Spring Newsletter – May 2013

Dear Friends in Christ

Greetings – I hope this newsletter finds you well. Thank you for all your prayers and financial support. I am very excited to share what the Lord has been doing. As you know a little over a year ago I had open-heart surgery. This has affected my energy level dramatically. However, in March the Lord gave me a sudden burst of energy and I was able to preach for 23 days in a row. In April I preached 25 out of the 30 days. I have never preached so much before. I know quantity isn’t everything but Praise the Lord!

With some problems downtown Oakland with the authorities over the  amplification we have experimented with obtaining a couple of permits. These  are for one hour only between noon and 1:00pm. This has gone well and we have  re-established ourselves on many corners using the amp without a permit thanks  to the favor of the Lord.

I have also obtained a free permit on the stairs of the  State Capitol in Sacramento  later this month. This came about through a State Patrol officer who came upon  my preaching there back in April. I was on one of my usual corners by the  Capitol and he stopped and told me the process on how to get a permit to be on  the Capitol grounds. He was a Christian and encouraged me to keep up the work  of the Lord.

I have embarked on new territory preaching downtown San Jose during the week.  This has gone well and I am able to preach to the work force as the come onto  the streets for lunch break. The Lord has opened up some doors to preach the  Gospel in other cities around the country when SOS Ministry is on break. Besides  the usual West Coast cities I have plans to go to Utah  & Portland this June and to the Midwest this fall. You  can view this Itinerary by going to: Preaching Itinerary SOS annual summer outreach is July 10th-13th – Details later!

A few personal notes; in March I was in Sacramento for my great niece’s birthday and preached up there for a few days. I also met my son Matthew and his friend in Seattle for two days. This was my birthday present. I preached in Seattle one day as well. Very exciting!

Please check out this professional video by a friend of mine Timothy Oliver: The Reality & Aftermath of Abortion

AROUND THE BAY

When I am not going out with SOS Ministries or my church, Christ Bible  Church, I go out into the streets of San Francisco on a circuit  preaching on various corners. I usually go to Oakland  once a week and now San Jose  has been included. Now that the Lord has given me the strength, I can preach  for about 2-3 hours in one day after seeking the Lord in prayer and the Word. Because  of this the brothers that I have join me during the week don’t preach. They  pray, hand out tracts, and talk to people, which is a great support. Dave from  the SOS house & Ken an old friend of SOS go out with me at least once a  week. I go out so much that if I didn’t keep a journal I wouldn’t remember  where I went. Everyday is a new day with people and situations. I have chosen a  few highlights below:

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Recently I was preaching in downtown San Francisco and a little Chinese girl about  10 years old was listening and she came real close. I motioned for her to take  a Gospel of John but she hesitated and then went back over by her Dad. After a few  minutes she came back and went to hand me some coins to pay for it. I said oh  no dear it is free. She then took it and left very excited. I left later to see her again as she was reading it.

The divine appointment of the Lord was at the 2nd location  today: a young man named; Miene, who listened to me for quite awhile. When I  was packing up he came over and said, “are you stopping already?” He  wanted to know what I meant when I said, “we had to know the Lord”. I gave him  some scriptures and prayed for him. He was also praying and I kept silent until  he was done. I gave him info on a church in his area.

I met Jeffery after preaching one day in the Financial District of San Francisco. Jeffery was panhandling. I noticed an open sore on his bare feet. It looked like an abscess. I mentioned and he denied it. I also mentioned the needle marks I saw on his hands. He finally admitted being a heroin addict and said he was on methadone. I shared what the Lord has done in my life. I gave him a Gospel of John. We then bowed our heads in prayer.

On a lighter note; I have seen a lot of strange things preaching out in the streets but the strangest thing I had happen was last month. I was asked to adjust this old man’s suspenders. He turned around and I had to help pull up his pants then click the suspenders in place. After that I just continued preaching as if nothing had happened not losing my stride. That is why it is hard to preach in a church, people are too still.

2013  SAN FRANCISCO CHINESE NEW YEAR PARADE

About 25 of us met for this event. After splitting into smaller groups, Andy Hoover and I worked our way toward the Chinatown  side of the parade handing out tracts as we went. We perched ourselves at Grant  and Pine one block up from the Chinatown Gate.

We left there and went downhill to Kearny. We   went on the outside of the barriers facing  the crowds. There was still traffic moving through which made it a little tight  but the police never said anything. When a young boy asked what it was about I  preached the Gospel to the small groups of people that were lining up down the  street. We left and went up Market to Powell to complete a full circle. At the  end of the evening an estimated 8,000-12,000 tracts had gone out collectively. We had Chinese, but mostly English tracts were used.

LOVE DOES NOT PARADE ITSELF

Are You  greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself,  as well as his sons and his livestock?” John 4:12   This verse and  following demonstrates the character of Christ. When the woman at the well  asked Jesus this question He could have said, “Are you kidding me, greater than  Jacob, I not only created Jacob but the world for that matter”. Jesus never  came off as a know-it-all although He did know it all. He took on humility and led that woman to a place of discovery. He finally revealed who He was, but  He never “threw His weight around”. We should be able to follow suit. Are we  patient with people who are not at the same level we are? Or are we  condescending and have a superiority complex? Are we gentle? Are we secure in  who we are in Christ or do we have to constantly prove & justify ourselves? Tough  questions – let’s take a lesson from the Master.

SFSU MAGAZINE – YOURS TRULY

Back in March I was asked by San Francisco State University to do an interview about street preaching. I agreed and what they wrote on me is below. The full article on their website is not censored but if you want to read it here is the link: Full Magazine Article

Lawrence Dubois, a seven-year veteran of street  preaching who was once a colleague of Farrer’s takes a different approach to  spreading his message. “I don’t believe in doing something outrageous,” he says  “the means don’t justify the end that way.” He identifies Farrer’s belief that  the gospel is watered down as a common one among his peers. “But sometimes the  pendulum swings too far the other way,” he says, referring the groups more  incendiary tactics.

Dubois, currently an Oakland resident, says that when he street  preaches he tries to “represent the character of Christ.” He feels that the  message of the religion is “offensive” enough without sensationalizing it. “The  gospel demands righteousness,” he says. “And men love darkness more than they  love light.” Dubois says he shies away from message emblazoned shirts or signs  and instead opts for common clothes or even the occasional suit and tie. He  questions the methods of the more fire and brimstone inclined of his peers,”  You want to present Christ in the best way possible because the bible says we  are his ambassadors.” He says sensational street evangelists play into the  stereotype of a “used-car salesman” and that they help reinforce the “Stigma”  against street preachers in general.

Dubois says that he doesn’t “resort to calling  people names or trying to enflame them”. He says he normally sets up his  pulpits in poorer areas where his message of faith might bring hope to the  community. He admits to being shy about public speaking at first and believes  this weakness may be why God chose him for the task in the first place. Street  preaching, he says has given him a lift like he’d never felt with anything else  “If public speaking causes butterflies, open air preaching causes helicopters,”  he says.

Preaching God’s Grace

I see more and more ministries falling short of declaring the grace of God, the pinnacle of the glory of God. There is nothing higher or greater than the grace and love of God displayed in the life and death of The Son. It seems that ministries are afraid to regularly proclaim the grace of God. Proportionally much more time is given to the plight of the sinner. This is more like the old covenant that emphasizes the failure of man to please God. Reading the new testament I see grace and mercy much easier.

Please help me to understand why grace does not receive top billing? Should not grace be at the top of all our proclamations about who God is? Should not our tracts and sermons talk much more about God than ourselves? Would not this be glorifying to God by giving Him priority by praising Him? Is this not the first and greatest of all commandments?

By Walter Gowen

Winter Newsletter – February 2013

Dear Friends in Christ,

I want to thank all those who prayerfully and financially support the work of the Gospel through me. I couldn’t do it without you guys. I think it is God’s way so that each person has a part in the “war effort”.

As many of you know, I took a short preaching trip in December to Los Angeles where I was able to share the Gospel on many occasions. (LA Report) I was able to spend Christmas in Sacramento at my niece’s. It was a very blessed time this year with them. Two of her children, Jacob & Brianna came back with me for a few days here as their Christmas present.

In January starting the new year off fresh I have been preaching about 4-5 days a week. During the weekdays I either go solo or have someone join me who pass out tracts. On the weekends besides our SOS outreaches, I organize teams to go out from Christ Bible Church. Besides myself, Timothy Oliver & Gerard Limtuaco lead the teams. These guys are seasoned street preachers and it is a pleasure working with them. Some of the gals join us as well.

Looking ahead, the Lord willing, I will be preaching in Sacramento the first week in April. I hope to take a short trip to San Diego to preach in May. Around here we will be trying some new things and going to new areas. I will give you those stories in the spring. A tourist from the midwest took the picture of me.

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ROLL OUT THE GREEN CARPET

Oakland has proven to have more fair-minded people than in San Francisco. More of them take the tracts and other things we bring out such as Bibles. We use a carpet remnant to place Bibles, New Testaments, and other books for the people to take free. They seem to listen to the preaching more too. I want to thank the many who have supplied the Bibles and other materials for free distribution in the ministry of evangelism.

Dave and I have been going to a new spot in front of the Marriott hotel. There are lots of people and the orange-shirted ambassadors never usually come down that way; a great answer to prayer. Ever since the occupy movement of last year when Oakland had so much trouble downtown, they have city ambassadors which are like security that are stationed on Broadway, the main drag. They have pointed out that we are not supposed to use an amp. We may have to get a permit in the future to assure our presence there. We are going to try this in May. I have discovered that I can preach without an amp again. So this is something we are considering.

Another place I have been preaching in Oakland is the corridor that goes from the Federal Building to the Food Court in the Oakland Plaza. At lunchtime many people go through here. Several take tracts and have stopped to talk as well. Dave, the great conversationalist always gets people talking and shares the Gospel with them one-on-one.

One highlight in Oakland was a young man came by and as it turns out he goes to Dave’s church. He was asking me questions and I ended up praying for him. I prayed that he would have a closer walk with the Lord. He never told me but Dave said later that the young man shared that he is struggling with smoking pot. Besides witnessing to unbelievers, being out on the streets has proven to be a place to minister to the Church.

NEW WEBSITE

The San Francisco Bay Area is currently my homebase. I don’t foresee this changing anytime soon so I have devoted an entire website just for evangelism in the city of San Francisco. This is up and running although not fully completed. On this site you will be able to check out San Francisco through the eyes of a street preacher. Events are posted there as well. I will be having more pictures too. Here is the link: PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN SAN FRANCISCO

FISHERMAN’S WHARF

Fisherman’s Wharf has well surpassed Powell & Market as the place I most frequently preach. With SOS Ministries alone, I get down there maybe 4-5 times a month in the fall and winter. It is nice there during the winter and on the weekends there are lots of tourists, both locally and from other countries. It has been said that you can preach all over the world and never leave Fisherman’s Wharf.

There are a couple of guys that need prayer; Jim and Harold are both struggling with heroin addiction. Both are on and off methadone and every time I see them they look worse. Both of them I have witnessed to and shared my testimony. I have prayed with them several times over the last 2 years. Although they are agreeable with the Gospel they are still stuck in their bondage.

FINANCIAL DISTRICT OF SAN FRANCISCO

A couple of years ago I met a businessman visiting from Boston. He was a Christian and he commented that there was not a real witness in the business world. There were not many Christians and he felt heartbroken for his peers. I assured him that I regularly witnessed in San Francisco’s financial district. Over the years I have moved throughout the streets with Montgomery and Market being the pinnacle.

Recently Steve, a man from my church, and I went to witness at Montgomery & Market streets. I frequent there about twice a month. This was the first time I got a complaint from a woman upset at the Gospel and she called police. An officer arrived and was talking to Steve. I kept preaching and it looked like the officer just wanted a tract. Eventually he came over and I had to shut the amp off. The officer was a Christian and we visited with him quite awhile. We decided to move down the street where we could use the amp. The officer although had to have us quit didn’t want us to leave the area. He asked if we would consider staying there and preaching without an amp. We still ended up moving down Market street but before we left he told us that there were a number of people who have jumped to their death out of buildings here in the financial district. He said that it was fairly common although we wouldn’t hear about it on the news. Although sad we are glad God is using us to be a witness here.

PILATE DETERMINED TO LET JESUS GO

“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. Acts 3:13

How many times did Pilate try to get out of condemning Jesus? I count 10 times:

1. Pilate told the Jews to take Him (Jesus) and judge Him according to their own law. John 18:31
2. I find no fault in Him – 3 separate times: John 18:38 John 19:4 John 19:6
3. Pilate tries to get Jesus to testify, or defend, Himself. Matt 27:13-14
4. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod after finding out Jesus is from Galilee. Luke 23:6-7
5. Pilate hopes to release Jesus through the custom of releasing a prisoner at the Passover. John 18:39
6. Pilate hopes that scourging Jesus will satisfy the Jews and the blood-thirsty crowd. Luke 23:17-20
7. Pilate repeatedly states Jesus’ innocence even by a ceremonial hand washing of the matter. Matt 27:24-25
8. In his frustration Pilate tells the Jews to take Jesus and crucify Him themselves. John 19:6
9. Pilate continually demands the Jews to come up with a valid charge against Jesus. Matt 27:23 Mark 15:14 Luke 23:22
10. Pilate’s repeated efforts for the Jews and the crowds to change their mind; to no avail. John 19:15

Note: I included the main scriptures for the above statements, there are more than listed here.

Why did Pilate give in and have Jesus Crucified?

• Ultimately it was a sovereign act of God to see to it that Christ would be crucified. Acts 2:23 Is 53
• He was afraid of a riot. Matt 27:24
• He wanted to gratify the crowd. Mark 15:15
• He wanted to save his position and perhaps his life being threatened by the Jews that if he let Jesus go he was going against Rome. John 19:12

Los Angeles Evangelism Report – January 2013

After suffering from vertigo and nausea due to my left ear being plugged throughout the flight, I landed in Burbank, California, where I was to begin my ten-day preaching and evangelism trip. While exiting from the plane the flight attendant asked me if I was an actor because I had a familiar face. I assured the crew they didn’t have an actor on board but a preacher of the Gospel. Now they were acting – trying not to show expressions of me being a “weirdo”. I was met by my friend and ministry partner Jeff Baran. This was the third consecutive year he has picked me up and as our custom; we immediately go out preaching.

This trip, as in times past, was awesome! I was able to preach over fourteen hours going out seven of the ten days I was there. On the weekends I met up with Jeff and another evangelist, Chris Yarzab. During the week I went solo in four areas of downtown Los Angeles. In my leisure time I tagged along with a high school buddy, Dan Allen, who pastors the children’s ministry at Southland Christian Church. It was an exciting week with the kids during the Christmas Holiday. On the last Saturday, Eric and Jill Baxter, long-time friends joined us in Hollywood and Santa Monica. Our extensive day of witnessing ended with rain at the Santa Monica pier as we joined up with Frank Baldus and the Open Air Campaigners. Thank you for all the support and prayers of those who made this trip possible. May God be the glory!!! Below are just a few highlighted stories.

Riverside Christmas Festival of Lights

Onto Riverside, stopping for a bite and finding a good parking spot, we made it to the place we were at two years ago. We briefly talked to a few brothers preaching in the same area. Once we prayed I started preaching to the massive crowds of people while Jeff handed out tracts. In my travels, this crowd was only second to New   York’s Time Square. Jeff handed out slightly over 1,000 tracts (all we had) some Gospel of Johns, a couple of Christian books, and the last thing he handed out was my sermon notes. To me this was the Bible belt and we had many Christians giving us encouragement. Jeff relieved me for a short time by reading the story of the birth of Christ from Luke. Many children stood by and listened. It was a great outreach!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Southland Christian Church’s kids club on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon was a great time of me watching the kids practice for their program on Sunday. On Wednesday night there was a combined service for all ages and many guests came. After Dan and I picked up the kids on the bus Dan was giving instructions to them on what was going to take place. After mentioning all the fun activities Alex, a youngster about the fifth grades says, “Is there going to be prayer?” Later on there was hot chocolate and other goodies around several fire pits that were set up for the night. My friend Dan gave the Christmas story and a wonderful presentation of the Gospel. We sang carols of course.

I met two young men both wearing dodger hats. Jonathon and Maritio were about 17 years old. They had been invited and had never heard the Gospel before. I shared a brief Gospel account with them and introduced them to some of the other regular attendees of the Church. I am glad I shared with them because they left before Dan’s message.

Los Angeles Civic Center

The CivicCenter was a new area that I had never preached at before. When I arrived about 11:20 AM the area was sparse with people so I wasn’t sure where to set up. I walked around the several block area and prayed. I tried setting up in four areas before I decided to move once again down the street to a better place. I came to 1st & Main where I took out my amp and set up some Gospel of John’s outside my bag. Right then a man came over and said, “Hey I’m a Christian and are going to do some open-air preaching?” I answered, “yes”. He then said, “well let me pray for you”. He prayed and I told him I thought that his timely showing confirmed this is where I was to be. It only got better after that. I preached for about ten minutes before realizing I was kiddy corner from the LAPD main precinct. The people started coming out for the lunch hour and while I was preaching I handed out Gospel of John’s (about 15 total) to passerby’s. I would stop preaching and talk to many who were interested in the Gospel.

Ironically ending up across from the police station was icing on the cake for the four days I preached in downtown. The first day I went to a lively spot, 7th & Hope Streets, where last year I had been approached by the city ambassadors. This time not one of them said anything and I also had at least 12 police officers go by on foot and never mention my amp. The other two areas I went to in downtown; Pershing Square on 6th & Olive, and in the financial district, 5th & Flower. This was very exciting for me to say the least.

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Fall Newsletter – November 2012

Dear Friends in Christ,

I want to take this time to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I am very thankful for the many things the Lord has done in my life and continues to do. By the grace of God I am currently preaching five to six days a week here in the Bay Area. I have been blessed with so many things since coming here last July. Won’t you please pray for me, and that the Gospel would have free course. I am planning a trip down to Los Angeles in December right before Christmas. Please pray for that as well. I also thank all the prayer and financial partners with me in the ministry of the Gospel and may your rewards be great! I couldn’t do it without you.

THREE’S A COMPANY
Besides myself, there are two other fellows that go out preaching with me during the week. Eddie a young man who has known the Lord just two short years but has wisdom beyond that. Eddie is a very good preacher and loves the Lord. Alan has a great heart to serve the Lord. He left the US Postal Service in Temecula to “leave all and follow Christ” He has been here at the ministry house since about August. Both of these guys have been going out with me over the past couple of months. Dave, also a SOS ministry staff member goes out with us on Wednesdays. Wow what a team!

The spiritual dynamic at the ministry house has been very good these past few months. Besides going out evangelizing, we pray together most everyday. We have a Bible study here at the house on Thursday nights too. We have been studying the book of first Corinthians. The fellowship is sweet and we have some good unity. We also notice flagrant spiritual warfare. Praise the Lord!

BERKELEY
October 10th – we ended up in Berkeley today, I started preaching with the amp. I had several hecklers and I had one lady stop in front of me and she listened the whole time. Allan took over and preached for only a short time. While he was preaching I went across the street to Wells Fargo to see if the sound was going inside the bank. It was ok. Eddie went next and a city official came over and I let him talk to Alan. Alan told him we would stop using the amp. I didn’t say anything but was glad that Alan was getting experience. He told Eddie to stop.

Alan and Eddie took turns preaching open air with no amp. This went well and we handed out a lot of tracts and there were conversations. I benefited mostly today for the experience of being a leader and staying calm through all the miss match of a beginning of the day. (not mentioned here) I explained on the way home how we should not stop preaching because of city ambassadors but only police. But since Alan gave the man his word that we would stop, that is what we did.

A few weeks back Ray Comfort of Living Waters Ministry (Way of the Master) was in Berkeley on the campus of UCB. He set up and had a microphone for students or anyone else who would like to ask questions or debate issues like, is there a God?” Many Christians from the area were there to show support and I saw many friends from San Jose like the Norcal Seedsowers and Robin a blind man who shares his faith. I met Robin a few years ago in San Jose, his stomping grounds. Going back to Ray and his crew; the highlight I thought was one of the first young men on the mic. His name was Patrick and although he had many objections Ray was able to share the Gospel with him. He certainly went away thinking.

CHURCH MINISTRY
It has been said that it is unusual to find a church that has a street preacher attending. What would you say if I told you there are many of us? My new church I have been attending since being back here in Oakland, ChristBibleChurch, has several street preachers. I started to count them as I write this but remember David when he counted Israel. Pastor Joe and the elders wanted to have an official street preaching ministry. He has asked me to be the overseer of this. We are having our first meeting with the whole church concerning this on November 18th. Then after that according to God’s will we are going to have regular meetings with all those going out evangelizing. Currently we have a team that goes out Sunday morning (our church is in the afternoon) CBC also has a door to door ministry as well. If the Lord allows I would love to see men being sent out from our church to preach across the United   States.

PREACHING IN OAKLAND
I have been going to Oakland consistently once a week since about September. Dave is committed in going every week and the other guys also when available. Oakland is much more open to the Gospel. At least they are less hostile. We always are able to hand out a lot of materials too. Even though it is a better spiritual climate than San Francisco, it still has obstacles as you will see below.

October 3rd – we went down to the corner in front of the Wells Fargo bank as we have been lately. Allan, Eddie, Dave, and myself. We put lots of prayer into our event today but right when we started a couple of orange-shirted city ambassadors came up and said we could not use the amp. I was still getting the Bibles arranged on the carpet and stood up to be greeted by this nice young man who told me we had to stop and get a permit. I told him politely that it was good he informed us about the law but we wouldn’t stop until the police came and told us to do so. I then offered him a mint and he took one. They called the police. The whole time Eddie kept preaching.

When the officer arrived in about ten minutes I greeted him and told him I was the leader. I gave him my ID and basically told him we had been there before with no problem and he said there had been a complaint. We discussed the different aspects of the situation and I agreed that we would stop using the amp. He shook my hand and I said to say hello to the chief since he is a believer. He said, “many of us are” indicating that he was a Christian.

The reason I asked them to call the police is that more than half the time when this happens the police are never called or they don’t show up and I continue on as I was. We have been back in Oakland since and on the same corner since this episode preaching without an amp.

PREACHING IN SAN FRANCISCO
If I haven’t mentioned it before; San Francisco is the most densely populated city second only to New   York. San Francisco’s population has not changed much since the 80′s, unlike San Jose which is now over a million people. SF hovers around 800,000. However on any given day in San Francisco there can be over a million and a half people due to the work force that live outside the city limits, the tourists, and conventions/special events. San   Francisco is on a peninsula and is 7 by 7 miles and approximately 47 square miles total. It is estimated that 16 million visit the city annually. With the weather being very good all year round this is a great place to evangelize.

Besides the weekend outreaches with SOS Ministries we go to various parts of San Francisco during the week days. Almost any corner in downtown has enough people to warrant street preaching. The police have given us tremendous favor and we continue to compel people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Below I share of a day in the city.

September 6th – I went to Chinatown by myself today and met with Garrett, an old friend and partner in the Gospel. I brought some Chinese Bibles and tracts for him. Garrett had lunch planned with a few things he brought. We walked a bit and met the man who plays that funny instrument. Garrett had him take our picture. This was hilarious. Usually the tourists are taking the musicians picture. The man fiddled (no pun intended) with the camera and we finally gave up. After that Garrett and I sat on a bench and visited. It was great to see him and also to be back in Chinatown again. Our custom was for Garrett to preach in Mandarin and I would hand out Chinese tracts.

SACRAMENTO
I have not preached in Sacramento in quite sometime. I will be spending a week up there over Thanksgiving, the Lord willing. During that time I wanted to go down to the tunnel area in between the K street mall and OleTown. I want to try to preach without an amp. This is certainly the place to do it. Amplification is not allowed in the area.

Since my surgery I have to use an amp. This will be the first time testing my sternum. I will be visiting my former Church, Calvary Chapel of Roseville.

In Christ’s Service – Larry

Remember – Preach the Gospel Always and if Necessary Use an Amp!

Summer Newsletter – August 2012

Dear Friends in Christ,

Below is a text only version of my current newsletter. Thanks for your interest in the ministry of preaching the Gospel.

TAKE IT TO HEART

Thanks for all your prayers concerning my recent open-heart surgery back in March. I am recovering ok now and I am totally off the pain meds. With my sister dying of cancer in April and my sudden heart surgery it has been a trial for me but the Lord is faithful and I am getting back into the swing of things.

Since my surgery kept me in Sacto in May, when normally I would be on the road, I was able to do the Sunday morning message at my Church, Calvary Chapel of Roseville. I taught from Acts 8 – Philip the evangelist. You can check it out at calvarychapelroseville.org/messages filter under teachers and click Larry DuBois. This was a great opportunity so many thanks to Pastor Ken and the family there. Currently I am attending Christ Bible Church here in the Bay Area.

I didn’t move much from the reclining chair except to the bathroom and my feeble attempts at my walking program. I didn’t progress as fast as the average, even older people have done better than I with the same surgery. One time “Lexy” the miniature pincher dog that the family has jumped on my lap and broke open a section of my stitches on my legs.

My niece Kathy and the kids were in Washington State tending to my sister with cancer when I got out of the hospital. Kathy’s husband Pat was the one who took care of me. I did have a home-care nurse come a couple times a week along with a physical therapist. Once the rest of the family got back home in mid April I was able to go out to my room instead of living in the easy chair. To be honest this was one of the major trials of my life. I developed severe blood clots in my left leg that required me to go back to the hospital in May.

Brianna my great niece (12 years old) took over my care for the most part being a nurse and a secretary. I had help from the others as well. I was finally able to get my beard shaved. Jacob, my great nephew, when arriving back home was to tired to cut my hair. I offered him an extra bonus if he would cut it early Sunday morning before going to church. So after all that trouble I couldn’t make it to church that Sunday because I was too sick. Brianna got ready and came to get me but I couldn’t make it.

HOMEBASE BACK IN OAKLAND

July 1st I moved back into the SOS Ministry house in Oakland, California. I previously was here for 3 years in the past. Agreement was made with my family in Sacramento that I should come back here. I sorely will miss my family in Sacramento and my Church family at Calvary Chapel of Roseville. The good news is that Sacramento is about 100 miles away from here so I plan to visit periodically. I have been out preaching and plan to evangelize in Oakland and San Francisco full time. I won’t be able to travel for awhile yet. I hope to go on my first road trip this winter to Los Angeles.

SOS MINISTRY SUMMER OUTREACH

When I first arrived here at SOS there was a week-long outreach planned in various places in San Francisco and Berkeley. I joined the SOS team with special guests Chuck Girard, Paul Coca, and Tim Moon. I was very weak physically but managed to get through each day of outreach. I didn’t do all that much but it was exciting to be out there again.

NORCAL SEEDSOWERS HOST CONFERENCE

In mid July there was a conference hosted by the Norcal Seed Sowers. This is a group of Christians in the South Bay (San Jose area) that are committed to evangelism. They attend all kinds of events in their area. They also have outreaches in the shopping malls by providing tracts and a couple people who can answer questions and witness one on one.

The conference was on a Friday evening and all day Saturday. This was the first one and they had help from Andrew Rappaport who has similar events on the East Coast. Besides Andrew the other speakers were Jeff Rose and Tony Miano. It was worth going to and they plan to have the 2nd annual one next summer.

PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN SAN FRANCISCO

At the end of May I went with my family and joined others in Sacramento for the annual Jazz Festival. It is a four-day event and we went for two of those days. I could not do much at that time but was able to hand out some tracts.

Not counting SOS week, July 26th was the first time I went out preaching during the week days. Eddie, a young man who lives at the ministry house and myself went out to the Mission District in San Francisco. We met up with a Latino man named Caesar. The three of us took turns preaching.  The Mission District has many Spanish speaking people living there. After that we went downtown and met up with a group from Maryland who were out here on a evangelism road trip. The leader, Paul Adams, is with Open Air Campaigners.

We are currently going out preaching during the week about two days a week. Besides myself there is Eddie whom I already mentioned and another fellow, Allan, who recently is staying at the ministry house and will tentatively move in shortly. We have a great mandate to preach the Gospel and are hoping other people will partner with us in some fashion.

One of the days that we were out in San Francisco a young man came up and kicked my little Vox amp. It took a tumble and didn’t survive the trauma. Yes my little baby is no longer working. The amp was a gift and I have had it around two years. It has served me well. Most of the preachers just use their voice but I prefer to use ampiflication.

My hope and prayer is that over the next few months I would get back to preaching 4-6 days a week. I need not only physical strength but spiritual strength as well. I am very excited for this new season in my life. May the Lord bless all of you that have supported me over the last several years in so many ways. Thank You!

Winter Newsletter – February 2012

Dear Friends in Christ

Over Christmas I spent in Washington State and returned here to homebase in Sacramento for about a week before going on a 19-day preaching trip to the Los Angeles area. This was a very productive trip. I preached so much I had to buy batteries for my amp twice while there. Below are some highlighted stories. As always you can get the full report by clicking the following: Los Angeles Report and Hollywood / Burbank Report also Photos From Outreaches

Most of the preaching was done in downtown Los Angeles; however I made it to Hollywood and Burbank twice and once to North Hollywood. Some new stops were Venice Beach, Redondo Beach, and Huntington Beach.

VENICE THE MENACE

Friday, January 13, 2012. It was around 11:30 am when Jeff met me at the baggage claim in Burbank. We left for Santa Monica and before arriving we decided to go just south to Venice Beach. Jeff mentioned his past experiences there which made me think, so what, I preached in San Francisco for three years; how crazy could it be?

On the Venice Beach Boardwalk it is hard to get a designated spot to preach but the Lord opened one up and we settled there. I started preaching and it caused John, a few spots down, to go nuts. You can get an idea of the spiritual resistance to the Gospel. Even the vendors on the other side of us, who were not enthused that we were there, told John to shut up and go back to his space. Prayer is the only thing that would stop this man.

We met a few Christians coming through but most people passed by uninterested until a young woman named Rachel who I saw listening from a distance came closer. Jeff talked to her one-on-one while I continued to preach. I stopped preaching and Jeff asked Rachel if she would like to cry out to God for forgiveness. Neither Jeff nor I like to lead someone in a prayer, but rather have the person from their own heart and by their own words come to Christ. Rachel prayed and repented on her own accord and about that time one of the Christians came back by and we all prayed for her then she was given the Gospel of John.

After getting her something to eat Jeff made some calls to locate a ministry in the area that would come pick her up and take her off the streets, or in this case, the beach. Finally the Salvation Army said they would come and meet her at a certain location in about an hour and a half. In the meantime I told one of the vendors I would watch his stuff while he went and got something to eat. So we agreed that I would stay until he returned and then grab our stuff and meet Jeff and the girl.

While waiting I continued to preach the Gospel and in less than two minutes here comes Jeff back alone with blood gushing from his head. He was sort of in shock and told me to call police. I dialed 911 and then hung up when Jeff said, “no, let’s just get out of here”. He had a gash over his eye and he took his shirt off and wrapped it around his head to stop the bleeding. What had happened was Rachel’s boyfriend (or more like pimp) came up and blindsided Jeff from behind hitting him hard on the side of the head. He took her and ran. Jeff left dazed wandered back to where I was. The man who hit Jeff said something like, “so you want my girlfriend”. We thought maybe he was jealous or something but later learned he was looking from afar and knew we were Christians trying to help. I am sure she was his meal ticket.

We hiked back to our vehicle and went to the drug store and I ran in and got some first aid items. We first decided to head back to Jeff’s and go to his doctor. The bleeding stopped and so Jeff said, “no let’s go to Burbank to witness as planned”. I took over driving and we witnessed late that night and over the next couple of days. By this time Jeff’s eye was swollen shut. Please pray for Rachel and the other man as we believe God had us there for a reason that day.

LADY IN BLUE

Went downtown today to 6th and Broadway where there was much resistance being in a bad area and received some heckling. A city ambassador came by and told me I couldn’t use the amp. I discussed it briefly and continued. About 45 minutes later a woman sergeant from the LAPD asked if she could talk to me. I stopped and she held out her hand and said, “first of all I am a Christian and I like the Word being preached on the street”. She asked me some specifics about the ministry and we talked for about ten minutes. She asked if I wouldn’t mind turning it down since someone complained. I agreed to that but said I was going to go to a different corner anyway. I left her with a ministry card and went to another corner.

This game of “cat and mouse” had started the week before. The city of Los Angeles has, like most cities, city ambassadors. These are men and women, usually younger, which act as patrols in the city. They help tourists and help police as well. This particular day it started I was at the corner of 7th and Hope street.

As is my custom I got there early and prayed over the area. I felt this was a good corner but a lot of warfare. I started preaching and shortly a demonized man came across the street yelling and the same time another woman fell down. This started a great commotion and drew attention from the City Ambassadors. A Christian man was there, and an unbeliever as well, to shield me from several of these purple-shirted city ambassadors. On of them asked if I could stop using the amp. I asked what law I was breaking and she quoted some municipal code. I respectively disagreed about the code since I told her they would need a sound meter to see if I was above the allowed decibel level to account for the street noise. I suggested they get the LAPD.

People started to gather and listen as I preached intensely and fast. I looked and behind me were around 10 of these purple guys and gals. Some were on bikes and some on foot. I figured the police would show up at any time. Over the next half hour the purple-shirted ambassadors started to leave a few at a time until all were gone. I preached to large crowds that day for about two hours. Praise the Lord! The rest of my time there in downtown Los Angeles I was given a free pass to preach wherever I wanted using the amp. What favor with the Lord, whew!

FELLOWSHIP ON THE ROAD

I love to travel preaching the Gospel. One of the downsides is that I miss going to my home Church, Calvary Chapel of Roseville. While on the road I find some place to go and have a blessed time and make some relationships as well.

Loon Lake Assembly of God –
Located in a small town outside of Spokane,WashingtonI attended here a couple of times with my friends that go here. It has every bit of an out in the country feel that one would expect along with some unique characters which love the Lord. Let it be noted that there are some strange birds in Loon Lake. In all seriousness, it is a great part of the family of God.

Grace Community Church –
This was my second visit here in as many years. John MacArthur, who some refer to as the “Pope of the Valley” has been Pastor here for over 40 years. The service was spectacular with full choir and orchestra and MacArthur in true form, the great expositor sharing from Romans chapter eight. We joined the evangelism team that goes out Sunday afternoon to North Hollywood.

Calvary Chapel of Inglewood –
Part of my stay was with Frank Baldus who I witnessed with before in San Francisco. Frank attends a fairly new Church plant from Calvary Chapel of Downey located in Inglewood,California. Frank is also a full-time evangelist with Open Air Campaigners. Besides going to several Church meetings I went with Frank and OAC evangelizing at Huntington Beach and a shopping mall. Frank and his mother Liz were so gracious to host me while there.

Southland Christian Church –
My friend from high school, Dan Allen, the children’s pastor at Southland gave me a hearty welcome as I stayed with him and his roommate Christian. Besides preaching in downtown Los Angeles while here, I observed Dan and his staff work with the many neighborhood kids with afterschool clubs and Wednesday night service. Pastor Jeff the senior pastor let me share a short time during service on Sunday morning. It felt like homecoming returning here again from a year ago.