A Tale of Two Lines

The crowd was a bit thin this morning, so instead of standing in a corner I thought I would walk around to where people were and give out my remaining tracts. 

This is the second line I encountered after walking two blocks. Crossing the street to where the people were waiting to enter a grocery, I offered each one a tract, beginning at the front of the line. He declined and waved me off. I offered it to the lady next to him. She waved me off. The third man ignored me. The fourth said no. The fifth opened his phone. And so on. I blessed them and walked towards another street. I need to go back to the first line I saw, but passed by. 

The first line I saw was at the utilities office. It was long and busy. I had already given to a few on my way here when I saw the potential audience I was hoping for, amd yet I sheepishly walked on. I felt pathetic as a surge of shame overcame me. The Spirit was strongly convicting me to turn back, but my feet seem to have a mind of their own and kept walking. Eventually I found myself at the market where the second line was, tried giving tracts to them, but none took it. Clearly this was not where I was supposed to be. I felt like I was in the same boat with the apostles when they went fishing and caught nothing because the Lord wasn't with them. So I turned on the next street to go back. 

This time I walked to the back of the line and started with the last person, making my way towards the front. Every one took a tract. It seems that if people in a line see you they have time to think, and if the person in front of them refuse you, then the rest in line will also refuse you. But when you start at the back, every person's first reaction would be to take it. 

Filipinos are a class on their own. They do not like being put in a spot, and that includes having to take something that does not interest them. They get embarrassed quickly and have very short attention spans. But within that are subclasses: the upper and lower, not to speak in terms of living and income, but interest in the simple things. I have yet to be refused with pedicab and tricycle drivers, vendors, security guards, and public servants. You can easily have a friendly conversation with anyone in this class. They will even readily give you a smile. But college students, working people, and the like, always ignore me. 

There are so many things I have learned and am still learning when it comes to reading and approaching Filipinos. An American friend of mine who also ministers in the streets do not have the same issues I have, as Filipinos tend to accommodate foreigners more than someone from their own. But when it comes to preaching publicly, you will never have no audience. Our public streets are lined with stalls and vendors. I tend to stand within earshot of them. Even if the crowd is moving fast and none seem to take interest, they are not the audience, the vendors are. There is always someone who is listening. God's sovereign purpose ensures the success and fruit of my labor. This I am sure of.