The Everyday Club

7/18/10 Arturo, about 55
It's after dark, I'm tired and dusty from a church softball double header in the 90 degree heat, and I'm on my way home but haven't yet had a gospel conversation today. How can I expect God to help me with my witnessing goal if I don't do my part? So I stopped at a park and prayed for someone to talk to, and there was an older Mexican-American man (Arturo) sitting on a bench, enjoying the evening breeze. Though he came across as rather stoic, he didn't mind if I ran a few questions by him so I found out he had very religious parents who taught him to believe in God. He believes they are in heaven but didn't have much of an opinion about his own fate, other than that he doesn't fear death. For some reason I felt it would be a better appraoch with Arturo to share my own testimony, which I did. I told him how I've broken the Ten Commandments - "Los Mandamientos" - he said, and I told him that I have lied which makes me "un mentiroso" - a liar, and I have stolen which makes me "un ladron" - a thief. Using some of his native language words and pronouncing them correctly really seemed to catch his attention, and he began to relate to my testimony, identifying himself as a sinner undeserving of heaven. He listened closely as I explained what Christ had done on the cross, and at the end kind of came across like he felt he had this faith in Christ all along. Whether or not he has faith in Jesus, he now has a much clearer understanding of the way of salvation.