It is a difficult task to proclaim to others about the Lord. It is a challenge to speak to people who are in a hurry, who are sometimes aggressive, and who don’t want to hear anything about eternity. Over the course of many years, Vasiliy Khripunov, along with his ever-changing team of preachers, has been proclaiming the Gospel on the streets of Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and many other cities. They preach at the intersections to the homeless, as well as to everyone who is able to hear them.
Not everyone can handle what he and his team were able to endure. They cover hundreds of miles in order to get to the place of ministry where they stand the whole day in the heat which in southern California sometimes reaches up to 117 degrees in the summer, as well as the cold of winter, and endure the ridicule of people. They often hear their hostile outbursts and threats of their demise. That is just some of the things that they encounter on a regular basis. But everything is taken with joy when someone expresses their desire to pray in repentance. That is exactly what happened in Las Vegas on July 17 while evangelizing among the homeless. Two women turned to the Lord admitting their sinfulness, and asking God for forgiveness.
The preachers are proclaiming the Gospel in various places. For example, in June they preached in San Francisco. It was remarkable that as they were preaching, there was the building of The First Baptist church to their right, but to their left, there was the gay center. While preaching, they gave away Gospel tracts, and turned on the sermons of Billy Graham. Some bystanders were not pleased and tried to prevent the preaching, but some were looking on with approval and took the Gospel tracts.
There are different kinds of people that the team encounters in this ministry. Recently, while preaching on the streets of Hollywood, another Uzbek brother from WA joined them, and even though he did not know much English, he was able to help in preaching the Gospel.
During the time of this street evangelism, hundreds of people are reminded about the necessity to be reconciled with God. Only He knows the hearts which will produce the fruits of the seeds that have been sown. Please pray for the success of this ministry and its leader, Vasiliy Khripunov.
Olga Avetisova
