... from Albania, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Slovakia, Latvia and Switzerland.
Albania Regular meetings in Korca can reach most of the people in this city, as it is a traditional thing for people of all ages to walk to the park in the evenings. Week long children's clubs in Korca and surrounding villages reach young lives for Christ.
Hungary A German and local team goes to Lake Balaton every summer. Large children's meetings are held on the beach and open airs around the harbour at night. One person told the team, 'At home my parents don't want to hear anything about God's love, but this evening they attended your meeting and heard the gospel so clearly.'
Greece Students at the Greek Bible Institute were trained and led out onto the streets by OAC staff for open air evangelism. Many Orthodox religious people showed a sincere interest in the gospel. Some were linked up with people from the local churches. None of these people had heard a clear presentaton of the gospel before.
Ireland At an open air in Killarney, Margaret stopped to listen to a message on 'The Great Disaster.' She said she could identify with it, having lost her husband at 38 and her sister four years later. a drunken driver had killed her sister after she had come to comfort her. Margaret was ready to accept Christ as Saviour.
Slovakia A camp for teenagers drew 62 for 7 days. There were Bible studies every morning and evening, plus games and sports. The leaders prayed constantly for the young people and spent much time in preparation. By the end of camp, 20 had come to Christ for salvation.
Latvia Across the Baltic sea from Sweden and bordering Russia, this land of 2.3 million suffered terribly under Stalin. One fifth of the population was liquidated. Now, as an independent democracy with religious freedom since 1991, there is a great opportunity for evangelism. Only 2% of the population attends any church. OAC Denmark is reaching out to Latvia with an annual conference on evangelism and leading teams in open air outreaches. Up to 150 people will gather on the street to hear the preaching of the good news. Young people openly ask for prayer and some trust Christ as Saviour. A local pastor, after seeing many young people listening to the gospel, said, 'They would never listen to me for so long in the church.' The outreach really opened his eyes to the effectiveness of open air evangelism.
Switzerland A team from our OAC branch in Wyoming found animal balloons very effective for reaching teenagers in Switzerland and France. In Alsace, some of the teeneagers who had mocked the team at first, later took literature, with ten coming to church that night... something which had never happened before. The team also used juggling and a drama to communicate the gospel. One of the team members was a Navajo Indian, making the outreach very cross-cultural and unique.