Look on the Fields: Cast Thy Bread on the Waters

Reprinted with permissions:

Truth and Tidings, August 2013 issue and 

Gaius Goff

She had been widowed for 15 years and had worked hard to make her living at what she knew best as a wife and mother. If she had a dollar for every loaf of bread she made, she would be quite well-off. He was a preacher of the gospel and his wife had died a few years previously. God in His kindness and wisdom brought these two people together and they married "in the Lord." Now, together as older people they were starting a new life and she wondered how to best connect with the people in the community where they lived. Baking bread wasn't her hobby; for years it had been a necessity in order to feed her large family and to help make ends meet.

"How can I connect with the people in this community? I am a stranger to them. They have lived here all their lives and now I am married to one of their own people; everyone knows my husband is a gospel preacher."

One day when baking bread, she decided to make some extra loaves and take them to the neighbors. Each loaf of bread was made by hand and formed with the care of 50 years of experience. Then she and her husband took a loaf of bread to the neighbor's door and he introduced her to the neighbors as his new wife. With few words and a very nice smile she greeted them and a neighborly bond was formed. Now she is on a first name basis and speaking terms every time they meet. Sometimes they take a pot of stew over, and now the neighbor is occasionally bringing them some expression of neighborliness back. The neighbors now count it a privilege when they are asked for help in some project.

Now, before Christmas every year, 70 neighbors receive a loaf of bread, made from scratch, and formed with a desire that they might see and know the love of Christ through the work of her hands. When she walks through the town everyone knows her. The post-mistress said to us, "When she walks in, this place lights up." When she and her husband go to deliver packages containing a Via magazine, an assortment of tracts, and a calendar, every home is open in the town. All the people respect them even though they won't come to hear him preach. Whenever they need help of some kind they know there is an older couple in their community that genuinely cares for them. They are "peculiar people, zealous of good works."

This is "casting your bread upon the waters."

In most cities, doors are closed to people who folks don't know, even those living in the same apartment building. But it is surprising how the smell of freshly baked bread can open a door. A small jar of homemade jam, or a little bit of molasses in a container in a basket with a nice towel around it to go with freshly baked bread right out of the oven, is very hard to resist when someone from down the hall and the second door to the right offers it with a nice smile and a first name.

"Oh, just keep the basket if you want it. But if you want to bring it back sometime, come on in for a cup of coffee or tea. And maybe the basket will get filled up again. I like to bake, but we are getting older and don't eat as much as we used to. Do come and visit us. We are just down the hall and the second door to the right."

This is "casting your bread upon the waters."

In a fairly upscale suburb of a big city, a new family moved in just across the street. When the moving truck got there it was almost noon and the moving men and the new family were carrying things into the house. A soul-winner packed up a container with sandwiches, carrots, and celery sticks, and some peanut butter to go with it, pieces of cheddar cheese, two thermos bottles of coffee, and one with hot water and some tea bags, and a pie - and went across the street.

"Hi, I'm your new neighbor right over there and it looks like maybe it is time you all had a rest and something to eat. I'll just spread this cloth over the front steps and you all get some strength back. I'll pour the coffee. By the way, my name is ... and I live right over there. If you need a phone or to get on line, feel free to come on over. I will be home all day. If there is anything I can do to help, let me know. Otherwise, I'll just stay out of your way while you get settled. I know all the folks around here and if you need a bunch of hands for anything, just let me know. We will all be glad to help, and welcome to the neighborhood."

This is "casting your bread upon the waters."

Much of the privilege of reaching people with the gospel is done without fanfare and sometimes without a word of gospel testimony being spoken the first few times we meet. A casual word about praying or going to "church" after awhile gives a new acquaintance a little understanding of who you are. "Good works" and soul-winning go well together. Don't spread yourself too thin. Take time to pray each day that the Lord will allow you to make contact in some way with someone. If the person is a Christian, rejoice in the blessing of "doing good to all men, especially those of the household of faith." There may be several days go by when you have not been able to make a connection with an unbeliever. At least use the phone to call one of God's saints who may live alone and have a talk about something that can cheer their heart. If you have someone of special interest in your life, ask for prayer and if possible pray over the phone with that person.

Fellowship in prayer is part of "casting your bread upon the waters."

The Cookie Lady - Cookies for Lost Sheep

When 80-year-old Norma Wessels moved into an apartment building that predominately housed college students, the family was a little nervous about her safety and comfort.   

Mrs. Wessels began by conversing in the hallway as they were coming and going, somehow learning all about them, especially their birthdays.  She would appear at their door on their birthdays with a plate of her wonderful homemade cookies.  She would ask about their studies; offering to pray for them when they had a test or difficult assignment.  They would offer help with carrying in  her groceries, and were protective in other situations.   

Her cookies opened the door for dialog, and before they knew it, “Grandma Wessels” (as she was called) had ‘em hooked.  There wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for her, including listening to her talk about her Savior.

In her daily two-mile walks around the neighborhood, she noticed so many children walking past her apartment on their way home from school.  She began to invite them in for after‑school cookies. Pictured above are some of her longest standing young customers. She taught them Bible verses which they must quote in order to get their cookie.   She gave many of the children Bibles and tracts. 

Mrs. Wessels kept at the cookie baking and distribution until a couple of months before she went home to Heaven at age 89.

But doing the cookie thing wasn't the only thing she kept busy at for the Lord. She found other things to do as well, like stuffing Seed Sowers packets and folding tracts for the Cedar Falls (Iowa) assembly’s mailings.

Are you wondering what you could do between 80 - 90 to find lost sheep? Do you need a cookie recipe? Of course, there's nothing to say you must wait until you're 80 to do something in your neighborhood to build relationships and to share the Gospel. It takes a burden, a heart and some creativity.

 

When Disaster Strikes in Your Community

Tragedies, disasters and accidents occur in our communities from time to time and they are opportunities for Christians and the local assembly to show care, concern and compassion in a very practical and meaningful way. It may be a fire, an unexpected death, a family loss, an accident or some other hardship. Or it could be a larger scale disaster such as the one reported below. Small or large – they are opportunities for us to display through practical deeds the love of Christ to our community.

It was late Sunday afternoon, May 25, 2008 when the F5 killer tornado slammed into Parkersburg, Iowa and other communities at over 200 mph. Terrified people cried out: “God save me.” In the Parkersburg area, seven people died and 70 were injured – not to mention the destruction of homes and businesses. 

The same day the F5 tornado slammed into Parkersburg a tornado also caused extensive damage to homes and farms just north and west of Dunkerton, Iowa.

There is a local New Testament assembly in the town of Dunkerton. Was there anything the assembly itself could do and was there anything the individual believers could do to reach out to a hurting community? 

At our request, Russ Nesbit with the assembly in Dunkerton, Iowa kindly submitted the report below outlining the assembly’s response:

Forty one homes in the Dunkerton area were rendered unlivable. The assembly felt exercised to help in a practical way. We hand-delivered a small gift of $100. to those affected. If the family was connected to the assembly through their children’s involvement in the Sunday School our gift was $500.

The following letter, written on Gospel Hall stationary, was enclosed with the gift:

Please receive this small gift as our expression of concern for you in the loss you have sustained. As you adjust to this sudden, unexpected change in your life, may the comfort of God through family, friends, and strangers give you daily courage to face the task of each new day.

The greatest evidence of God's concern for us can be found by looking at Jesus Christ. God loved our suffering world so much that He sent His Son to agonize and die for us, to free us from being sentenced to eternal sorrow (John 3: 16-18). By personally receiving Jesus Christ, we can avoid the worst of all tragedies, the tragedy of separation from God forever.

With our thoughts, prayers, and love;

Your friends that gather at the Dunkerton Gospel Hall

In addition to the letters and gifts sent from the assembly, a number of those associated with the assembly spent hours helping others with their clean-up. The feedback was general appreciation but it has also resulted in several heart to heart talks with recipients who wanted to focus on the reality of Christianity.

Submitted by Russ Nesbit.

Observations:

Whose responsibility is it to look for such opportunities in the community? Not all disasters are on such a large scale as a tornado. The need may be confined to one family who is hurting badly. Is the assembly sensitive to the needs of the community it is trying to reach with the Gospel?

Notice that those who benefitted from the kind deed were fully aware of where the gift came from. The gift and letter were hand-delivered so the neighbor could attach a real person with the local assembly that had showed such kindness.

The letter was written on Gospel Hall stationary to identify the source of the gift clearly.

The letter was compassionate, short and simple and not ‘preachy’. This was not the appropriate time to distribute the Two Roads Chart and other hard-hitting Gospel papers. It is called ‘winning’ souls with ‘wisdom’.

Notice it is from ‘friends’ who gather at the local assembly – not from the ‘believers’ or the ‘Christians’. There is something warm and inviting about the term. It implies – ‘we’re your neighbors next door. Normal human beings who love Christ.’

If you would like to add an observation to this story, please leave a comment.

Hamilton, Ontario - Multi-pronged Gospel Approach

Paul Glenney of the Nash Road Gospel Hall (Hamilton, Ontario) kindly submitted the post below. The Christians who once met at the Hamilton Road Gospel Hall moved to a newly renovated facility in November, 2009. The post below deals with the transition and the assembly's gospel efforts in the community.

Here is a brief chronology of events since moving into the new building. It is only ten minutes from the former Kensington Avenue Gospel Hall so we have been able to maintain some contacts from the area. The lady who lives beside the old hall is picked up each Sunday night for the Gospel Meeting, unless she is unable to attend. Some children are also picked up in the area.

In the months preceding our move we delivered, as well as mailed, to apartments in the area a Seed Sower John 3:16 text (5x7) and a card indicating that we were moving into their neighborhood. We moved November 13-14th and the following three Saturdays had a craft class focusing on Christmas crafts. Then on December 13th we had the Christmas dinner.

It is hard moving into a new area and trying to make contacts. It is slow but we are in it for the long run, in the will of the Lord. To the neighbors on each side of our building we took a gift basket with texts and literature in it. We thanked them for their patience and understanding with us during the months of construction with its noise and dirt. It is really just another way of trying to gain the confidence of the people. We delivered about 800 baskets along with an annual calendar which had all the Sunday School and Gospel meetings marked for each Sunday in addition to special events such as Mother’s Day luncheon, Sunday School picnic and the Christmas program for 2010. Again these are small steps.

We are not getting many folks in from the area yet but we keep working at it.

Regarding our Christmas Program, we have tried this for a few years and are very thankful we have.

We have a full Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings.

We try to time the Program (with the children saying verses or recitations relating to the coming into the world of the Saviour and his death at Calvary) for about 7PM. This is the time of our regular Sunday evening Gospel meeting so if some of the neighbors unknowingly come for the Gospel meeting, they will still get the Christmas Gospel message. The recitation of verses is followed by a speaker for the children and parents - again with the focus on the birth and death of the Saviour.

For this Christmas program, we get a large number of unsaved in which normally do not come to the meetings. It is fair to say conservatively we had in at least 40 unsaved adults that we normally would not get in. In all we estimate we had between 230 – 250. The Christians were encouraged by it and in the will of the Lord we plan on it again for 2010.

We hope in the spring/summer to have a community barbeque on our front lawn/parking lot again with tents with texts, cds, literature, etc. The purpose again is to make contacts in the area. We are getting some inquiries from the website as well. (See link for Hamilton, Ontario under Websites)

While we have not yet been able to connect fully with our new neighbors we are continuing with the expectation that we will.

Regarding the renovations to our new location, our project manager, Mike Da Silva, is a Christian. We have arranged a Sunday evening for Mike Da Silva and his son to speak in the Gospel. We are using this as an opportunity to invite all the trades and tradesmen, our real estate agent, etc. that worked on the building to the gospel meeting, tour the building to see the finished product and have a luncheon. Will they come? we don’t know but here again we are trying to use this to make some contacts for the Gospel’s sake.

We carry on a Spanish Gospel meeting once a month on a Saturday followed by dinner. We always have some unsaved in for which we are thankful.