Post by Messenger Micah on Dec 7, 2005 21:30:28 GMT -5
Friday December 12-Santa?s Enchanted Forest: Elizabeth, Emmanuel and myself went to preach at Santa?s Enchanted Forest, which is a public park with many Christmas lights and a type of carnival event with rides, etc. We stood near the entrance with a sandwich board sign and preached to the people as they entered and exited for a little over an hour until the lights went out at 10:00 PM.
We then headed for a local Burger King, where we have preached before on the way back from South Beach. There were only three young men in the parking lot when we arrived, but we started witnessing to them. They all professed to be Christians, but by the time we departed from them an hour and a half later, they yelled profanity at us. Emmanuel was able to witness effectively to another group who showed up later of about six or seven young men.
The highlight of the evening for me was when we went to eat pizza. It was about midnight as the three of us entered. This pizza place is a very informal place (with delicious pizza), with a large room for dining in. When your pizza is ready they holler out into the room for you to come get your food.
As we walked in there was a football team in there from a local high school with a few girls. They were sitting on top of tables, using loud profanity, and fondling each other. Everywhere you could hear people making sarcastic remarks about our Bible t-shirts. I felt like David in Psalm 119:158, ?I beheld the transgressors and was grieved because they kept not thy word?.
As I sat waiting for the food, I lifted up my voice a little above normal and told them to repent of their sins, put faith in Jesus, and live holy or they would end up in hell. Suddenly the whole room was quiet as a mouse. I then further told them sleeping with their boyfriend, girlfriend, getting drunk, and using profanity was sin and would get them cast into hell, that it was Jesus or sin, holiness or hell, and they could not have them both. Then I told them they needed to pray and give thanks before they eat.
Suddenly guys are standing on tables shouting at me, guys are approaching me at the table, etc. I stood up and began to rebuke them, rebuked the girls for their immodest dress, and preached to them. About 30 people, several who were at least 300 pounds, surrounded us. The restaurant called the police and all the players along with the girls filed out. They left the place a total mess, and then they came back in to clean up. As they came back in the girls started taking pictures so I stood up and gave them a preacher pose by pointing at the camera. The guys kept threatening me as they left.
Saturday December 2-South Beach: We had our usual faithful group of Elizabeth, Doug, John and Onica, Emmanuel, and myself. Doug began preaching in front of the Majestic Hotel, as the rest of us held our banners and wore our new sandwich board. Doug did not preach very long, but it did seem the people were more receptive than usual by the number of people stopping to listen.
We then moved down to the Square in front of Wet Willie?s, where Doug, Emmanuel, and John all preached, and again people seemed unusually receptive, as more people stopped to listen, and others came to ask questions. I was witnessing to others on the side.
As John was preaching, three officers (a male and two females) approached John and asked him to step down. One of the female officers was looking at us and counting the number of plastic cuffs she would need. The male officer was one I had talked to several weeks ago as I finished preaching in front of the Palace homosexual bar (see pictures at www.pbase.com/lautermilch/repent).
The male officer told John, people did not feel comfortable walking down the sidewalk with us there, and he could continue doing what he was doing as long as he lowered his voice. I believed John?s voice was within noise ordinance limits, but John complied. He preached here a little longer as the officers watched on. By this time Dean and some of his photographer friends had met up with us.
We moved down about 50 yards in front of the wicked Mango?s club. This is a Brazilian/Salsa type club, where provocatively dressed girls dance outside in front of the entrance. It was pretty loud here, but believed I needed to warn them anyway. I stood on the platform directly across from the front and began preaching. I only preached here for about 10 to 15 minutes. I did not know how effective this was because of the noise but everyone was watching me, and John said he was sure they could here me.
The Clevelander square was too loud to preach at so we stood and held our banners up as we walked past the hundreds of revelers.
We moved down to the square of 11th Street, next to the Versace mansion. Doug got on top of the blocks and started preaching. Dean and some of his friends were there along with other people who we did not know, who did not like us, filming us. We were also filming ourselves. Doug had a white guy come and start heckling him who looked like Weird Al Yankovich, along with a young black homosexual who is supposed to be a dancer at the Palace Bar (see pictures at www.pbase.com/lautermilch/repent). We began talking to the white guy, but the homosexual was heckling loudly on and on. A large crowd began to form and about 8 police officers showed up.
I had dealt with the homosexual heckler before when I was preaching on the coral wall some months ago. I got up on the platform as night was falling, began preaching, and the homosexual moved away from me and stood amongst the listeners. I preached here for about 50 minutes, with police, camera people, and crowd (not as large as before but still a good number of listeners there) watching and listening on.
After I finished and stepped down several officers approached me. Sergeant M told me what we were doing was fine, he agreed with 90% of what I said, but I could not incite people (The only thing I did that could have remotely been considered inciting anybody was make some anti-feministic comments to one very mouthy woman who heckled us continually).
Lieutenant D then began to tell me that first they would ask me to stop, and then tell me, and then arrest me. I asked him what I would be arrested for and he quoted the number of some law and then said it was unlawful assembly. If we did not keep moving we would be arrested. I then asked him if this was a public sidewalk and he replied, ?Yes?. I asked why we had to keep moving if this was a public sidewalk, and he replied, ?End of discussion. Do you want to get arrested right now?? I told him some things might be worth getting arrested over. He told me to get moving.
Officer M then began to tell me to go with what he was saying, and continue doing what we were doing, as long as we do not incite people.
We got all of this conversation on film and one of the guys who were filming that did not like us turned his film of the preaching voluntarily over to the police.
We then left the area and began heading for Lincoln Road Mall preaching to everyone along the way.
As we passed the wicked Club Madonna along the way, the same stripper from last week who was convicted with tears in her eyes, saw us and looked happy to see us. I warned her we had people who were praying for her.
We set up across the street from the Lincoln Road Theatre, in front of a closed store. Hundreds of people pass up and down this area, and there are many street performers along this road.
Doug and Onica both preached here followed by Elizabeth. Elizabeth had some people stop and ask some questions, which she answered effectively, as well as some homosexual hecklers whom she rebuked. This built the crowd up to about 30 at one point.
After Elizabeth finished I got up to preach. I had several stop to listen for periods of time then move on, and then others would stop and listen. After about 20 to 25 minutes three homosexuals did a prolonged threesome kiss right in front of me. One of the sodomites also flashed his buttocks. Immediately after this a police car pulled up behind me. Officer D got out of the car, stood next to me and told me to quit shouting (I was not shouting at all). I asked him if he had measured my voice to which he sarcastically responded, ?Yes you are seven feet tall? referring to the platform I was standing on. I lowered my voice a little out of respect for the officer.
He then told me to get off the platform I was standing on. I got off and asked him why. He told me he thought I was going hurt myself based on his professional experience. He then told me he was going to stay there and harass me until I left and if I came out again next week I will be arrested. I asked him for what and he began to tell me ?What right do you have to come out here and tell people how to live?? He had his back to the camera so as he repeatedly asked me this question I told the camera what he was asking me.
He told me Jesus came 2,000 years ago and was dead, the Bible is just an old book, and you are making a fool of yourself. I told him it looked foolish to him because he was perishing and would end up in hell, because he was a lawbreaker in God?s eyes.
As he kept threatening me with arrest (although he would not tell me for what), I told him if he wanted to arrest me right then, I would not resist. I gave my wife the keys and told him I was getting back on the platform. I got on the platform and continued preaching. He walked up to my wife, stared her in the face and said, ?I don?t like you!? He stood there and watched a while, talking with two other security or police officers and left. I continued preaching for about 5 more minutes and then we headed back to the van.
Over the past 21 months we have been preaching in this area, the Miami Beach Police force have usually been fair and consistent with us. We are seeking legal assistance to deal with this officer.