The Everyday Club

12/16/10     Ricardo, abvout 35
This morning I realized I had some time before work but will be busy all evening. Since intentional evangelism means one must plan ahead at times, I headed to McDonalds near a Home Depot where a lot of Mexican immigrants, hoping for temporary day jobs, tend to congregate. I introduced myself to Ricardo as he had breakfast, finding out he knew no English and asking if he would help me practice my Spanish. He agreed and was very patient with me and open to answering my questions about his beliefs, helping me find the right words when I couldn't think of them. Ricardo is Catholic but doesn't think much about his faith, telling me his wife is the devout one in the family. He believes in God and Heaven but rejects the idea that God would punish anyone in hell. "But if all people go to heaven then it won't be any different than this earth" I told him. He hadn't really thought about that. In much of the rest of our conversation I just focused on what the Bible actually teaches about our sin and judgment and the hope we can have in Christ. After I gave him a Spanish New Testament and an ¿Eres una buena persona? gospel tract, he told me he can't read but said he would have his wife read it to him. I thought "Well, at least that way they will both hear it!"  I know there is a lot of concern about illegal immigration these days, but what a tremendous opportunity we have to share a living faith in Christ with people who are too often stuck in religious tradition.  Instead of sending missionaries the mission fields are coming to our own backyard!