The Man in the Orange Rain Jacket

The Ireland Team arrived a week ago and to say we hit the ground running would be an understatement. We landed in Dublin at about 11 am, boarded our coach, and headed north to Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland. We reached our lodging sight at about 6pm and had about 20 minutes to put our things inside before starting our 1-mile uphill hike to the church we would be working with. They welcomed us with open arms, food, and some great fellowship.
‍

The next morning, we jumped right into ministry. Our schedule was packed full of projects at a women’s shelter (painting fences and planting herbs, vegetables, and flowers), helping with a food pantry, and running a daily kids’ club. We even had a BBQ and worship event. Needless to say, there was never a dull moment. Our team saw God at work, and there were many stories of God’s goodness as well.
‍

After our quiet time and discussion on Saturday, we headed to the main square in town. The goal was to meet people, strike up conversations, and share the Gospel. We were excited and ready to go. What we weren’t prepared for was the fact that there would be at least 3 other Christian ministries in the same area trying to do the same thing. Undeterred, we forged ahead and passed out Gospel tracts and struck up conversations. While there were some good interactions with people as they walked by, we were hard pressed to find a person who hadn’t already been approached by someone from one of the other ministries.
‍

In fact, one of our groups of students that went out was beginning to get discouraged. They had tried multiple times to engage with others, but people didn’t seem to be interested. Many were stout Catholics unwilling to talk with them, and many were solely focused on their destination. The group even joked about trying to practice their evangelism on the pigeons. Then, someone kind of jokingly said, “Maybe we should pray?” So, one of them said a quick prayer. Now, I don’t know what that student was thinking when they prayed, but the individual prayed that God would bring them someone in an orange rain jacket that they could share with (Side Note: Orange is not a typical color for a rain jacket in Northern Ireland).
‍

The group continued on their way for a few minutes and ducked into a street vender’s craft and clothing booth. When they turned around and were about to head out, they came face to face with a man and his family. The man was wearing a bright orange rain jacket. All three students stood there shocked (I’m sure with their jaws just about on the floor) that there was a man in an orange rain jacket! Then, one of them, knowing that this was most certainly an answered prayer, initiated a conversation.
While they did not talk long, they were able to share the love of Jesus and send him on his way with one of our Gospel tracts and a copy of the Gospel of John.
‍

This moment was an amazing reminder that God hears our prayers and works in amazing ways far beyond what we can ask or imagine. Prayer works, and specific prayers can bring specific answers. As we are in the midst of our second week of ministry, our prayer is that God would continue to show His amazing power. Thank you for your prayers as we continue our ministry here in Northern Ireland.

‍