Justin Matthew Reid

Adventures in NYC - October 23rd, 2005 - October 30th, 2005

Sunday October 23rd, 2005 - Sunday October 30th, 2005

The participants:

Michael Venyah, Tamika Venyah (pregnant with Paul Elijah Venyah), Chris Lemieux and Justin Reid

Introduction:

Michael Venyah has been an open air preacher for our Lord Jesus Christ for many years. Currently he is going all around this world, preaching where God leads him to go. He believes very strongly in the Lord's great commission in Mark 16:15. He is joined by his wife of 2 years (Tamika Venyah) and a friend (Chris Lemieux). They also actively participate in the open air preaching.

I (Justin Reid) have been really looking for opportunities to spread the Gospel message this year. So when Michael emailed me the evening of Thursday, October 20th with the invitation to go along with him campus preaching, I was quite excited. After thinking and praying about this, I accepted his invitation.

Sunday October 23rd:

I called Michael around 8pm from my great uncle's (Bob Reid's) home. Originally Michael told me that he was planning on going to some Big 10 university campuses here in the midwest. God had changed that plan by the time I called. He said the destination was now New York City for an entire week! Wow! It made no difference to me. I was along for the ride, regardless.

I arrived at his residence in East Lansing around 10:30pm. We chatted for a while with his brother Marcus and also Chris. It was a great time of fellowship. Eventually, Michael had to do some packing. I asked Chris to play some video of their preaching in Germany, from where they had just returned. Besides preaching himself, Chris also videotapes Michael and Tamika preaching. Around 1am I became tired enough to sleep (or so I thought). I said goodnight and turned in for the night. I lay there for several hours before getting to sleep. My mind was racing with anticipation for the trip that was drawing near. What would it bring?

Monday October 24th:

Michael woke me up around 7am, I believe. Our intent was to get out of the house early. We had a 12 hour drive ahead of us. A lot of time was spent working on our motel reservation and related things. Eventually we got out the door close to 10am. Michael preached to a man that was walking his dog. That was a confirmation of what I already knew about Michael. He will preach to anyone, anytime. The entire trip continued to confirm this as well.

It took about 12 hours to get to our motel at the Econo Lodge in Elizabeth, NJ. Along the way, Michael and company preached at gas stations, toll booths and rest stops. At one particular service plaza in Ohio, Michael went to the center of the food court and preached. Chris then preached for a moment. Then I got to preach the last section. It was a new experience. It was also a good one.

We had quite a time finding our motel once we got to Elizabeth. Elizabeth is right next to the Newark airport. That was a good landmark for us. Our motel was located on a very hard to find side street. Eventually, we found it. It was a good, clean motel that served our needs for the entire week. To God be all the glory!

Tuesday October 25th:

This was a very rainy day. It rained all day. I heard on the news that the weather was from the remnant of the hurricane that had just passed through Florida a few days before. We drove from Elizabeth into New York City. The toll just to drive those 20 miles is some outrageous figure. I can definitely confirm that NYC traffic is nothing to sneeze at. It's also not something to drive in. I'll skip mentioning NYC traffic for the remainder of this travel summary. Just assume it was obnoxious!

We started out by driving through the city university campus. There was nowhere to park, so we asked directions from a security officer. She gave us directions to Central Park, among other places. We headed towards Central Park, thinking we would preach there. Michael dropped Chris and me off so that we could buy some umbrellas. An umbrella is an open air preacher's trusted friend. We then tried to find a good place in Central Park. While doing this, we passed the Guggenheim Museum. Michael saw a long line of people waiting outside. He dropped us all off while he looked for a parking place.

Chris started preaching to one end of the line (later to be joined by Michael), while Tamika went to part of the line closer to the entrance. I was sort of pacing back and forth, listening to Tamika preach. I observed the reaction of the people. For the most part, they were well behaved. Some paid attention and heard while others tried not to pay attention but also heard. Then Tamika said it was my turn to preach! Yikes, I wasn't quite ready for her to say that. I asked if I could hold her Bible. I took it and then paused a moment to focus my mind on what I would say. Then I just launched into it. Tamika and I kept switching off every few minutes, taking turns. That was good for me. I preached as long as I could, then I used the break to pray and think about other subjects to preach on. A lot of people were diligently paying attention. I believe their consciences were bothering them from the Word that was going forth.

Eventually, the line of people was gone. Then Michael began to preach to anyone that happened to be walking by. He preached to a group of a dozen young (18ish) English boys. They were laughing and mocking the Truth that he was speaking. Just before he walked up to that group, he was finishing up preaching to people towards the end of the block. I noticed a young man (21ish) with headphones on. He seemed to be listening to the preaching. As Michael neared the group of boys, I looked back. What I saw was the entire street AND that guy. It's like he was the focus of that glance and everything else was just in the background. The Holy Spirit was pointing him out to me, leading me to talk to him. I wasn't quite certain of that at the time, so I did nothing. I walked up to the group that Michael was preaching to. Then I started thinking about that guy. I was thinking I missed an opportunity. So I looked over my shoulder and I didn't see him. Then a minute later, I looked over my shoulder and saw that he was standing only about 30 feet away and listening to what Michael was preaching to the group. At that point, I didn't need anymore convincing. The Holy Spirit was leading me to talk to that man.

I walked up and started talking to him. From what I gathered, he was saved at one time, but had fallen away. I was blessed to be able to share with him many scriptures about living for Christ and living free from sin. He kept trying to (weakly) defend his sin. His mouth was not agreeable but his body language and demeanor was that of spiritual defeat. I noticed he made very little eye contact with me. I probably talked with him about 10 minutes. I encouraged him to return to the Lord and to go and sin no more. His name was Serge.

After the Guggenheim museum, we drove down to Times Square. This took a long time, for one reason or another. Perhaps it was traffic.. perhaps it was just all the cars on the road.. or maybe it was just the lack of clear roads. Regardless, we found a place to park in an expensive parking garage. Nothing in New York is cheap.

We walked around Times Square, Michael preaching all the while. Tamika and I found a spot in front of a bus terminal. She preached some and I got to preach a little more. A man selling newspapers tried to outshout my preaching. Eventually I stopped trying to compete with him and just walked up to him. He was a very stubborn man. Every time he was asked about his spiritual condition he would say, "that's between me and God". I've noticed that when people don't want to talk about God's Truth.. they get off on other unrelated topics, trying to discredit the preacher rather than deal with the Truth being presented to them. This guy was like that. We got nowhere with him, so eventually Tamika and I just had to leave him be.

Michael came over to the bus terminal and kept preaching. He eventually started working with a 20 year old man named Jesse. Jesse was very open and hungry to hear Truth. He didn't immediately accept Christ as his saviour, but we felt that he would shortly. Michael gave him a Bible to read.

After Times Square, it was getting dark so we headed back to the motel. It took us a long time to find it, again. As we were driving around, I saw a man that was walking up to a bus stop. I felt in my spirit that the Spirit wanted me to preach to that guy. I wasn't sure, though. I felt that He wanted me to tell Michael to stop the car, so I could. There was some doubt about this (enough doubt that I didn't say anything). Funny enough, a few minutes later we double backed and came to the same street and the same man waiting at the bus stop. This time I said, "we need to preach to that man". Michael called him over and started preaching to him. We found out that he was saved and living free from sin. I then encouraged him to preach Christ to others, like we were doing to him. He seemed grateful to hear this! We then drove off and found our motel.

I'd like to encourage you all to listen to the "still-small voice" in you that IS the Holy Spirit speaking. He won't hit you over the head with a sledgehammer. The more we study the Word and the more we pray in the Spirit, the more sensitive we'll be to His leading. Jealously guard that time with God.

Wednesday October 26th:

We again drove into New York City. We stopped again at the city university. This time (and for the rest of the week) there was no rain to contend with. Michael preached in front of a building. The Truth being shared really angered several young students. The campus police showed up and asked Michael to leave. In the meantime, Chris and Tamika were preaching and witnessing on the other side of the street. As Tamika was working with a girl, a young man came up and was waiting for the girl's attention. I greeted him and asked him if he was saved. He said that he was Catholic and very set in his ways. I asked him if he loved Jesus Christ. He said that he did. I then gave him, "If you love me, keep my commandments". I shared the illustration of a child that completely disobeys his parents and then says "I love you, parents!". That illustration was well received by that young man. He seemed very embarrassed by that simple Truth. I encouraged him to love Jesus Christ by obeying Him and also to read the Word daily. I pray that he will.

We then headed to the State of Liberty ferry. Michael preached during the entire walk from the parking garage to the ferry. You should assume he preached without ceasing, because that was nearly the case. As we passed through the metal detectors (just before boarding the ferry), Michael got separated from us. He was busy preaching and going through the line. At the same moment, the ferry people told us to hurry and get on the ferry, because it was leaving. Tamika, Chris and I did just this. This was my first time in New York City and first time seeing the Statue of Liberty in person. It was alright. If I had come to New York just to sight-see, I think I would have been very disappointed.

We didn't get off at the Statue of Liberty. We continued on to Ellis Island and got off there. Chris and Tamika did some preaching to people waiting in line for the ferry. Then we went into the immigration museum there. Ellis Island was a major immigration point for people coming across the Atlantic ocean from around 1892-1927 (if I remember correctly). Chris and Tamika then preached some more. A security guard on bicycle came up to us and told us to stop preaching. Someone had complained about the preaching. Apparently, preaching the Word is considered "harassment" and isn't legal to do on Ellis Island.

While we were on the ferry back to New York, Michael called on Chris' cell phone. He was waiting for us when we got back to the ferry parking area. He had a new friend with him! It's at this point that I'll tell you a little about Javier. Javier was born in Uruguay. He is 27 years old. He moved to the United States 4 years ago. He lives and works in Hartford, CT. He attends an Assemblies of God Church there, where he is also a deacon. This Church is mainly for Brazilian immigrants. He also translates Portuguese into Spanish during the services. Michael met Javier while we were separated. Michael was on a ferry boat, preaching to the people. He noticed Javier agreeing with the Truth being preached. They started talking and Michael then invited him to join us.

The rest of the day was spent driving back to the motel and getting to know Javier. Again, it took a long time to find the motel. Javier said that I look German. I think that's the first time anyone ever has told me that. I guess I must.. since I am partly German. Once we got back to the motel room, Javier, Chris and I walked down to Burger King to have dinner. We continued talking over dinner. Javier is very hungry for God's Truth. It was a pleasure to get to know him. He shared a motel room with Chris and myself for 2 nights. After Burger King, we had a great Bible study about how God feels about sin. Javier is one who believed that it's good not to sin, but that it's not practical to completely stop sinning. At first he was defending his view, but as scripture after scripture was presented, he had to agree with the Word of God. Ezekiel chapter 18 and 1 John 2:1 were the turning points, I believe. Just before bed, I started sharing a few scriptures about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He believed in it, but had not yet been Baptized with the evidence of tongues.

Thursday October 27th:

This day really started while I was still asleep. God gave me a dream:

I felt as if I was riding in a car down a highway. I could feel myself moving, but I saw no car. I wasn't driving. I was observing with perfect clarity. As I was moving forward, I saw a dead man thrown onto the side of the road from out of nowhere. I saw him come to a rest and just lay there, motionless. I kept moving forward. He was thrown there just before I went by him. I turned and watched him as I went by. I then looked over my shoulder and was looking back at him, as I went further away from him. It was then that I could feel/hear myself praying in the Holy Spirit. Then I extended my arm and finger out towards him and said plainly, "In the name of Jesus Christ!". Then I continued praying in the Holy Spirit. A second time I said (more emphatically this time), "In the name of Jesus Christ!". Immediately the dead man stood up and was made completely alive! My view then shifted from looking back to looking off into the distance, on my right. I saw Jesus Christ standing in front of God the Father. Jesus was smiling. God the Father was sitting on a throne, looking more serious. Oddly (or maybe not), Jesus Christ was wearing what I'd call a suit like a lawyer would wear. After all, Jesus Christ is our advocate, attorney and lawyer with God the Father. Immediately after this, I woke up.

Tamika stayed in her motel room this day. So it was just me, Javier, Michael and Chris. This time we were wise enough NOT to drive anywhere. We took the motel shuttle to the airport. We found that we could take an airbus to a bus to a subway car to another subway car. On the way, I got to preach a little at the airport and the bus station and also on a subway car. While at the bus terminal, Michael preached to an 18 year old girl named Jenny. She really listened to what was being presented. I believe that she will soon give her life entirely to Jesus Christ. Michael also talked with a 64 year old woman named Ellen Frazier. He prayed for her to be healed of a heart ailment.

Eventually we got to the World Trade Center site. It's right next to the subway terminal. In fact, at one spot one can see the ruins while walking to his/her subway car. This was an amazing spot to preach. There were hundreds of people walking by every couple of minutes. Michael stood in the middle of this, raised his voice and began preaching the Word. Chris then took over for a while. Eventually, I got to preach there for a few minutes. We met a couple fellow Christians who were very supportive of our efforts. It's so encouraging to know that there ARE true Sons and Daughters of God out there in the world, even though they aren't in huge numbers.

After this we went to the Empire State Building. We didn't go up to the top. We just walked around the lobby. Michael was preaching to people as they walked by us. He preached to a young man named Alex. It turns out that Alex is Born Again and Spirit Filled. He's from Sierra Leone, but he's there attending King's College (which is in the basement of the Empire State Building). Alex is 28 and is really hungry for God's Truth. We had a great 2 hours of fellowship with him as he showed us King's College. Michael was able to share a lot from the Word with him and to really encourage him. We had a very blessed time of prayer before we departed. Michael continued to preach as we made our way back to the motel after this.

Javier and I were able to talk with a man on the bus. His name is Alexander. Alexander is typical of the world in that he loves his sin. Javier gave him a tract. I was able to share a little Truth with him. He knows he's a sinner, but doesn't seem to really care. He understands that he needs God, however. We told him that we'd be praying for him. I hope he will give his life to Jesus Christ.

While on the way back, I shared some more scriptures about the Baptism of the Holy Ghost with Javier. Michael had also been working with him on that subject earlier that morning.

For a 2nd night in a row, we went to Burger King. This time, it was after the dining room hours. So we had to go through the drive through, without a car. A very tricky undertaking. I don't recommend it to anyone. That's right folks: a car is highly recommended for drive-through restaurants.

Friday October 28th:

I got out of bed around 9 a.m. Shortly after that, Michael and Tamika came over. We all listened as Michael took Javier through some more scriptures about receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Javier was ready for that teaching. He was filled with the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues around 11 a.m. All glory to God! His Word is Truth.

Around 12 p.m. we went to the local Supremo supermarket. It's a Hispanic store that carries imported food items. Javier was hoping to find some products he remembers from Uruguay. He did manage to find a few. He shared with us a kind of chocolate-caramel cookie called "Tofi".

We then took our familiar route to the airport and then the bus station. We looked for Ellen Frazier (we had planned to meet), but she was not there. We trust that the Lord is taking care of her. I preached a little while at the bus station. We ran into Jenny again. She appeared to be really counting the cost of serving Christ. Javier was faithful to witness to all the Spanish speakers who walked by.

We eventually found ourselves at the Manhattan mall. Michael starting preaching in the middle of the food court. He was going strong for several minutes until the security guy showed up. I noticed a girl that was listening intently to the preaching. While Michael talked to the security guy, I went and started talking to this girl. She said she had read the whole Bible at one point. She was quite adamant about justifying her sins. It was the usual "whatever works best for you" thought process. This girl was visiting New York from Germany, from what I gathered. At one point, she had to ask her friend about a certain word she was thinking of. It turns out that word was "mercy". Before she left, I quickly tried to share Proverbs 14:12 and John 14:6 with her, but she didn't want to hear it. As she walked away, she was saying how she wanted to enjoy her vacation without having to talk about this stuff. Isn't that just the way of the transgressors? They try so hard to dull their consciences.

We then walked Javier to Madison Square Garden, so he could catch his train. As we walked into the center of the train terminal, Michael noticed the perfect acoustics caused by the circular design of the architecture. He raised his voice and preached for at least 15 minutes. After this, Javier got in line to buy his train ticket. It was a pleasant goodbye to our new friend. Immediately after this, we were in a different section of the train terminal when Michael again started preaching. It was a very strong message. I praise God that hundreds of people got to hear it as they waited for their trains. He preached for about 30 minutes this time, before the police asked him to stop. I got to talk to 3 young men that were watching the "entertainment". They had something to say about every sin they are trying to cover up. Of course.. like most sinners.. they are able to quote Matthew 7:1.. but never go to verse 2-5. Satan himself quoted little snippets of scripture to try to justify himself. It's no wonder that Satan's children can do the same thing.

As I was finishing up with those 3 young men, another older (30s) man came up to me and started talking. This prompted the 3 young men to depart. I told them to read and obey the Bible, as they were walking away. This new guy had heard Michael preach minutes earlier. This guy said he felt convicted that he himself wasn't out preaching like Michael. He wondered at the boldness and power that Michael has to do such a thing. I asked him if he was Born Again. He said yes. I asked if he was living free from sin. He said yes. I asked if he had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He said yes. I asked if he spoke in tongues as a result. He said no. Then I knew why he didn't have any power or boldness. He said he didn't want to have an argument with me about this. I said that I didn't want that either. I told him that this could be the reason why God is having him talk to me. From the Word, I explained that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is separate from salvation and that he needs to pray in tongues. I think I showed him Acts 1:8, 2:4, 10:44 and 19:1-6. I could tell he was thinking about it. He then had to leave to catch his train. I pray that he will ask for and receive the power that Jesus Christ commands us all to receive.

After this, we walked back to the Manhattan mall. Chris engaged a very proud Muslim, while Michael was in the restroom. When Michael came back, he took over that conversation. Some of the Muslim's fellow friends showed up. They started shouting loudly in response to Michael's proclaiming of Christ. Eventually security came and broke that scene up. In the meantime, I was discussing Jesus Christ with a Hispanic man. He claims that all books that mention Christ are the same thing, worded differently. He would not accept the Bible as the only Word of God. He said he used to be in 5 different religions at the same time. I told him that he's accepting all these false books so that he doesn't have to conform his life to the Truth of Jesus Christ. Michael continued working with the Muslim man for a good hour. He refused to let Michael read anything from the Word. He also refused to accept Jesus Christ as his saviour. I pray that a seed was planted in his heart.

Saturday October 29th:

I awoke at 11 a.m. and we got out to the airport at 11:30. Michael preached to everyone en route. At the bus station, he worked with a welfare lady for at least half an hour. We met Perez (aka Dan) downtown. He's a graduate student studying film and religion. After hearing Michael preach a few days earlier, he decided to put Michael in a documentary that he is making. Perez is a fellow Christian and his documentary is about Christians in New York. He took us to a cafe a few blocks away. Perez was kind enough to treat us to some food while we were there. I had a health fruit drink. He then interviewed us off camera and then interviewed Michael on camera. After this, he followed us around as Michael and Tamika preached. He got great footage for his documentary. A homeless man gave his life to Christ. Michael went inside a halloween store and preached. We then went to Union Park. Michael continued preaching and honestly answering all the lies people raised against God. He had some great one on one discussions with a few people. Tamika worked with a man for a long time and then he also gave his life to Christ. Finally, Michael was able to preach to some youth skateboarders on the edge of the park. They had a lot of good questions and Michael and Tamika were able to answer them well. I also got to answer a couple questions while there.

We headed back via our familiar route of transit. Michael preached as we walked through the airport. One lady completely freaked out. She kept trying to justify her life as a "good person". She has raised a daughter. She has adopted 4 puppies and takes care of them in her home. However, she has not accepted Jesus Christ as her saviour. Michael worked with her for a few minutes, but she continued to be obstinate. Her statements were completely illogical, given the subject of the conversation. She was doing anything she could to justify her life. Eventually we had to leave her. I pray that she judges herself before she stands before Christ.

Sunday October 30th:

We left Elizabeth, NJ around 9:30 a.m. and drove back to Michigan. It was a good time of prayer, study and listening to Godly music. Michael stopped at a gas station in Pennsylvania. He preached to young girls and also a dozen army members that happened to show up at the same time. They would not receive the preaching. They kept trying to justify themselves. One young lady became completely enraged and out of control. We continued on our way and got back to Lansing around 11p.m.