Woodstock99 - Rome, NY It is exciting to see God work! A few months ago people started asking, Are you going to Woodstock to witness? It seemed the Lord was prompting, so we started to make plans. Well, there wasn’t much that could be done since useful information on the event was hard to get. But what an opportunity to reach thousands with the gospel! We determined to go. Hearing about police efforts to secure the site and to control traffic made me anxious. I did not want to travel 6 hours round trip and still not be able to reach the crowds. Yet, we knew the Lord wanted a witness and that He would make the way. The Lord took care of all our needs. In fact, I would call HIS arrangements the VIP treatment. Not that we are worthy, but that HE PROVIDES! For example, Fellowship Tract League donated 50,000 tracts. The bookstore at Walker Bible Baptist Church donated 15,000 tracts also. Some members of the church also helped with stamping our address on the tracts. We had seven street preachers go. When I called to arrange for a place to stay, we found that all the motels and campsites, in Rome,. Utica, and Syracuse, were all booked up even at three to five times the normal rates. No problem! The Lord provided two campsites for us, about 5 miles north of the site, for two nights at $15/night. Another consideration when we arrived there was where were we going to witness to the crowds? As we drove into Rome, NY, the first day all the parking areas were marked $60 and monitored by police and lot attendants! Again, no problem! The Lord provided a FREE place to park right across the street from where He would direct us to preach! No need to haul around all our heavy bags of tracts and the banners. There were only two entrances into Griffiss Technology Park, the former Air Force base. Traffic was very slow onto the base. No walking into the event was allowed. Shuttle busses carried the crowds in from the external parking areas all over the county. We set up at the main shuttle bus stop right outside the northwest entrance. We checked it out later and this place the Lord provided brought the heaviest crowds! While the heat never let up for the crowds, the Lord provided two large shade trees for us to preach under. PTL!
Woodstock 99 preaching
Everywhere there were long delays and wait times. The crowds had to wait for a shuttle to get to the outside of the festival and then wait for up to two more hours in lines that were outside every restaurant. The crowds waiting for a bus out plus the 300 or so coming every few minutes provided a steady preaching audience. We stayed all day Friday and left Friday night at approximately 10:30 p.m. when the crowds finally thinned out. We did not know what to expect on Saturday. Would the crowds stay inside where we could not go without a pass? We returned Saturday morning and found that the crowds we were able to preach to were even larger! What was supposed to be fun was full of pain and suffering. You could see the strain on the people’s faces. There were long lines for everything and there were very long walking distances within the park being 3600 acres and 3 miles in width. All this while constantly under the intense sun. With most everything in the open field, there was practically no escape from the sun’s rays for the crowd. Another hardship was the limited supply of water, as evidenced by many heat stroke victims and dehydration’s. No sooner would one ambulance exit than another would enter. Litter was everywhere. (Whatever happened to save a tree?) The camping area was no better, and in one area, raw sewage had not only run through the area but had also soaked some tents.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:15 "the way of transgressor is hard". The way of the transgressor is hard.
What a fellowship, what a joy divine?

Crowd estimates ranged from 225,000 to 250,000. An unsaved police officer told us he had to ask to be relocated to the outside of the festival on Friday night since inside it was just like Sodom and Gomorrah and he could not take it. I cannot describe the vulgarity, blasphemy, and wickedness even on the outside of the festival. Many Christians are fast asleep and have not noticed the degeneration around us. Don’t be caught by surprise! ANYTHING goes with these kids! Except Christianity, they HATE it. This was not just a nice little concert. It was a worship service, but the One True GOD was not invited. The truth of John 3:19 was portrayed right before our eyes - "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Many festival goers were not as timid as some Christians, they announced BOLDLY and zealously who they worship - Satan! Some of these kids know nothing of the Bible. Others have a head knowledge, but no heart knowledge. I have never run into so many people who did not know who Noah was or any number of Biblical individuals. They are Biblically ignorant! It is a shame that they have never heard the truth talked about in John 17:17. In ICorinthians 15:34 the bible says "awake to righteousness and sin not for some have not the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame." This is OUR shame! We need not go to the other side of the world, there are mission fields in our own backyards! Saturday afternoon the crowd we were preaching to turned ugly. They were already angry about the lines, prices and heat, and were not about to put up with us. Instead of just verbal abuse they started throwing bottles of water (selling for $4.00 each) and other objects at whoever was preaching. The police called in about 20 additional officers and had to open the festival to walk-in traffic to disperse the crowd. Even before we heard of the rioting the last night, we knew that the Saturday crowd meant business! There were a number of rapes right in front of the stages, plenty of property damage, and a few people passed into eternity, during the weekend.

We thank God for His protection and for your prayers! We at the A.V. Truth Ministry have been trying to use large events to get the gospel to as many people as possible. We wanted to view the event from the hills above to get an idea of the crowd size. There was no place to do so except from the back side of the base (Perimeter Road) which is heavily patrolled by State Troopers and was totally inaccessible. We did stop at an outside area to take some pictures of the parking. No sooner did we stop than a police officer pulled up and moved us on our way. In spite of that, the Lord provided a Christian with a special, unlimited pass to anywhere in the park since he works at the Technology Park year round. He drove us out to the hilltop on the inside for a VIP glimpse of the whole site. Very few were allowed this vantage point. What a mass of people! It was as if the Lord was saying, Look at these people, who are without hope and terribly lost. Acts 17:16 "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." It was an overwhelming sight! It was good to be able to proclaim the gospel at Woodstock. Joshua Craft, age 12, preached his first publick message. The saints were encouraged to see God’s provision. Praise God! One young man accepted the Lord as his Saviour Saturday afternoon! God showed us His protection and His workings. Saturday afternoon the Lentz family invited us to their home for fellowship. They fed us and provided us with a nice place to cool off. What a blessing that was! God provided again! Many tracts went out and the gospel was preached. It was good to proclaim Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, in such a very dark place!
2Corinthians 4:3-4 "But if our gospel by hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the GLORIOUS GOSPEL of Christ, who is the image of God, should SHINE unto them." KD
 Just a innocent concert!
OH Yeah, it was just an innocent concert!

Hill Cumorah Pageant, Palmyra, NY This year’s Mormon pageant was a real eye opener for me to see how some people react to God’s HOLY WORD. A man carrying a large bag of trash walked up to one of the preachers and said, Here, I’ll trade you this (holding up the bag of trash) for one of those brochures. They are both trash! The preacher took the trash bag from the man and gave him a brochure. The man was taken by surprise! Another incident that happened was a lady, small in stature, jumped up on one of the preachers and violently grabbed a tract from his hand and ripped it up in his face. She seemed pretty pleased with herself. One of the most common questions we were asked was, Is this Mormon literature? When we said that it is Christian literature they would run off cursing at us. What confused me is that Mormons call themselves Christians, too. Several groups of Christians came to learn how to pass out Christian tracts and brochures so that they could come do it next year! Having signs up and scripture verses on easels seemed to prove both offensive to some, yet thought provoking to others. We were able to have many conversations with people who were curious about the signs. Among one of them was a 16-year old Mormon girl. By the end of the conversation, she ended up giving her heart to the Lord. That made it all worthwhile! We all are looking forward to going back again next year, the Lord willing! BP

Independence Day, Rochester, NY Downtown Rochester was surprisingly quiet for July 4th. However, we were determined not to be discouraged and to pass out tracts to the few people who were there. Among the few people who were downtown was a blind woman and her husband. We were able to talk with them and find out that they were already saved. The gentleman asked us if he could give his testimony of how he was saved and we were overjoyed to listen! We later went down to the Liberty Pole and passed out a few more tracts. Brother Ron Martin and his family held up an American flag and several scripture signs. We all said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang hymns. Brother Martin proceeded to recite the Declaration of Independence to the people walking by on the streets. A man passing by who knew Christ as his Saviour asked if he could join in the singing and the praying for our nation. All in all, we passed out a few tracts and were able to honor God and our country! BP

Jehovah Witness Convention, July 3, 1999 Rochester, NY This was my first time ever going out witnessing at a Jehovah Witness Convention. I have heard a few things that have gone on in the conventions, but that did little to prepare me for what I saw happen downtown that day. A few families from different area churches met at the Blue Cross Arena to witness to the lost souls attending this convention. I was amazed when I saw the elder JW’s outside herding the people past us as quickly as they could. The elders weren’t taking any chances of letting their people come in contact with anyone preaching God’s word. They even went to the point of building a human tunnel with their arms outstretched for the people to walk through to safety. They appeared to be looking out for the people’s welfare. What a lie of the devil! I walked by the "security guards" once to get the keys to my van from my husband. I noticed a large man step up close to me and get between another person who was going to the convention. He actually thought I was a threat to this person and made sure I wasn’t going to talk to her. I must admit, I did it a few more times just to have some fun with it. Forgive me, Lord! A little while later I thought back to what was really going on here and my heart went out to these people. These people were being kept from hearing the Truth that could set them free. I also thought about the JW elders. About when they die and stand before God and are held accountable for what they were doing - shepherding these people away from the true Saviour, Jesus Christ. What a sad day that will be for them! Brother Larry Craft and his sons, Jordan and Joshua, came out to witness also. At one point, Brother Craft was reading scripture near the elders when someone overheard them say, 'Surround him.' Soon 3 or 4 elders had closed in around Brother Craft with their backs towards him. Apparently they thought this would intimidate Bro. Craft, but when he kept on preaching they walked away. God’s word is powerful! Please pray that souls were touched and lives were changed as a result of God’s word going forth on that day! Isaiah 55:11 "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." KH

Park Ave. Fest This was one of the easier events that we have gone to. The people were not hard to talk to and yet they always keep a safe distance between us and them. So many searching souls yet at the same time pushing the truth away. We need to be able to share the Gospel and tell people CLEARLY why we believe in the Bible as the Word of God. They are searching for the truth and asking pastors and priests for the answers, but are not getting any honest answers. It is very challenging being asked the questions that I have no answers for and watching God put the words in my mouth. Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Do something for Jesus today and every day!

PRAISE REPORTS! Phish Concert in Fulton, NY: One person saved! Woodstock Festival, Rome, NY One person saved! The Palmyra Mormon Pageant Two People saved! These people where saved right out of the pits of Hell. Only a gracious and loving God could have done this type of miracle. Please give to Him all the glory and honor that He so deserves. Thank You Jesus! I just want to thank the Lord for how He has done so much with us this summer. He has provided all the money, protection, material things and Always blesses us as we go out. I can’t tell you about the spiritual battles, that happen as we are witnessing, how He keeps us safe on the road, provides us with the money when there is no money to be found. We ask for God to use us but we need to step out by faith and get out of our comfort zone. Let’s go out in the deeper waters and allow Jesus Christ to work through us. It is truly amazing when He is doing the work and not our flesh! Praise God!

 BANNERS AWAY Brother Mike Wolski is now on the streets of Poland and reports that the banner The A.V. Truth Ministry provided for him produces starrers, stoppers and opportunities to witness! Thank you Lord for the opportunities to serve you. Bother Mike has asked us to pass along his thanks for all the help in making the banner. Praise You God! So far the Ministry has sent out 25 banners to different parts of the our country and world. People will stop and ask questions and listen to the gospel message after seeing and reading God’s Word. So many people to reach out to and so little time. It is difficult to keep things moving and balanced with our families, work and the ministry. Please pray for God’s blessing on this ministry. Without the Lord and prayer there is no reason to go out, He is the one that does the work, we are only His vessels.

John 8:32 "If you continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."