train talk

Wow. So the last week i have really been struggling with talking to people on the El (subway) and the bus. Every time i would get on the the CTA i would feel like i should talk to people sitting near me, but satan kept telling me that i shouldn't, that they would reject me, that they would be rude to me, or that the conversation would be awkward, or whatever he could think of to keep me from saying something. last night i read colossians 4:2-6 which says:
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so taht we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for whihc i am in chains. Pray that i may proclaim it clearly, as I SHOULD. Be wise in the way you acto toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so taht you may know how to answer everyone.

Wow, when i read that, i knew there was no way i could get on the CTA the next morning without saying something to someone. We were traveling from 35th st. down to 95th and at the 87th st. stop a man stood up, only to go back to his seat, say a few curse words and then sit back down quite angry and then he said, "man, today just isn't my day!" Celia, (a member of my ministry team) asked him why it wasn't his day. He then started to just ramble about who knows what, none of us could quite understand him. Celia didn't quite know how to respond because she had no idea what he was saying. When we arrived at 95th, we all had to get off the El because it was the last stop on that line, and Celia, Lauren, Katie, and Bryan all were in front of me. As i was walking off, he caught my eye and he was just shaking his head with a slight smile on his face. He saw me at the same time and began thanking me and the other girls for listening to him. He said that was what he needed, just someone to listen so he could cool off and help him not be so angry. At that minute, God opened my mouth and didn't give me anytime to think anything through. I told him that there is a God in Heaven who loves him and will always be there to listen to him anytime he gets upset. That God is a God of peace and of comfort. All i had time for was to hand him a tract and tell him to read it because Christ could change his life. He then introduced himself as Oscar and just thanked me. I thank God for handing in my lap an opportunity this morning. Pray that Oscar reads the tract since we had to go opposite directions and i was unable to present the gospel to him.

Then this afternoon, (we have a 40 minute bus ride after a 30 minute El ride down to 159th st., so that's part of the reason i was so convicted that i wasn't talking to anyone). So this afternoon, i ended up sitting in the very back of the bus, right in the middle of 5 seats. At about 130th st., a guy came and sat down near me, he then pulled out a dvd player and began watching a movie. There was also other people sitting to my left and i wanted to talk to one of them SO BADLY, but nothing was coming out of my mouth. I began praying. I said, "lord, open my mouth so that i may speak." and he said, "tara, its not you speaking, open your mouth and I will speak." then i started arguing a little saying the same things as before, "well, what would he say? i don't want to make him mad cuz he could be in a gang or something." then i remembered colossians that i had read last night and i counted to three, took a deep breath and leaned over to him and asked him what movie he was watching. that initial few statements are the hardest thing EVER! but it was apparent after a few minutes that he was willing to talk and wanted attention. He was desperate for some attention and someone to talk too. For a while, we talked about the movies that he illegally makes and he sells and then about his 1 year old son, which he showed me a picture and he was ADORABLE! Then he started talking about school, and he wanted to finish his business degree. He said that people keep telling him to go to school for himself but he wanted to go for his son. And right then i saw an opportunity to bring God into the conversation..tee hee :) I said, well, I'm going to school to be a pharmacist because i want to glorify my Lord and Savior. And so i can help people physically and spiritually.
As we were getting closer to 95th (our stop), i had to quickly tell David of how Christ came to free us from our sins and died on the cross for each of us and we should accept him into our hearts. I told him that Christ would always be there for him, and always love him. Unfortunately, we had to go our separate ways and i wasn't able to share more with him. So pray for David as well, and for his son.