From: "Brian O'Connell"
Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1999
Subject: Newsletter from crossbearer
NEWSLETTER 10-99
Brian C. O’Connell
7655 W Gulf to Lake Hwy #3,
Crystal River, FL 34429
crossbearer@juno.com
crossbearer83@hotmail.com
Praise the wonderful name of the LORD Jesus Christ who lives and reigns forever more. Since my last newsletter, Mike and I packed up and traveled up towards Canada. Here are my journal notes on the entry.
Canada Border 7-16-99 Fri.
Mike and I made it to Port
Huron. We were instructed to go through customs. They interrogated us for
three hours. Asking questions and searching our vehicles. The woman finally
gave me the OK to enter but denied Mike entrance saying he needed to have
$1,000 to come in to Canada for two weeks. Another issue was health insurance.
So we returned over the bridge and camped out at a rest area in Port Huron.
7-17-99 Sat
Today, I really did not want
to go through the routine again at customs. But I had some hope that maybe
we would be able to go right in. I gave Mike $1,000 in case he needed it if
we had to go through the customs again. So we went back to Canada border.
Again, we were asked to report to customs.
They interrogated us for three hours. The $1,000 was not enough, so it seemed.
They wanted papers of proof that Mike owned a house in Tennessee. They wanted
copies of recent bank statements from both of us. We both had to count out
the cash we had. I gave them proof I had a visa credit card. Proof of ordination.
It seemed endless. As soon as we crossed one hurdle, they would put up another.
“Are you coming to Canada to visit, or to preach?” was their big question.
They did not want us street preaching, and our lives simply said “Hey, we
are street preachers!”
Again they searched our vehicles.
Again and again they would ask the same questions, looking for a chink in
our armor. They seemed to have been decided to reject us some three different
times, each time we were able to produce something that gave us a little hope
of getting into the country. Finally, when I gave her the phone # to Rick
and Heather McLean, the woman called Heather and her conversation with Heather
seemed to have convinced the woman we were coming to visit after all. So she
gave us a 14 day permit, with many restrictions. Then we were free to come
in. It was so good to see Rick and Heather again. The Lord worked a miracle
to get us in. Now, I am hoping for another miracle to get some freedom to
minister while we are here. If we step out of line, will we forever forfeit
our hopes of ever coming back? Lord Jesus, please help me to know what to
do!
London 7-20-99 Tues.
4 saved. Walked Dundas St. In London. A class of kindergarten children were
crossing the street with their teachers and as they passed by me they all
looked in amazement. I kept saying "Jesus Christ loves you" as they
passed. In the crowd of people who were waiting for the light to change so
they could cross the street, was a child of Satan. He yelled at me "You
can't push your religion on those children!"
I ignored him and continued to say "Jesus loves you" and he got
louder and more stern. Finally, the light changed and he left, crossing the
street.
While standing at Richmond and Dundas, a woman came up behind Michael and
as she looked up at the cross, she bagan to tremble. Then she fell backwards
and went into convulsions. At one point she stopped breathing.
Mike testified that she had exhaled her last breath and died. So he prayed
for the Lord to give her life and then rolled her on her side and she started
breathing again.
The police came and an ambulance who took her away to the hospital. She was
diabetic, wearing a bracelet identifying her as such. But it also seemed to
have been demonic in occurrence. Incidently, I had seen the exact same occurance
happen in the jungles of Honduras while carrying the cross in a village near
Palacios. A woman looked upon the cross, went into convulsions, screamed as
she fell to the ground and foaming from the mouth. She looked as if to be
dead. Read Mark 9:17-27.
We were interviewed by London Free Press newspaper while walking. The reporters
were not Christian so both Mike and I had opportunity to minister the gospel
to them both (reporter and photographer) Mike and I had a gathering of street
kids dressed in black, looking like punkers. They were hungry to hear that
God loves them. Peter was drawn to this message of love and he later brought
two of his friends who accepted Christ. We spent much time with these love
starved teens. One teen dressed with satanic symbols and dregs, handed me
an invitation to his concert. His group is “WitchMoon...creepy, brutal, industrial
rock from the USA” was on their handout invitation. He said that last year,
I had talked to them on a video they took of me. It apparently made some impression
on him as he now stood telling about the occurance. I simply cut right through
the whole thing and shot right at his heart with the message of God's love.
He received it well.
7-21-99 Wed.
This morning at 9:30 AM, Mike and I preached the gospel as we were interviewed
by the secular radio station 1290 AM on a program called “Talk of the town”
with announcer Jim Chapman. I heard it is the most listened to station in
London. When we got to Startford, Mike and I testified at the youth service
at Bethel Pentacostal Temple and many of them were familiar with the radio
program. Praise God!
Muslim encounters 7-26-99 Mon.
1 saved. Stood at intersection of Jane St. and Finch in Toronto. Started at
11 AM and finished at 9 PM. Handed out many tracts. Many Muslim and Hindu’s
walked by.
Near the beginning of the day, I prayed with Reta, a 17 year old girl, to
receive Christ into her life. She spent much time with me as I shared many
scriptures with her explaining what she had just done by calling on Jesus’
name.
Later in the day, Marian, a 21 year old Muslim girl veiled in all black so
that only her eyes can be seen, came to argue doctrine with me. She had already
been disputing with Mike and as she passed by me, I went to hand her a tract
so it gave her an open door to also talk with me. I prayed with her that Jesus
would manifest himself to her in a special way. She has my e-mail address
and said she would prove to me through the scriptures that God has NO SON!
(Muslims do not confess Jesus as the son of God.)
At the end of the day, I disputed with another Muslim, a young man in his
30’s. I too prayed with him that Jesus would manifest himself to him. It seems
that unless Jesus mainfests himself to the muslims, there is little hope of
winning them to Christ, since they discredit the Bible as corrupted from its
original transcripts. Most every cult uses the same arguement of disqualifying
the Holy Scriptures. If this was true, WE ARE ALL LOST! Kind of like losing
the road map! Lord Jesus, please help them! The road map to eternal life has
NOT been lost, thanks be to our God! Jesus said in Matt 24:14 & 35 "And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all
the nations, and then the end will come." "Heaven and earth will pass away,
but My words will by no means pass away."
Brampton 7-29-99 Thurs.
4 saved. Walked Queen St. (One block in 5 hours). I had several salvations
as I walked this one block. Mike got caught up with someone and spent many
hours at the same spot while I stood in front of a bank at the corner of Main
and Queen. A police officer came and wanted me to move off the corner and
then left. Still about an hour later, two police squad cars came and apparently
inerrogated Mike for some time before leaving.
At the end of the day, while I was ministering to 3 rebellious teens and an
older fellow who came by to listen, Maria had arrived and was parked next
to me in the van as Mike loaded the crosses. A police squad car pulled up
and he briefly sounded his siren. He got out and walked right past me and
went to the rear of the van and took the license tag number. Then he approached
me and wanted information on me. He said they received complaints that we
were talking to children. Dwain, one of the teens I was talking to, had an
anger towards the police, formally he had been beaten by the police, and he
said “I’m not a child!” The officer replied “I’m not talking about you.” Well,
Obviously Mike and I will talk to anyone including children, but WHICH children,
we cannot tell. The officer checked me out and finally let us go.
We took the 3 teens, all homeless and living on the streets at 16 years of
age, to Burger King to eat. They were very thankful. Dwain had earlier let
me pray for him. Christopher asked me if I would lead him in a prayer and
he asked Jesus in to his life. Richard, the third teen, kept a hardened heart.
After they ate, they were thankful and left. I really feel that Dwain and
Christopher had taken a leap towards Jesus. Anke, whom we met last year, drove
out to tell us that her daughter had a dream about Mike and I last night,
even though she had never met us. Last night I prayed with Anke and her husband,
Richard, that their children would dream dreams about Jesus. Her daughter
had married a Catholic and so she became a Catholic. Thank you Jesus for signs
and wonders following your word.
ANGRY MASON 7-31-99 Sat.
Today we left Brampton for the USA. Mike and I were on QEW which is a very
slow moving road out of Canada towards the border of the USA. A man in the
car next to me honked his horn and when I looked he was flashing a police
badge at me motioning me to pull over. He was not in a police cruiser so I
wasn’t sure that I wanted to pull over, but he again was very insistant that
I pull over. So I called Mike on the CB and told him of the situation. So
we pulled over and the man, when he walked up, was very angry about my sign
on the trailer. It said “Only Jesus is Worshipful Master! Masons, Shriners,
Repent!” With the words was a masonic symbol of the square and compass with
a cross through it. He was very angry with it, even trembling uncontrollably
and, of course, he was a Mason. He threatened to call the border and have
them take my license from me and hold me. He said it was illegal in Canada
to have such a sign. Mike came and began to sword fight with him and to charge
him in the name of the Lord. At one point the man compared my sign to cursing
the name of Jesus (proving it is a religion and an idol) and he proceeded
to blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ with such foul words that I was totally
shocked. This man even claims to be a Christian, a Presbyterian. I finally
calmed him down and asked him if he would like me to remove the sign, in which
he replied “Yes!” Mike, on the other hand, told the man he was going to put
his “Mason”s worship Devils” sign in his own window.After
Mike left to go to the bus, I was able to talk with the man. I gave him one
of my tracts on Masons, exposing the Luciferian doctrine of the cult and another
tract entitled “Have you left your first Love?” He said he would read them.
I shared with him what it meant to be “born again” and that God gives the
Holy Spirit who reveals what is truth from what is error. He claimed he even
laid his hands on the Bible when he was initiated into the Lodge (as if that
makes the Lodge a Godly and holy thing). I talked about the scripture where
it says "Do not be unequally yoked with unbeleivers." I asked him
if he claimed to be Christian and he said "Yes" so I explained that
scripture telling him that God forbids us to fellowship with Muslims, Hindus
etc.
He confessed that there were
Hindus and Muslims in his Lodge. Praise the Lord Jesus! My sign had an impact
on a mans life. I pray he will be convicted by the tracts and the word of
God. I put the sign back on my trailer as soon as we crossed the border. We
had no trouble getting out of Canada. The American woman at the border was
amazed that we even got in with Mikes bus having scripture painted all over
it. Take note my Canadian brothers and sisters, paint scripture all over your
vehicles, offend these anti-Christian workers of wickedness. Camped out at
a rest area outside of Corning, NY. Hope to make it to Wilkes-Barre tomorrow.
Street Gangs 8-5-99 Thurs. 6 saved.
Walked Scranton, PA. Today, Mike was in two newspapers from Wilkes-Barre.
As soon as we started in Scranton, the newspaper was there to interview us
and take pictures.
Had some real fights today, spiritual fights. Most of my salvation prayers
were quick ones. But I also had some good conversation with a fellow who was
seeking the Lord.
We encountered a gang of rebels, who threatened my life and Mike later tells
me they also threatened him. Brian, the name of the chief rebel, would take
my tracts, tear them up and throw them at me. His friend would walk behind
me and pull my cross, and on another occasion, he intentionally tripped over
it, not to stumble, but rather to jerk it from my hands.
Every time I told Brian that I loved him, or that Jesus loved him, he would
threaten to hurt me. Mike told me later that they had said they beat me up.
But it was a scare tactic to put fear into Mike. Later, I had several Christian
Police on Bicycles stop by to fellowship with me. Mike said that when they
came, the gang fled into the shopping mall he was standing in front of. It
appears there is a strong presence of gangs in Scranton, threatening people.
Mike had a 12 year old boy ask him to pray for him that he would make it to
age 13. Mike asked him why he wanted him to pray that prayer. The boy said
he was afraid the gangs would kill him.
HARRISBURG, PA. 8-10-99 Tues. 1
saved.
When we both were in front
of the capitol building, we both blew the shofars and Mike yelled out “Hear
O Israel, I am the Lord thy God, you shall have no other Gods before me!”
He was loud. I had a woman
walk past me about 3 times whom I knew was being drawn by the Lord.
She was later sitting alone and the Lord spoke to me to pray for her. So I
walked over and asked if I could pray for her. She replied “Yes, pray that
the Lord would use me for his glory.” So I prayed for her. She later shared
that she had accepted Christ many years ago, but for the last 25 years, she
has been a prostitute. I read the story of the prostitute in John Chapter
8, which she already knew. But then, I took her to John Chapter 20, where
Mary Magdalene was honored to be the first one to see Jesus alive. Marilyn,
this woman, was very intrigued by the Scripture and asked me to give it to
her so she could read it again. I believe she will never be the same, Praise
the Lord!
A police woman stopped and checked our driver licenses and was very angry
with Mike and I. She said her chief was angry with us and wanted her to check
us out, and that we were making many people angry. (Everyone is angry at us)
She threatened us with an arrest saying we were disturbing people. I told
her that the gospel will offend many. She said if she got another call on
us we were going to jail. It seems the Lord was just then ready to get us
out of town also. We walked some 10 blocks or more without a soul to minister
to. Then Maria came with the van and we packed up and left.
Crystal River
Since my return to Crystal River, FL over a month ago, I have been truly blessed to have another partner in carrying the cross. Richard and his wife Denise have joined in the work. Mike and I hope to travel to St. Augustine in the next few days and travel South towards Key West where we will, Lord willing, preach at Fantasy Fest. I send you my Love in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Brian "crossbearer"
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