I give it all up...

Yesterday was the busiest day thus far of our trip --It was our first day passing out tracts and  it was our first day out in the streets of Italy performing a mime that depicted the Gospel of Christ. Passing out tracts was fun. We went from apartment to apartment putting tracts with the Gospel message in their mailboxes. The tracts probed the curiosity of the Italians by asking interesting questions about their lives  because the Italians live day to day with no real purpose in life. Without God there is no real purpose.
Later, we had to skip children's ministry for the day because we forgot the puppets which acts as a lure to draw the kids in, so we headed straight to the downtown area, piazza. As I saw the crowds of beautiful yet closed off people I became increasingly nervous with each step. The piazza was filled with a few hundred people, most wearing extravagant clothing, all intimidating. I had never performed a mime in front of anyone that wasn't a Christian before. I nervously wondered if the people would receive it, if they would stop and look, if they would ignore us completely, or if they would, worst of all, mock us. All of our hard work, all of our practicing and fund-raising was finally coming to fruition... We were here.
The first mimers took their place to the mime called, "In the Light." As the music started the remainder of our team not performing the mime acted as part of the crowd. I look onward toward my team as they showed how the devil can use temptation to trap us; to put us in a box and make us feel as we have no other option but to end our lives. But, of course, Christ is the only one strong enough to break that box and to give us fellowship with Him. I thought this mime and the message of it was great... The Italians thought a little differently. Only a few people stopped and watched for a few minutes, and the group of teenagers behind the audience were not afraid to mockingly show their opinion. At first I was discouraged.
Never had I ever been on a missions trip where we were actually evangelizing to the people, talking and networking amongst the crowds.. Simply telling people about the gospel; and people weren't listening, almost no one cared. Except for one.. His name is Shawn. He's an Albanian teen that speaks Italian, Spanish, and English. He stayed and watched the whole mime and later talked with Jesse, the main missionary here in Italy. I was delighted to hear they exchanged numbers and will start reading the bible together regularly. Pray for Shawn as he tries to start the flame of his faith in a country that so quickly wants to put it out.
I was also reminded of Paul. He went from city to city, even places in Italy to preach the gospel of Christ. He wasn't just mocked, but spit on, beaten, stoned twice, imprisoned, and even stripped naked. Yet, he never stopped talking, never stopped traveling, never stopped sharing and showing the love of Christ with those who need it-- which is everyone. If he can do all that in the name of Christ, I know our team can as well. I give it all up. All the timidity I have when I encounter someone who speaks a different language, all the second thoughts I have when I find myself out of my comfort zone, and all my nervousness when doing a mime. I find pride when I am mocked in the name of Jesus Christ, because Christ was persecuted and I strive to be like Him.
The need is so big here, I never realized we were needed this much. But we are and we are here for a reason. Pray for endurance, pray for God's love to show through us, and pray for open hearts and ears.
With Love,
Teleah Moss