Post by Messenger Micah on Oct 29, 2005 0:42:09 GMT -5
Joining me to South Beach this week were my wife Elizabeth, Doug, John and Onica, and Emmanuel. It was another slow week by South Beach standards due to preparations for Hurricane Wilma. Nevertheless, there are always your die-hard, workers of iniquity who will not allow some major hurricane to interfere with their sin and bondage.
We parked again on 11th street, between Ocean and Collins. We set up our banners, and began making our way down toward 5th street, which is where the boardwalk along the beach begins. We had some good one-to-one conversations on our way down. When we arrived at the thoroughfare to the beach across from Wet Willie?s there were about 10 people sitting around the area, and I began preaching. I was able to maintain the group?s attention, and the group did not increase, but stayed about the same size. I preached about 20 minutes, and had some interaction. At this point our photographer friend, Dean caught up with us.
We then walked from the thoroughfare by the coral wall, down the sidewalk to the street directly across from Wet Willie?s. We had a conversation/debate with a group of about 8-10 young Hispanic guys and girls. They did not like it when I told them listening to rap music that glorifies things that God hates and condemns, like illicit sex, and violence would get them cast into hell (Romans 1:32).
Emmanuel had been given some blocks that could be used to stand on as a platform to preach from on the sidewalk. He brought these along, set them down on the sidewalk in front of Wet Willie?s and I started preaching. Even though the beach was not crowded, there were a decent number of people around Wet Willie?s. I lifted up my voice, but not full volume, because the police are really trying to work with us, but keep calling us on the 100-foot noise law (voice can not exceed 100 feet from where you are preaching). I was able to get probably our largest attentive audience ever outside of Wet Willie?s. I had some good hecklers, and some good interaction. An African American girl kept yelling at me from the balcony of Wet Willie?s telling me I was judging them (see picture at www.pbase.com/lautermilch Repent or Perish). There are also pictures of some of our other hecklers and a picture of me preaching with Doug next to me.
Doug and John also preached here, and the crowd continued to increase. After they finished, I preached here again.
We then moved back up the beach in the direction where we parked towards the Lummus Park sign. We set the blocks down, and Onica, Elizabeth, Doug, John, and Emmanuel all took a turn preaching.
After an hour or so of preaching at the Lummus Park sign, we put away our banners, and wagon into the van, and headed for the street corners. There were not many people at all walking around the sidewalks, especially for a Saturday night at South Beach, but this could be expected with Wilma approaching.
I decided to preach at the same location where the police stopped me last week, at the corner of 12th street and Washington, only this time instead of preaching directly in front of the popshop, I preached across the street where there is a vacant building. This put me closer to the Erotica art museum.
I put the blocks down, started preaching, and was able to get a small group to stop. After about 5 minutes, I got a heckler up in front of me, in my face, and the homosexual owner /manager of the popshop also came over, to heckle. He taped a sign on the pillar next to me, which read, ?fornication rules? (see pictures at www.pbase.com/lautermilch Repent or Perish). This got a group of illicit sex supporters of about 10 to stop, and I was able to preach to them for about 20 minutes. In my audience I also had two very large African American guys, dressed in black suits, which I believe were bouncers for the Erotica art museum.
After we ate pizza, on the way home, we spotted a group of about 10 students in the Burger King parking lot. We pulled in, walked over to them, and I began preaching to them. Most were attentive and inquisitive of religious matters.