Lisa’s IowaGO! Experience

The following is the testimony of my wife and her experience volunteering with the IowaGO! for the first time.

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I decided this year, prompted by the Holy Spirit, to step out in faith and “work” the fair booth with Frank on my days off. I have been pondering and praying over my role as his wife and support in the ministry and gift God has given him in sharing his faith to the public. Up until now, I would go out and pray as he spoke; but this year, I wanted to have more of an active role to speak more. My motto is: “I am a vessel.” I am to be used by God to do as He wills in my life. But if I am to be used in public, I need to be out in public. I need to get out of my comfort zone and get around people, even if it’s in the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Iowa State Fair.

Where do I fit?

My prayer has always been: “Where do I fit in this?” How will God use my personality, my curiosities, and thought processes, etc? Am I still there to stay silent and pray, or is there an additional role? I was feeling like there was something else, but not sure if that was just my thinking or the Spirit’s leading.

The fair in itself has always been overwhelming; so…many…people. But, I also have a love for observing how people function in society and social groups, so God used that to help get me there.

Starting questions through observations

It was through my observations that brought me to a place of curiosity and gave me some questions to ask those I wanted to talk to. T-shirts I observed, worn by adults and children alike,  made me squirm, which talked about things I can’t even repeat. But, the biggest thing was how deceived people were about where they stand with God. The depth of the deception is the church’s fault.

Creating your own reality was a big theme with people at the fair. I think it always has been, but it is now verbalized, solidified, and in your face.

My first, maybe, actual encounter was a big guy, older, long grey beard and longer hair, with a t-shirt that said, “Until valhala,” under a skull with wearing an American flag bandana. So, I asked him about his shirt with the intention of asking where he thought he was going. Valhala is a paradise where vikings go after being killed in battle. After stuttering over my words, I handed him a million-dollar bill tract as payment for his information and ran away (SMH).

The location of the booth is also very fun. Set in between the Bud & Mary’s Cannabis booth and the Iowa Democrats, who had a variety of people stop by or go through. For one reason or another, I was drawn to the Democrat booth, so I went over there five times.

My first time, I asked what their motto: “People Over Politics” meant, which was hanging on a poster across their booth.  The answer: everyone is tired of the bickering and name calling, so they want to put people first. Some of the things they want to change and focus on would affect everyone, not just a certain group. They want to bring unity back into this country. That same conversation I asked what V.P Harris was going to bring to this country, stating, “I’ll be quite honest with you, I have not seen her in four years.” I do not remember the answer, but pugnant with feelings-based philosophy.

The second time, I asked what their poster: “Reproductive Freedom” meant. To try to sum up, the first lady I talked to told me a story about being 86 years old and still taking care of her handicaped son. She asks herself often, Would I have made the same decision if I had options? Refering it is not a “choice,” but a decision. The phrases, “I feel” and “my opinion” were said throughout their end of the conversation.

The main statement was, “In my opinion, life starts at 20 weeks with a heartbeat.” Scientifically, it starts at 5 weeks, but I digress.

I said, “God knew us before we were born,” to which she replied, “They say that it is not actually true.” At this point, all the Scripture that says otherwise went out of my brain. Who is this, “they” they are talking about? I asked if she had a religious background. She said, “yes” and that she praised the Lord for a close parking spot being she “totally” believes in Jesus. I asked how her church shares the gospel, and after a long pause, she said they do home charity work.

O.K., back to the “Reproductive Freedom” thing people were saying. She had no idea what it was. I asked if I could talk to someone else and she pointed to a guy who completely ignored me. I thanked her for the time and as I was getting ready to leave, she asked me, “What would you do if you knew you would spend the rest of your life taking care of a handicaped person?”

I said, “If God decided to give me a child, I would take care of him to the best of my ability, knowing he is a blessing from God.”

She retorted, “He is a blessing most of the time.” That’s when I walked away.

Every time I went over there I took my Bible and started off with sharing my biblical worldview.

A little later, when she was gone, but the guy was still there, the booth was quiet. I went back and asked him the same questions. He said, “Anyone with a uterus should have the right to decide what happens to their body.”

We chatted a minuite more, again very feelings based, and so I said, “I am going to tell you what I am hearing. Please know I am not trying to anger or cause tension. I just want clarification. First, can we argue that any cell on the planet is a life form?”

“Yes,” he said, reluctantly.

“O.K. so what you are saying is that if there is a life form that is an inconvenience to me, I should have the right to terminate the life form if that is my decision.”

After a long pause, “Well, I would not use the term, “inconvenience” but yes, that is correct.”

There were more to both conversations that I missed, and I did interject Bible truths and Jesus a few times, but those were the highlights.

Catholic kid

The last major conversation was a lot of listening. A group of kids took million-dollar bills, to which I said, “There is a million-dollar question on the back.” They stood there for a minuite and read the back, so I asked if any of them had ever thought about eternity. They all ran away except one. He was Catholic but believed Jesus was the only way to salvation. So I asked why he was Catholic. He said it was because of his belief in the Eucharist and the lineage of the Pope, priests, and Peter as the first Pope. So many words. Bottom line: because of Peter and the Popes lineage, he is the only one who can interpret the Bible. We will always misinterpret.

“So, where does the Holy Spirit fit into this?” I asked.

“What about Him?”

“Well, the Bible says that a person who believes in and follows Jesus will be given the Holy Spirit as a helper and He interprets the Bible for me.”

“What denomination are you?”

“Non-denominational. A Protestant Christian to be specific. I believe and follow Jesus only.”

After a few more words I still don’t know if he thinks I am actually saved, but he is going to pray for me!

The rest of the time I listened to everyone else’s conversation they had to encourage and learn. A few actual believers came in, which is always fun. But, the deception was tangible, especially from church people. Sad.

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Lisa had the right idea; most of the conversations we have in the booth require mostly listening and trying to understand where the other person is coming from. Most of the time in the booth, I use Tactics in Defending the Faith approach to gain insight into a person’s beliefs by asking questions to find flaws in their argument.

Looking back at her conversations, you can see that they weren’t the most polished or amazing. Very few are. The people she talked to didn’t get on their knees and repent right there. But, she stepped out of her comfort zone in faith to put a stone in their shoe. Maybe at the very least, they will sleep a little less at night wondering where they would spend eternity if they never wake up.