A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN LE

July/09

Recently I have been helping my daughter with her music career, putting in between 6-8 hrs per day.  This leaves me the evenings and by then I am pretty well spent.  Last night my wife said, "Are you going out? It is already 5 p.m."

At 6 p.m. I rolled into my first appointment where the man had been waiting to see the health books.  After canvassing for an hour, the husband looked at his watch and said he had to get to a meeting and asked if I could leave a card.  I said, "If cards were the answer I would have a trunk full of them." He asked, "How are we going to contact you?"  I said, "I will be by again sometime, I just hope your not out shopping in three months when I do drive by."  He said, "I can't believe your not going to leave me a contact number."  I replied, "So, are you going to be the first person in 25 years to actually call me back for the books?  Mr. Prospect, when I walk out that door, I am telling you that odds are you will never get these books."  He responded, "We need to pray about it, that we don't make a mistake."  I replied, "If this is the biggest mistake you make for the rest of your life, having Christian natural healing books, do you think you can live with it?"  His final words were, "We are not buying tonight!"  I said, "Thinking about it is like a preacher finishing up his sermon and saying, I don't want anybody here tonight to make a decision, go home and think about it for a couple of weeks.  Mr. Prospect, we rely on the Holy Spirit to convict our customers of the books, I can accept the fact that you are not convinced, but I believe your wife is."  With that I left, got in the car, and began to back out of their driveway.  Suddenly he appeared, and motioned for me to return.  He said, "We want the Food Books, how much are they, and can I make 3 payments?"  I said, "They are $399."  He said 3 x 399 is more than the $1000 you quoted us.  Shocked they wanted the package, I responded, your right, it is 3 x 333.

I went across the street where there was a group of kids on the lawn of some migrant farm workers.  I receive great joy in presenting to them the plan of salvation in picture format.  As I sat down with them, a guy yelled out, "Good luck selling them anything."  I responded, "I am just having fun."  After finishing, I hopped in my car and another car pulled along side and looked at me through the window.  They followed me right into the next driveway.  "Are you the guy who sells the books?  I saw you on the lawn and told my wife, "That's the guy with the health books.  Follow us to our house, we are very interested."  I finished with the current house, drove up the road and pulled into their driveway and was met by a mob of kids who were drawn to me like a magnet.  "You sold us a book a couple of years ago," one said, "Have you got another book for me?"  The health book interest asked, "Are you coming in?"  I said, "In a few minutes, I have to tend to a previous customer."  I walked into a house of about 20 Mennonites from Mexico who put a chair in the middle of the room and pointed for me to sit and begin my canvass.  With ten kids at my feet and 7 adults facing me in a semi-circle I began the health and spiritual canvasses.  Upon completion I asked, "If you had these books, would anybody read them?"  Every child put his hand up.  I said to the parents, "Remember this moment.  Every one of these children wants to follow Jesus.  You may think you have no money to purchase, but remember this night and every child here."  I walked out there with $100 cash downpayment and five payments for $100 each. 

It was 9:40 p.m. when I finally got to the health interest.  After sharing the health message, including the unclean foods, alcohol, and caffeine/tobacco addictions, I felt impressed to present the Great Controversy canvass.  When it was over the husband said, we will take the health package and wrote me a check for $998.  It was 11:45 p.m.

June/09

The colporteur was in desparate financial straights.  He was 3 weeks behind on the rent, and his wife had been in his face to produce or get another job.  Every time they talked, it regarded the urgency of finances.  Pleas to God for deliverance, claiming the promises of Matthew 6 had apparently gone unnoticed.  A decision had to be made.  The LE went to the bank, withdrew what remaining monies he had, and decided to go on an LE trip just like he did in his glory days.  This would involve motels, meals, gasoline averaging near $100 per day.  He shut off his cell phone and promised himself he would not  contact his wife until he either had the rent or came home flat broke.  He told the Lord that he was willing to sacrifice his remaining financial security, somewhat jeopardize his marriage, and venture out to prove once and for all whether God wanted him to remain in this work. 

The first day was a travel day with no results from homes visited along the way.  His stake was down from $500 to $400.  Day 2 resulted in visiting a number of lead cards stretched over 200 miles.  He made $199 credit card sale and checked into a motel.  He was down from $400 to $300.  No communication had been made to his wife, who he knew must be panicking and would have urged him to come home imediately.  Late in day 3 he visited an Adventist who had sent in a card but purchased nothing.  Upon leaving the yard she yelled out, "But I will pray for you to make a sale within an hour."  The LE reached a shopping mall discouraged and famished but looked at his watch and realized that an hour south was a lead card visited the previous day. The sender's girlfriend had told him she didn't know why her boyfriend had sent in a Bedtime Story card because he had no children or grandchildren but he would be home at 4 p.m. the next day.  If the colporteur skipped eating he would make it just before the man went to work.  As the LE rolled into the yard, he prayed a prayer he had never uttered during 25 years in this work, "Lord, heaven no longer looks appealing to me.  I am looking for a relationship with You on earth.  Together, we are failing miserably.  Let me go in this home and get it over with."

The man answered the door and exclaimed, "I grew up with these books and want to get them for my neices and nephews.  Come on in."  The LE gathered his canvass materials with a renewed spark of hope in his heart.  He showed the prospect the  Bedtime and Bible Stories, then the health library.  Before he had a chance to mention the price, the man said, "That's what I want, let me get my checkbook."  The LE totalled the sale at $2,195.  Placing the total in front of the customer, the man simply said, "To whom do I make this check payable?"  There was no objection, nor hesitation.  He then thanked the LE profusely for coming by.

As the LE drove off into the sunset on Friday afternoon, he realized that this sale was a complete gift from God.  There was no missionary work invovled, no spiritual acts of persuasion.  The colporteur phoned his wife and told her to go to the bank and pay the rent, buy food, pay some bills, and to expect him home for Sabbath.

Jan/09

It is a privilege to be included in the Great Controversy as it is written daily among God's servants, especially His colporteurs. 

   As I was getting ready to leave for work, I walked to the mailbox and spotted a letter from the Department of Transport.  Upon opening, I was shocked to discover that my drivers license had been suspended for failure to pay a ticket.  Upon reading the fine print of the letter, the warnings were ominous - Pay up immediately, wait 4 days for processing and pay an additional $150 reinstatement fee as well as further financial penalties for being late on the ticket payment. If you were caught driving during this suspension it could result in repossession of the said vehicle as well as a fine ranging between $5000 to $50,000. 

   I phoned the Department and pleaded my case.  I produced evidence of a money order via fax and it was soon discovered that I had been given 2 tickets but the Department had applied my first payment to the wrong ticket.  The officer then informed me that I would be off the road until they straightened this mess out and warned me not to drive. 

   On top of this, the previous day I had been driving in wintry conditions with my 4 wheel drive activated for most of the day.  This resulted in my transmission overheating and for a period the engine would only rev up as the clutch plates were slipping badly.  The signs pointed that my transmission was ready to fail.

   I headed for my computer and immediately spotted a fresh email from the Review.  It stated:  "Can you help this lady receive the Bedtime Stories?"  The address was just down the road.  I had a long trip organized, deliveries to make, people to see.  I opened the Bible and read, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's."  Quite frankly, I had enough of Satan ruling the circumstances of my life.  I decided to continue in my plans to go to work on this long journey, leaving right now.  As I sat behind the wheel of the car, my prayer was "Lord, Please protect me from being stopped by the police, and please keep my transmission going even if it takes angels to monitor it continually.  I have faith."

   Pulling up to the Bedtime Story computer card lead, it was one of those houses that intimidates the best of colporteurs.  The million dollar house with the open gates and long lane.  Surprisingly, I was invited in without objection.  The lady said my timing was impeccable as her husband ran a home business but was gone, and good thing as he was not a Christian.  She purchased the set of books and as I was leaving she asked, "What church puts these books out?"  Answering with our stock reply, I said, "These books are suitable for any religion, except Jehovah Witnesses.  Being from Guatemala are you Catholic?"  She stunned me by replying, "I am a Seventh-day Adventist, or at least I used to be as a child.  My mother is a member and my sister is married to an Adventist pastor."

   Our visit ended with an arrangement for our Pastor to come by with a set of Bible study videos so that her husband could watch them with her.  It was obvious from the excitement in her eyes that she is eagerly anticipating fresh contact with local SDA's.  This explained Satan's dictating the error from the government. Perhaps no other visitation time would have evoked these results.

   I drove off into the night knowing my transmission will hold up.  I write to you on day 2 of my journey.

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Feb/09

We are trained to ask for referrals.  The wife said to visit her brother but her husband said he wouldn't as the man had turned to the drink.  I said, this is all the more reason I need to go.  I arrived at the house with much prayer and was welcomed in.  The family had a religious background but there was a gloom that had settled over the household.  In showing the health canvass I prayerful entered the part where Jesus created unfermented wine at the wedding feast.  All heads nodded in agreement as I read Solomon's counsel regarding the wine which moveth by itself.  Just like Sr. White promised it would, the health message proved to be an opening wedge into the spiritual.  The husband said "We need to get these books for the children."  They were having tough times but promised to have $900 on the 20th of next month.  I left behind a display copy of MBF for mother to read to her little ones.

On the 19th I arrived and asked the husband how he was doing.  He said "terrible."  I asked if someone had died to which he said no.  I said, "Things can't be that bad then, lets talk about it."  He had purchased a car at an auction but the car failed him a week later and was now junk.  He had not found work, recently declared bankruptcy and was headed for welfare.  I said, "Pedro, the devil is determined to drag you down.  I am not surprised all these things happened to you for the wicked angels will do anything to keep you from getting these books."  I dropped the package down to $400 but the wife replied, lets give him the $400 when we get our money and pay the balance later, I want them all.  My son always wants me to read him about baby Moses.  We need these books."  The husband affirmed her decision and said, "We are going to get these books!"  Upon leaving we had prayer and I hugged Pedro.  He followed me to the car and thanked me so much for coming back.  They've since moved and there is no guarantee he will ever contact me, but it was a worthwhile experience nonetheless.

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The lady said, "You have no idea how hard this town has been hit by the economic downturn.  People have lost their jobs, we don't know where to turn.  We can't even think about buying books."   I said, "Ma'am, when people lose their jobs they are under a lot of stress, and what does stress cause?"  She answered, "Illness."  I answered, "And what do we have?"  She said, "The cure."  Then I asked, "And when factories are closing and businesses don't know where to turn, as a last resort they look upward to Whom?"  She replied, "To God."  And I asked, "And what do we have?"  She said, "The answer."  Then she added without prompting, "It looks like you are in the best business for these times."