All Over Town (part 2)

After lasts weeks surprises our team decided to visit the same areas again. We started off just like last week at Ritter Park. I read Rev.20, Dan read Rev 21, and Bill read Rev 22 as part of "Project Ezra" and then broke into his open air. Dan and followed later with our own open air. Several people were listening and we had opportunities to speak with them. Our next stop was downtown Huntington, WV. We camped out at 4th Ave and 10th St. I had the cross. We all handed out gospel tracts and engaged people in conversation. Dan spoke with a guy named Labamaba... (that is what he said his name was)... He had the belief that our beliefs are more important that the truth.. Dan was able to go through the law with him and he understood the gospel. We pray he will repent of his sin and trust in Christ. Dan was able to hand out 30 tracts and he is looking forward to who he will talk to throughout the week. One of Bills conversations was with a guy named Tony who said he understood for the first time that God would be a corrupt judge for dismissing sin without punishment. Bill eventually told him he needed to repent and put his trust in Jesus, and Tony said he would consider what they had discussed. Bill also talked with Justin, who has been searching for truth in various religions and initially claimed a belief in reincarnation. When Bill pressed him on his views of the injustice in our fallen world, he admitted that he believed there is a judgement awaiting all people in eternity. They went through God's law together and Justin was quite
concerned about his readiness to enter eternity. Bill shared the good news of Jesus with him and Justin said that their conversation had given him much to think about. Please pray for Labamaba, Tony, and Justin. Maybe we will see them this week as we hit the streets. Keep Fishin!!

All Over Town (part 1)

Bill and I started off our day going to Ritter Park and doing our "Project Ezra" scripture reading and then we both did some open-air. We also had opportunities to engage several people in conversation or just hand them a gospel tract. During the open-air people were definitely listening to the law and the gospel. Some people even walked closer and stopped to listen. Then we went to downtown Huntington (4th Ave. and 10th St.) with the cross. It's a great location especially during lunchtime. We handed out a lot of tracts and several great things happened. One guy crossed the
street took a tract
and while he was reading it he said, "I have been thinking about
God lately....this is definitely a message
for me." We hope to see him again this week. The second thing that happened was a city bus stopped at the corner where I was holding the cross. The bus driver who had passengers onboard, unbuckled his seatbelt walked off the bus to get a tract. He thanked us and drove off. Then a police car pulled up to the curve..(we thought they were going to give us some grief) they said, "you guys need to go down by the police station with that cross, alot of officers need to see that and hear the message." We thanked them for their encouragement. That was our afternoon in downtown Huntington. Later on that evening I took the cross to 29th St and 5th Ave for a few hours to catch the rush hour traffic. I was able to hand out six tracts and had one guy stop and chat with a word of encouragement. It was a wonderful day. Looking forward to this week on the streets. Keep Fishin!!

Bill and His Cross

Bill was ready to take his cross to downtown Huntington, WV. He walked into Starbucks, got his coffee and then grabbed a seat outside. When we planned this event we figured we would have about an hour or so till we had to leave and thats how it all worked out. Bill had a chance to speak with several people. He spoke with a Methodist Pastor and a few other people before he was asked to leave. We went to our next location. I read the Project Ezra scripture verses for the week and did some open air. Bill did his first open-air!! He was a natural at it too...he sounded like he's been doing it for years. We all alternated holding the cross as we each open aired. What an exciting day! Many heard the Truth that day, many seeds were planted, and our prayer is that God would draw them to Himself.
Keep Fishin!!!!

Making the Crosses

Having been inspired and encouraged by Tony Miano and Paul Latour I decided to make a few crosses for our fishing team in Huntington, WV. This is a short description of how I did it and what I used.

I started out with my Materials List:
(this is for one cross)

1 - 1 x 6 x 10 Pine Select (no knots)
1 - 1 1/2 x 1/4 carriage bolt, wing nut and washer
1- English Chestnut Minwax stain
1 - Spray Polyurethane
1 - 4 inch Vinyl Lettering

I started out by cutting my boards to the desired length. The vertical piece measures 4 foot and the horizontal piece measures 3 foot.

Using a dado blade I cut a 1/4 dado in the vertical piece. This will provide stability for the horizontal piece when the cross is in its open position.









Center the horizontal piece in the vertical piece and drill a centering hole.

Drilled a 3/4 hole using a forstner bit to recess the bolt.

Next I made a circle hole jig to make the inlay to hide the bolt.











I mixed some JB Weld to add some additional support to the bolt and to keep the inlay piece from popping out.













Insert the inlay and let it dry for at least 24 hours.

















Sand the crosses with some fine sandpaper. Theres not too much sanding due to the good grade of lumber that Pine Select is.













Add a coat of English Chestnut Stain and let dry for 24 hours.














Apply three coats of polyurethane. I used a commercial sprayed type but a wipe on or brush on type would work just as well. This would protect the crosses from the elements and give a good surface for the letters to adhere to.

I used some blue tape to help be sure the letters were all lined up properly.

The cross weighs 5.4 lbs.

This woodworker had a lot of fun making these crosses......but its alot more fun using them and seeing them used all over town for the glory of God.
Thanks again to Paul and Tony for the inspiration in this design.

Keep Fishin!!

Street Evangelism

GO!!

My friend David at church put this video together. Enjoy! Keep Fishin!!

Dan On The Box!!!!

When I first came to Huntington, WV one year ago I had to try to assemble a street fishin team. I met several guys through Ambassadors Alliance Fellowship. One of those guys was Dan "The Man" Stokley. We first spoke by phone and eventually got together. I can expect a call from Dan every week to plan what pond we will be fishing at. He is faithful in taking the gospel to the lost whenever he has an oppportunity. Dan makes opportunities. I have asked Dan in the past if he wanted to " Get on the Box"...he shook his head and said, "No". Today was a different story...Today Dan got "On the Box" for the first time!!!!. He proclaimed the Law and the Gospel several times at the stoplight. Several people yelled from their vehicles thanking him. We also handed out several tracts and spoke with several people. I thank God that He has given Dan so much love for the lost that he would set aside his fears to glorify his Savior. What a wonderful day. Keep Fishin!!!