Post by messengermicah on Feb 20, 2006 21:22:23 GMT -5
Friday February 10, 2006: My friend Emmanuel was led of the Lord to go and preach at Southridge High School (a local high school). The students let out at 2:30 PM, and so Emmanuel arrived in front of the school about 2:15 PM and began preaching on the sidewalk as the students started coming out around 2:20 PM. The police came out and told him he could not preach on the sidewalk but must preach across the street. So Emmanuel moved across the street and continued preaching from about 2:30 PM until about 3:10 PM and said he had an attentive crowd of about 25 plus many others listening from afar or passing by. Several students came over and began talking to him and a few told him they were Christians.
Monday February 13, 2006: Emmanuel was asking me to accompany him to Southridge, and I realized I could accompany him on my work break. I arrived about 2:30 PM but had to park in the back of the school and walk all the way around to the front. The students were already coming out and I could hear Emmanuel preaching as I walked up. My wife, Elizabeth was also there on her break and Emmanuel was holding one of the banners as he preached across the street from the school.
Emmanuel wanted me to preach so I started preaching as he held the banner and my wife stood in support. I preached to a group of about 40 to 50 mocking students from about 2:35 PM until about 3:20 PM. plus many others standing around in the background well within earshot. There were police and administrators looking on as I first arrived but after they left and many of the students had cleared out except for the 40 to 50 who were still standing around to listen, mock and heckle, I decided to try to move across the street to the school sidewalk. I preached for a few minutes but then the police showed up and told me I actually could not be anywhere within 500 (feet? Yards?) of the school but he would let me preach across the street. I asked him if he could show me that law. He said he would so we moved back across the street and continued preaching.
The students continued to stand, listen, mock, and heckle. After a while I went back across the street and asked the officer to show me the law he was talking about. I read some of it and it sounded like he was telling the truth, so I did not fight it. I went back across the street and continued preaching. Around 3:20 PM, Emmanuel started preached and after a few minutes about 20 of the students sat down on the curb of the street and started listening attentively and asking questions. After a few minutes security came along and told them they had to move.
We then started to roll up our banner (I had to get back to work). As we crossed the street to walk back to my car, the students came over to us and confronted us. Some were saying they were lesbians; others were cursing at us and saying they were Christians and we were not supposed to judge, etc. We engaged them, but then a security officer told us we had to leave.
Friday February 17, 2006: I knew my schedule would be changing next week so I wanted to get out to Southridge one more day while I was able. I arrived by myself with the step-up platform and my sandwich board sign. On Monday, as I walked to meet Emmanuel at the front of the school I passed an area I thought would be even better, as there were students everywhere, no police, and I would not have to work as hard to be heard clearly.
I set up behind the school, at a curve in the road, on a sidewalk right across from where about 50-60 students were standing around. Hundreds of others were walking to get on the nearby school buses and pulling out. I got on the platform and as soon as I started preaching, students were hurling rocks at me. None of them were thrown that hard, and none hurt me but several hit me.
I preached to a group of students standing around from about 2:30 PM until about 3:25 PM. After the busses left there were about 40 to 50 students standing around listening, mocking, and a few asking questions. Several students were walking around, holding their crotches, and others were fondling each other. After all the busses left I tried to move across the street, but the woman security officer told me I could yell all I wanted but I had to stay across the street. Of course, later on as one student continued hurling rocks at me, and hit me, I told her students could say what they wanted but they should not throw rocks she walked away. Real concerned with security.
The two days I was there I did receive some encouragement from a few of the students who said they were Christians and wanted us to keep coming out.