Tell Your Story

    This morning, as I was reading my devotional, a verse just lept off the page! Has that ever happened to you? (It happened to me a couple of weeks ago, too, but that's a different story.) So, what was it that got me so motivated that I would blog about it? After all, if you look closely, you'll see it's been over a YEAR since I've written anything. (Yes, I, know what you're thinking. Again, that's a different story.) Here's the verse:
   "Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story..."
                                       Psalm 107:1-2

The last half of that passage stood out! If you know me, you know that music and missions are my passion. That verse took me back to my first mission trip to Hungary. We were working at a university in Gyor, during registration week. Our job was to engage students and invite them to join a group, to work on their English speaking skills. We also took surveys and handed out Bibles and literature about English classes. In addition, we held a different event each night, providing an opportunity for our team to meet and get to know the students.
    OK. That sets the scene. Now to the verse. One night, our activity was to meets students in a local coffee shop and just sit around and talk to them but only two people showed up. That was a little awkward! There were 10 of us and 2 of them, so we all went to a dimly lit back room, full of comfy chairs and couches. We sat in a circle and the local leaders asked us to "tell our story". My story? What is THAT? I had never heard anyone use that terminology before.
     We told a little about our personal background, how we came to be believers, how that decision had affected our lives and how we ended up in Hungary. It literally took NO preparation. I just told the story of ME. So SIMPLE!
    As I sat and listened to each story, it was amazing how much I learned. The students were even willing to tell us THEIR stories!  I remember thinking, " THEIR stories are very different from mine." Yet, God used that opportunity to open a dialogue that would eventually lead to two new believers!  All we had to do was tell our stories and then listen.
    " Let the redeemed of the Lord (those who have been forgiven and have trusted in Christ as their Savior) TELL THEIR STORY." How simple! How effective!
    Find a new friend and tell YOUR story!