Thursday, October 01, 2009

Magic with scissors

A few weeks ago I ran into a local monogram shop to pick up a gift and was so excited to see a sign saying the "Silhouette Man" would be coming to their shop to do silhouettes later that week. I had been wanting to get some of the kids done before we left for Africa and couldn't find anywhere that was doing it. Apparently these silhouette artists travel around and you have to find one in your area.

Anyway, I took Ford and Gus in one morning while Claire was at school (because everything is easier with two - it doesn't matter which two - just two) to have their's done. When I got home and got them out of the packaging I noticed a little slip of paper with scripture tucked into each one. I thought it was really nice and a very interesting ministry for this gentleman to have. He sees literally hundreds of families in every town he stops in and has a neat opportunity to plant seeds in people's hearts with God's Word.

When I took Claire back that afternoon I mentioned how excited I was to have these done before we moved out of the country and that sparked a conversation about missions when I mentioned that we were affiliated with Samaritan's Purse. He stopped cutting and looked up with an excitement and told me that he had become a Christian through Billy Graham. He proceeded to tell me his amazing story of salvation . . . He was into lots of new age beliefs and very, very far from the God who created him. He met the woman who would eventually become his wife (she didn't know at the time all of his beliefs) and it sparked an uneasyness in his heart. He said for weeks he walked around with a heavyness and didn't know what was wrong but felt like something was just not right. He was walking through a department store one day and happend into the electronics department. All the TVs were on but the audio was off. On the screen was Billy Graham speaking (muted) and a 1-800 number at the bottom of the screen. He just stood their surrounded by all the faces of Billy Graham and that number and hit a breaking point. He started weeping and knew he had to call that number so he went to a pay phone, called the number and the person who he spoke to led him to Christ. What a cool story! It is so amazing to hear his testimony and realize how the Holy Spirit was working in his life and in his heart - preparing him to respond to the gospel that day at the mall.

I really enjoyed talking to him and when he asked me how he could pray for me I could tell he really meant it and really will be praying for us. I gave him one of our handy dandy prayer cards and I feel encouraged knowing that God placed him in my path that day, in a pretty unlikely place, and now I have a new friend in Christ praying for me and our family.
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2 comments:

Shanan & Shannon said...

I don't know what's cooler...the amazing silhouettes or the salvation story of the artist. How cool is that. What submission he had to call from a pay phone. Incredible. Thank you for sharing! Those pictures of your children will be treasures forever.

Stacy said...

Love the silhouettes - and the story! God is always working in our lives.