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On the roads and lanes of Sydney with Jesus Cares

‘Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full’ (Luke 14:23).

We are happy to report that our outreach in Blacktown is doing well. Every Tuesday a group of
Jesus Cares volunteers gather together to reach out with the Gospel to a lot of people and we have beautiful stories and interactions with people coming from all paths of life. Surprisingly we met quite a few, especially with Hindu backgrounds, who had never heard the Gospel before, and we had opportunities even to give Bibles in their own languages. We also give food, refreshments, and hot drinks and it is very much appreciated. I am thankful to God for opening the door for us in that area and enabling us to bring the Good News to the people in Blacktown.

During street ministries, we often experience the reality of the spiritual warfare that Paul talks about in Ephesians 6:12, ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’
On Thursday evenings with a few Jesus Cares volunteers, we are going to the street of Sydney in the CBD area, giving out Gospel tracts and telling people the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom.

On our first night after we had been walking for hours and we were just about to go home, when a homeless man – his name is Jeff – ran to us in very agitated state, and said that he was demon-possessed and begging for help. We spent a long time with him in prayer, bringing him before God, who alone can give him complete freedom and a new life. After ministering to him we could see the change in him and that he possessed much more peace than when we first met him. This obviously came from God, and was the work of His Spirit.    

During our second time in the city, one of our team members, Daniel, was attacked by a homeless man who wanted to silence him while he was telling the Gospel openly to others. I have much to learn from my brother, as while our enemy was running towards him and raising his fist wanting to punch his face, Daniel’s prompt response was: ‘God bless you – repent and turn from your sin to Christ Jesus, and you will have eternal life in Him!’ I thought to myself, what a real example of putting our Lord Jesus’ words into practice (Luke 6:28).
I am thankful to God that no one was hurt. The police came, to check if we were safe, and asked if we wanted to make any charges, but we didn’t so we continued on our way.    

Livia is a young girl from Italy, who is temporarily staying in Sydney by herself. She has run away from her wild lifestyle in Italy, where she was deeply involved in drug use. On that evening we met her, she was sitting on the top of the stairs of the Town Hall building. Something led her to look back to her past, which caused her to feel depressed, overwhelmed, and brokenhearted. She was looking for help, perhaps for someone she could talk to and pray with. She thought that she might find someone in the church, so she was trying to enter the Town Hall, thinking it was a church building. She sat down on the stairs with disappointment as it was closed.
God saw Livia’s tears, and I believe He guided us to meet with her. After hearing the Gospel, she confessed faith in Jesus! We comforted her with Bible verses, prayed for her, and gave her a Bible, which she was so glad to receive, and also our contact details. There was the joy on her face instead of grief when she said goodbye to us.

‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Hebrew 13:8). It’s our great joy to see and experience how He is the same today, when great is the darkness around us. Yet He continues to bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, and release those imprisoned in darkness (Isaiah 61:1).

Alexandra Somlai

Jesus Cares Ministry

March 2023