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August 2020
THE DAY BEFORE REHAB

This is a story about what can happen when you listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Literature evangelist Paul Bodor had a divine encounter with Kevin*, the day before Kevin was scheduled to go to rehab.
 
As told to Vania Chew
 
Paul Bodor was ready to head home to Busselton (Western Australia). He had been working in Perth for the last couple of weeks and today was his last day there. If all went according to plan, he would be home by sunset.
 
At 3pm, he received a call from Marilene Stevenson, who works in the Literature Evangelism Ministry department at Adventist Media.
 
“Did you get the email I sent this morning?” she asked.
 
A young man named Kevin* had been listening to Adventist radio station Faith FM and he wanted some information on children’s Bible stories. He had called Adventist Media for assistance. Marilene had then contacted Paul, wondering if he or someone else could help Kevin with his query.
 
Paul had received the email but he hadn’t intended to respond until he got home to Busselton. However, he now felt the Holy Spirit prick his conscience and he decided to give Kevin a ring.

As it turned out, he was able to meet up with Kevin in person… and not a moment too soon. It was Kevin’s last free day before he was scheduled to go to rehab.
 
“Kevin was raised Christian but fell into a bad lifestyle and began using drugs,” shares Paul. “When he was 17, he had a relationship with a 43-year-old woman and they had a child together. His child is now almost two years old and his ex is making it hard for Kevin to see him. Kevin wants to clean up his act for his son.”
 
During their discussion, Kevin unexpectedly asked Paul if he was struggling with anything. “God’s blessed me to help others,” he explained. “How can I help you?”
 
“God has already used you to bless me,” Paul told him. “I was tempted not to contact you today and I could’ve missed this opportunity.”
 
Kevin showed a strong interest in spiritual topics, commenting, “The devil’s going to impersonate Jesus one day.”
 
Paul had no difficulty in deciding which books Kevin needed – The Great Controversy and Desire of Ages.
 
“I’m not much of a reader,” confessed Kevin. “I don’t think I’ve ever read books this big.” But he took the books, along with some Bible stories for his son.
 
“Kevin spent the last of his savings on the children’s Bible stories,” reports Paul. “He’ll be in rehab for the next year and a half. I have his phone number and I’ve been sending him encouraging text messages and morning devotions. I hope to enroll Kevin in some Bible studies from Hope Channel so that he can continue to learn more about God. But the most important thing I learned from this experience is to never ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit. You never know what divine appointments God has in store for you.”
 
Paul Bodor
Literature Ministry Coordinator, Western Australian Conference
Would you like to send some encouragement to Paul or any of the other literature evangelists? CLICK HERE

QUOTABLE QUOTE: "The great object of our publications is to exalt God, to call men's attention to the living truths of His word. God calls upon us to lift up, not our own standard, not the standard of this world, but His standard of truth." - Testimonies for the Church 7:150,151



BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN BIKER

 
The Kadina Show is one of the longest-running shows in South Australia, attended by many families from the community.
 
Literature evangelists Rita Pinzone and Natasha Samarinoff took advantage of this opportunity to share their books with the public by setting up a book stall at the show. Assisted by two local church members, they were able to give away lots of free literature and interact with many lovely people.
 
“A tall biker was walking by and I extended my hand and offered him a Signs of the Times magazine,” said Rita. “I mentioned that it was Australia’s longest running health and lifestyle magazine and had a Christian focus.”
 
At first, the biker was reluctant to accept the magazine, but as soon as he heard the word ‘Christian’, his face lit up. “I’m a born-again Christian!” he exclaimed.
 
The biker, whose name was Pasquale, began engaging in conversation with Rita and her friends. He shared his testimony and said that he was part of a Christian motorcycle ministry.
 
“I have a friend who is the director of the Adventist motorcycle ministry,” Rita commented. It turned out that he and Pasquale were Facebook friends!
 
When Pasquale realised that Rita was Adventist, he began asking her questions about the Sabbath and health.
 
“I was praying that the local church pastor would arrive because he and Pasquale had similar testimonies,” said Rita. “It was almost time for the show to end, but praise God, the pastor and his children came just in time to meet Pasquale and his son Frankie.”
 
Pasquale signed up for Bible studies and a copy of The Great Controversy as well as a Discovery Prophecy course and a children’s Bible course for his little boy.
 
“Frankie fell in love with Incredible Dinosaurs and Pasquale loved the Family Keepsake Bible and Family Bible Story series which he signed up for,” Rita said. “I praise God for that last special divine appointment at the end of the day!”
 

If you would like to run a pop-up book stall like Rita, you can find out how to do so here.

Rita Pinzone
Literature Ministry Coordinator, South Australian Conference
Why not send Rita, or any Literature Evangelist some encouragement, Scripture or a prayer. CLICK HERE
PRAYING TO BE A WITNESS
 
“I was invited by a colleague to attend a baby shower for a Muslim woman,” said literature evangelist Auxilia Madhuvu. “I prayed for the opportunity to be able to witness to someone at that party.”
 
Her prayers were answered when a woman approached her at the party and said, “You’re a Christian, right?”
 
Auxilia began to share her beliefs with this woman, who then asked her why there were so many different churches.
 
“I shared what I knew and then invited her to come with me to my car so that I could give her a copy of The Great Controversy,” said Auxilia. “I told her that it had more information about different churches.”
 
Unfortunately, Auxilia couldn’t find any copies of The Great Controversy in her car. She apologised and gave the woman a copy The Desire of Ages instead. The woman seemed appreciative.
 
“A few weeks later, I got a few copies of The Great Controversy and thought of giving this woman one,” said Auxilia. “I visited her office to find out how she was going with The Desire of Ages. She pulled out a notepad and showed me the notes which she had written as she was reading the book. She had been reading it daily and had already finished the book! My heart praised the Lord and I left her with a copy of The Great Controversy.”
 
Please keep this woman and Auxilia in your prayers.

Editorial Note:  This story occurred prior to Covid lockdown regulations. 

To purchase copies of The Great Controversy and Desire of Ages to share with others, click here


 
Do you have inspiring literature evangelism stories to share?
Please contact Vania at vaniachew@adventistmedia.org.au
Tell her your story and she'll write it up for you.


Auxillia Madhuvu
Literature Evangelist, Victoria
Why not send Auxillia, or any Literature Evangelist some encouragement, Scripture or a prayer. CLICK HERE

SHARING THE PEACE OF JESUS

“Sorry, I’m having a panic attack,” Anna* said to student literature evangelist Georgia Kenny, who had just knocked on her door.
 
“Is there anything I can do?” Georgia asked in concern. Anna asked her to sit down for a few minutes and told Georgia that panic attacks were a weekly event for her. She then noticed and asked about Georgia’s copy of Peace Above The Storm. As they looked through the pages of Bible promises together, Georgia found out that Anna was a Christian.
 
“I was able to pray with Anna and pray that the peace of Jesus would be with her,” said Georgia. “We ended up singing some of her favourite songs together including Jesus Loves Me.”

Anna bought Georgia’s copy of Peace Above The Storm and expressed her gratitude for Georgia’s visit. In turn, Georgia left, feeling humbled and grateful that God had used her to comfort one of His children in need. 

You can purchase your own copy of Peace Above The Storm here

Georgia Kenny
Literature Evangelist, Sydney
Why not send Georgia, or any Literature Evangelist some encouragement, Scripture or a prayer. CLICK HERE
*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.

Editorial Note:  Many states are back to business with LEs following their personal Covid Safe Plans and distributing literature in accordance with the local state health regulations.  New methods have been developed for LEs to adapt their ministry in states affected by lock downs.   With states like Victoria that are under lock down, we encourage all LEs and members to comply with state government advice and continue to reach out with hope by making connection and promoting truth-filled books through personal phone calls, video support groups, social media and ecommerce.

Special Prayer:  We ask for special prayer for the LEs who are affected by these circumstances. 
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