if we do not get to see the fruit while the team is here in Scotland. Please pray for continued energy in our efforts to reach out to the "lost sheep".