Silent Messengers

[ColporteurK]

The young mother stopped at the literature booth at the country fair. I asked her if she would like to answer our question and win a free  book. The question was " Two pigs entered the ark . How many cows went in ?" (according to the KJV)  Hmmmm. She was stumped like most people. Her young son guessed " seven!" . It was a lucky guess but they won a free book. Mother pondered which paperback book to choose. As I described the Steps to Christ, Bible Readings and other books she said, " I don't know much about Revelation." She took the "Mark of the Beast." I invited her to sign up for the drawing. This she did and checked off a few items of interest.
A few weeks later I drove about an hour and stopped at her house in the country. I asked at the door if she  had read the book she received at the fair. She said she had read some of it and it is " kind of scary." 
As she invited me in I explained that I look at Revelation a little like a tornado warning. ( A week previously a tornado came through the area, shook the neighborhood and wiped out several homes in the area) "A tornado warning is given not to scare people but to make them safe so they can prepare for the storm. Better to be a little frightened and safe than the alternative." Mother replied, "I see what you mean. Come and sit down."  I canvassed the Bible Stories and the twelve volume Bible Reference Library. As I was sharing some of the fundamental teachings on the symbols  of prophecy I could tell that she was getting it and when I led up to the Sabbath she knew where I was going and was nodding her head. I stated, " you know where I'm going with this don't you?"  She replied , "yes ! "
At the close it was no small amount to pay but mother stated, " I should talk this over with my husband but  this is important." She wrote out a check for the full amount.
Her husband  has been reading the stories to their children.

[ColporteurK]

   
       Oh, Those Little Angels!

      In the course of the ministry of a colporteur you see many things. Some of the children in the homes are the dearest most polite little cherubim that you could imagine. And then there is a significant number that,.. shall we say,.. are of another nature!
    Chris and I were working together one day and this little guy was one of those that try you and then some. It was nothing a brief trip to the woodshed would not have taken care of but these days in most homes that’s out of the question.
   Little Johnny was in my case constantly and defiantly having his own way. Mother made a few feeble attempts from across the table to make him behave but Johnny had mother figured out.
 
 I had discovered a technique that seems to work when mother’s attempts fail. It works best when mother is not able to see what is happening. As little Johnny reached into my case for the nine hundredth time I subtly clamped down on his hand and squeezed while continuing to smile and visit with mother. I would increase the pressure until he got the message.  This little guy was a little more determined then some so I squeezed accordingly. His face turned red as he ran to the other side of the table and whacked Chris hard right on the head. Chris was a little surprised as he asked with some volume, “ What was that all about?”
    Only Johnny and I knew that he was simply relieving his temper. When we were outside Chris asked what got into the little character. I shared what had happened.
   We both laughed although it really wasn’t very funny. We needed to relieve some tension too!


Chris had another painful experience one day. He approached the house with lead card in hand. A young boy ran up and as Chris said hello the boy made a champion swing and connected below the belt. HELLO!!!  Just then the mother opened the door. Chris was nearly speechless and semi upright as the mother asked why he was there. When he did speak he had gone from a base to a tenor. He said later he would have liked to take the little guy to the wood shed. 

[ColporteurK]

  Kevin & Tess

Kevin stopped by our literature booth at the fair late last summer.

I asked if he was familiar with the Bible Stories that we display in medical clinics.

He said that he was and is a doctor himself and would like to get books for his clinic waiting room as he filled out a card for our free drawing. The card revealed that the family is Catholic and consists of three preschool children.

Two weeks later I contacted Kevin and set up an appointment over the phone for Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m..

 It was raining as I arrived on the appointed evening. It was a big beautiful house positioned across the road from one of the Great lakes.  I was invited in and as we spoke Kevin’s wife Tess said that she is also a physician.

They made a decision for Tess to stay home with the children until they are older.

They recently chose to boot the tv out and said they could not believe how much more peace there was in the home without the tv.

Kevin and Tess purchased multiple sets of the children’s books .
Upon my recommendation they purchased as well Patriarchs and Prophets and the Great Controversy.

I gave them three children’s books to display in Kevin’s clinic waiting room as well as a stand of brochures to display there.

The total of their library came to $872.00.
Kevin asked, “ would it be ok to make the check out for an even $900.00? When is the last time someone gave you another $28.00 just to have an even figure? Of course I allowed him to do so. 

I offered prayer and upon leaving Kevin said that he is very supportive of what we are doing with the literature.

A few weeks later I went in to service the books in the clinic and in the far back room Kevin spotted me. He waved like crazy with a big smile on his face.

[ColporteurK]

Highway to Heaven

We had just moved out of the state. I went back for the last load of canned fruit and veggies and arrived  there Friday.
I planned to spend my last Sabbath with friends and then load up Sunday morning and head to our new home to be with my family. On Sabbath I was heading down the interstate to the house of friends in the church. My van has a beautiful  Bible Story logo on each  side window of my van with my cell number. I was traveling on cruise and nice black car passed me. I looked to the side and returned the wave the passenger gave me.  A few seconds later the car dropped back and I moved ahead again.  About that time my cell phone rang. Thinking it was my church friends I took the call. "Hello, you sell the Bible Stories? I am the car that passed you," said the voice on the other end.  I replied that yes, I do and that if he was interested he could follow me to the next exist and we could talk about it. That he did  and then climbed into my vehicle. After some words of acquaintance and his testimony we ended up in a Bible study with my Bible open to Revelation 13:11 among other verses. Interest was peaked. He said that he was up state hunting with some friends but that he does not really care about hunting. This was just an opportunity to talk to friends about Christ. It seems that he recently went through a conversion experience. I said that I was not in a position to do business today but would pass his information along to a representative living down state near him. I left him some publications on prophecy and we parted after 30 minutes of dialog and a prayer.

I found that when I got to my friends house I was 90 minutes late. Your see I had reset my vehicle clock for out of state time and when I returned the night before I forgot to change the clock. The point is that had I reset my clock to the correct time I would have been on the interstate 60 minutes earlier and missed this young man in the black car all together.

I passed his information along to an LE down state who sold him a set of health books and gave him a paperback Great Controversy.

Was the Lord perusing this family ? Well, listen to this. A few weeks later the wife of the man in the black car just happened to make acquaintance with  the SDA pastor's wife down there in an exercise class one day. One thing let to another and a short  time later the family sat in our SDA church there on Sabbath morning. I don't know what their  relationship with our church is right now as we are out of state but I do know the Lord is on their trail.   

[ColporteurK]

 I stopped at the house of a man that mailed in a lead card from the doctor's office. He was outside and said that it would be better for us to go down to the coffee shop and talk because his mother was not well etc etc.. Though it seemed a bit odd I took him down to a restaurant. While there I noticed a whole table of people signing as they were deaf. I decided to give them some literature and found from a couple at the table that were not deaf that at least some of them were JWs. I gave them some free literature which they accepted. When I returned to the table I learned that the man was conning me out of a meal. He acted as though he forgot his money at home and could I cover it ? I saw right through it and realized the whole thing was a set up for a free meal. I suggested he call his mother which he agreed to do and then he ignored the idea and  asked again if I could cover the bill and he would pay me back. While he was in the rest room I seriously considered leaving him there with the bill and without wheels. However, there was in my mind the possibility that if I left him he might approach the JWs, hit them up for a ride and tell them that I dumped him and stuck him with the bill ( his bill as I did not eat or drink anything). That could really back fire on me in terms of witnessing to the witnesses. I didn't want that to happen so I paid the bill. I knew he was not going to pay me back so I did not ask and he did not offer. I was not happy to pay for coffee and a $6.00 plate of onion rings. When I let him off at his house I asked him to think about our experience today and pray about it. I was probably too soft on him but I think he still got the message. He was a smart man and fairly knowledgeable about the Bible. He noticed that my countenance changed once I knew what he was up to and it soured my mood a bit. Then I remembered how many people used Christ just for a free meal. Hopefully he will think about what he did and read the material I left him.

[restoretruth]

...When I returned to the table I learned that the man was conning me out of a meal. He acted as though he forgot his money at home and could I cover it ? I saw right through it and realized the whole thing was a set up for a free meal.... 

That took a lot of nerve! There are people like that! Reminds me of a man I knew who used a power wheelchair. He had a nice van equipped with a wheelchair lift, but not driveable because the engine was bad. This man said he had been a member of the Milwaukie(OR) Celebration SDA Church but he was now studying with the Mormons. They offered to fix his van. I wonder if they ever did.

[ColporteurK]

...When I returned to the table I learned that the man was conning me out of a meal. He acted as though he forgot his money at home and could I cover it ? I saw right through it and realized the whole thing was a set up for a free meal.... 

That took a lot of nerve! There are people like that! Reminds me of a man I knew who used a power wheelchair. He had a nice van equipped with a wheelchair lift, but not driveable because the engine was bad. This man said he had been a member of the Milwaukie(OR) Celebration SDA Church but he was now studying with the Mormons. They offered to fix his van. I wonder if they ever did.

Does a Celebration SDA church ever lead to anything good ?

[ColporteurK]

 I want to add the following 3 minute clip to the end of a powerpoint presentation with canvassing experiences. Since on a scale of 1-10 with computers I am about a 3 I have not a clue as to how to do it. Does anyone know how I can add the video clip  to my picture presentation ?

[Ed Sutton]

Is this helpful ?

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/training2/PowerPoint/Adding_a_Video_to_a_Powerpoint_Presentation.pdf

I looked at other links but the one above seemed the most helpful.

other resource links
http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/workshops/biomed/ppt/video.html

http://www.labnol.org/software/insert-youtube-video-in-powerpoint-presentations/5393/

http://humanities.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/cohic/ppt_embedding_videos.pdf

http://movieclips.com/about/powerpoint/
***************
goanimate
http://goanimate.com/video-maker-tips/how-to-add-video-to-powerpoint-presentations/

http://goanimate.com/

http://goanimate.com/video-maker-tips/goanimate-glossary/

http://goanimate.com/video-maker-tips/tutorial-how-to-use-goanimate/

http://goanimate.com/video-maker-tips/table-of-contents-goanimate-tutorials/

http://goanimate.com/video-maker-tips/press-and-mentions-a-creative-exercise-for-writing-your-video-script-2/
*************
CPK  would you like to canvas these folks by video ?

http://goanimate.com/video-maker-tips/the-people-behind-the-product-meet-the-goanimate-team/

[ColporteurK]

 Thanks Ed.

[ColporteurK]

Getting Started Can be half the Fun;


 Literature Evangelist Kenneth Jenkins didn't have to worry about what to say in order to get in the door. He drove his car into the farmyard, parked it, and started for the farm house when he saw a huge Holstein bull grazing in the yard. The bull looked up, startled. It snorted, bellowed, and started for Kenneth, who is six feet two inches tall and weighs nearly 300 pounds.

    Holding tight to his briefcase, Kenneth started back toward his car but couldn't get there quickly enough. He hadn't run much since his football days, but he headed for the house. He hoped that after one circle around the house he could jump up onto the porch, but the bull was too close behind. The second time around he succeeded in landing on the porch with such effect that he crashed through a floor board. The lady of the house by this time had opened the front door and in he ducked, expecting that the bull would follow. The huge animal meekly stopped at the porch, however.

   The lady said to her little daughter, "Darling, please go put the bull back in the barnyard." The child went out, picked up a little switch, and drove the hulking creature back where he belonged and shut the gate. The lady must have been properly impressed by Kenneth's unusual introduction, for she readily bought a set of books for her little girl.

[ColporteurK]

Mackenzie and John is a nice young couple but at the close of the canvass they made it clear that they would not be buying any books. I canvassed the Bible Stories and the Triumph of God's Love and as a drop down when they said they could not purchase them I showed  5 magabooks which included the Great Controversy, God's Answers to Your Questions ( Bible Readings) and three children's books. However, they continued  with excuses about how they needed the funds as they were getting married and were finishing off their basement, etc,etc,.

What to do ?  I asked a question that led into the book of Revelation and they showed an interest. Their interest developed and we ended up in a Bible Study but without a Bible as they could not find their Bible for the life of them. I talked about Daniel 7 and Rev. 13 as they hunted, but no Bible. I asked if they  wanted to know I could run out and get mine. I returned with it and we had  what I would describe as a power packed one hour Bible study that normally would have taken 2-3 hours.  It was pumped. We talked about the seal and the mark, 666, and the calendar change, the papacy , the scarlet woman, the city on 7 hills and the beast of Rev. 13:11 that had horns like a lamb but speaks as a Dragon. Interest increased through out the study and at the end I gave them a paperback book "Mark of the Beast." Mackenize responded, "  that's for ,me? "There is a whole book on that ?!   I replied, "yes, there is a whole book on that. If I was just here to sell books I would have been gone an hour ago but this topic is important. What is more important than you not being deceived  and lost ?" Mackenize replied, "would you get those  5 books back out again, I think we will take those." She wrote out a check for $60 and they repeatedly thanked me for coming. We must convince people that we have more than just good books but rather, books with essential truth for this time.

[Tammy]

I enjoy your stories here.

[ColporteurK]

I enjoy your stories here.

Thanks, Tammy.


One evening  I stopped at Tracy's house. She is a single mother who works at Casey's and has a 5 year old daughter. She wept as she told me how her mother abused her and then how her sister took her year old son from her because she was homeless and hooked on crack. She does not know where her sister lives and there is no communication therefore she is not able to know anything about her now 8 year old son. When her daughter was born she dumped the crack habit entirely not wanting to lose her daughter. She is trying to follow the Lord and get her life on track. She feels that she is not worthy to find her son and perhaps there is no husband out there that would not abuse her somehow.  She purchased three magabooks and I left her several  free publications and had prayer with her.

[ColporteurK]

 I stopped at the home of Irvin and Elleen. Irvin had sent in a health lead card from the doctor's office. Irvin answered the door and I could hear his wife say, " what do they want?" I could tell she was not excited that a salesman was there. While sitting at the table with Irvin I tried to warm up to his wife who sat in a recliner facing away and watching TV. I went on to give a mini health seminar and I could tell she was listening. She rose up after a while and came to the table and say down with us. That was a good sign. She was interested and the barrier was coming down. Then their son and daughter in law stopped by and they too showed an interest in the books before leaving.  I canvassed the 3 volumes of Encyclopedia of Foods , the Natural Remedies, and the Great Controversy Illustrated. Irvin  said to his wife, "I'm gonna get em and we can use them with all of the family." I offered prayer in the Catholic home and left some free literature. Although I could tell that  my prayer was unusual for them it looked like Irvin was teary eyed when I finished.

We are told in the Spirit of Prophecy that a home is never the same after we have offered prayer there.