Outreach without Reaching Out

May has arrived, and with it my annual volunteer time with the Tulip Gospel Outreach. I had the same time constraints as last year, but with a few different twists.

As what seems to be the norm, weather during Tulip Time was quite cool for most of the festival. Thursday started out with thunderstorms that continued for most the day. Dad dropped Sara and I off at church so we could stay dry and picked us up again over five hours later. Due to weather, the first parade was canceled and some of the events were moved inside to where we were meeting.

Gospel outreach volunteers moved to the basement and had a demonstration of sidewalk painting that leads into a presentation. The group's leader was very nice in getting lunch for Sara and I so we didn't have to battle the rain, but it meant we never left the chilly church. It was a good day of learning and fellowship, but I went home well before any outreach activities happened.

Friday morning was the best weather of the week with clear skies and temps in the low 70's. After the morning lessons, Sara and I headed out to lunch. Afterward, we returned to the church parking lot for a demonstration of good street preaching, not street screeching as some ministries do. By the time it finished, we had about 15 minutes until it was time to leave. Therefore, instead of going to our designated location, Sara and I returned to the van and home. We handed out two gospel tracts at lunch and three while going to our vehicle, but that was all.

Saturday was the final day of the festival and another soggy morning with full cloud cover. After dad brought Brenda and I to town, we listened to a couple excellent messages given by Mark Spence of Living Waters. During his first presentation, I looked at my chair's computer screen and realized I forgot to have someone plug it in overnight, it was only 50% charged. That meant I only lost three levels of charge over the previous two days, so I figured it would be okay.

Once again, we headed out to find food after coordinating plans with my team. I drove a little over two blocks from church, found a nutritious meal of strawberry funnel cake, and parked beside a nearby picnic table. While eating in the frigid air, I noticed my power level now read empty and displayed a message "recharge batteries." I gave out one tract to picnic table neighbors, who I could barely see, before informing my team I would have to leave. Brenda then pushed me, all 500+ lbs, through the bumpy sidewalks to the van.

Over three days of the outreach, I gave out six gospel tracts and had zero conversations. I did help my team in practicing conversations and gave out eight of my books, but that was it. The question I answered the most was, "Aren't your feet cold?" It was definitely a quad life experience, but I pray the very little interaction I had will result in eternal benefit for someone.