The Way of the Master - 4th Season in 13 Days

Timisoara, Romania

2007-10-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Romania

2007-10-04T13:23:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Romania around 9:00 PM, had a late dinner, and got a reasonably early night. This morning we laid the foundation teaching in the main square, and did an open air at the local university. It was wonderful. A crowd of 100-150 people gathered around and listened to EZ and my preaching, while Mark once again stood there wearing the straight jacket. We even had a couple of good hecklers, which brought some life to it. We broke for lunch, dropped wallets and filmed people picking them up, and then lying to us about taking it. I always let them keep the wallet, because it not only contained some money, it also had tracts inside.

We did some one-to-one interviews, and came back to our hotel, where we did the final filming for the Fourth Season. I looked at the camera and with great enthusiasm, said, “Thirteen countries in thirteen days! They said we couldn’t do it! But we did it, didn’t we guys?!” The camera panned to show the team lying all over the floor, with messed up hair, etc. Duane answered, “Yeah Ray. Good idea.” The rest of the team mumble, “Yeah…right.” I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Well I feel good,” and walked out wearing a backpack as though I was going on another trip. The irony was, the rest of the team was feeling good, and I was sick. I caught a head cold and I feel pretty bad. The consolation was that it hit me on the last day.

I had a concern before we left that I didn’t share with anyone. They say that if you want to get to know someone, travel with them. Many a friendship has been ruined by traveling together. We have been together under the stress and strain of visiting thirteen countries in thirteen days. I was concerned that it would put a strain on friendships. But the opposite has happened. The trip has done nothing but strengthen friendships.

We have had a lot of pressure but thanks to all the hard planning work of Trish and Val we have been on time for every train. Each hotel has been an oasis. In every country there were Christian brothers and sisters who met us, transported us and did nothing but encourage us with their kindness. To each one I am very grateful. I also am grateful to Kirk for letting me run after this crazy idea (he’s nowhere near as crazy as I am and it did take a while to persuade him it would work). He will top and tail each show. I am appreciative of the teams (EZ and his, and Todd with his), to their wives and family, and to those of you who upheld us in prayer. Also, I would like to give a very special thank you to our dear friend Dan Arnold who helped to make this trip possible. But most of all I want thank God for making this trip a reality, and for trusting us with the everlasting Gospel. May His name be glorified, His Kingdom be extended and may He use this series to cause Christians around the world to reach out to the lost while there is still time.

Budapest, Hungary

2007-10-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

Austria & Hungary

2007-10-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

We arrived in beautiful Vienna (Austria) at 10:00 PM last night. After meeting our contacts we went out for pizza. It was good pizza. I’m not deeply into music but I have to say that I love Johan Strauss’ “Blue Danube.” Over pizza Tony whistled the first 3-4 minutes of the amazing waltz, and made Vienna very special for me.

This morning we laid the foundational teaching (about total surrender) in the main Square with a huge ornate, intricate, detailed church building behind us.

Then we went to an area in the subway where we dropped wallets and used hidden cameras to watch what people would do. Most were honest and immediately returned it, but one man picked it up and ran with it. I ran after him wearing the spy-camera and filmed him putting it into his pocket. I then approached him and asked if he had found a wallet. He said that he hadn’t. He came back about 30 minutes later and said that he had found it. Then returned it to me, probably because he realized he was on camera. Another man kicked the wallet, picked it up, and wrapped it in his newspaper. Then he turned around and walked briskly in the direction from which he had just come. He also denied finding it. I let him keep it, because it was packed with tracts as well as having money inside.

EZ and I then preached open air in the main square to about 200 people, while Trish stood beside us in the straight jacket. Trish preached for the third time in her life, and did a wonderful job.

I then did something I have been planning to do since the trip began. I rigged it so that it looked like a knife was sticking out of my back. I approached people with a cameraman, asked for an interview, and when I get permission I said, “I have three minutes to live. I have a knife in my back (I would let them see my back). I will be dead very soon. I’m scared. Please, tell me what I should do to get to Heaven.” The reactions were great when they saw the knife, as it added a dimension of reality to what was being said.

By the time we finished this adventure we would have spent more than sixty hours on trains. Traveling this way has been such a blessing. The fellowship has been very rich. We will arrive in Hungary around 7:30 PM, so we have decided to film and preach tonight. It should be interesting. Thanks again for your prayers and for you interest in what we are doing.

It’s now the next day, and we are not on a train; and we’re not eating chocolate. The twelve of us are split into two vans on the auto band, heading for Timisoara in Romania, singing worship and (legally) going more than 100 MPH.

We arrived in Budapest, Hungary last night and did four late night interviews. They were outstanding. The first was with a woman holding a Chihuahua who was very open to the Gospel. Then we interviewed a very colorful slightly drunk Frenchman, eight Russians, and a local girl on a bike.

The next morning we split into two crews, and were able to get another twelve interviews. Scotty interviewed a Jewish woman in her mid-twenties. Afterwards our Hungarian interpreter burst into tears, and told us that she was the interviewee’s workmate. She had been praying for her for two years. Of the four million people in Budapest, Scotty had shared the gospel with her.

We then did an open air during the lunch hour for about 20 minutes before the police stopped us. They wanted my passport, took down some details and let me go.

We broke for lunch and shot the main teaching on a hill overlooking the city. As we were leaving, Mark saw a couple of con men playing “Three Shell Game.” They heard Mark warning us as to what they were doing, and one large and angry man walked towards him and threatened to beat him. Fortunately he backed down when he caught a glimpse of my biceps. One day to go.

Please keep praying.

God bless, Ray

P.S. We were stopped by border guards at the border of Romania and Hungary. They took our passports and told us that we would have to wait for about ten minutes. Thirty minutes later we were still waiting. We were informed that it was because we were Americans. We had come so close to making it to thirteen countries. We were right on the border, and then this had happened. Suddenly two large guards approached us with their guns drawn, and told us to immediately line up against our vans. Just kidding. A very sweet lady guard approached us with all of our passports in her hand and said that she needed to see our faces. She called “Tony Smiles.” Tony stepped forward and took hold of his passport. It was kind of like the academy awards. When she called “Carol Scott,” we applauded as she stepped forward. The guard began to smile at our antics. That’s all we needed for encouragement. When my name was called, I stepped forward and there was instant applause. I turned around and said, “I would like to thank my director and producer, Duane Barnhart.” When Duane received his passport, he held it to his heart and quoted Sally Field saying, “You like me…you really like me.” It was so much fun. By now the guard was laughing. Mark did a quick light show. Scotty gave her a million dollar tract. How things have changed since the cold war.

Austria Pictures (Mark Spence)

2007-10-02T15:26:00.001-07:00

Trish Open Air Preaching

2007-10-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Vienna

2007-10-02T14:53:00.001-07:00

Switzerland Pictures (Mark Spence)

2007-10-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

(Sorry everybody... it's my ((Banana's)) fault these weren't up in a timely manner.)

Prague

2007-10-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

They say that when you run a marathon, at a certain point through the run, you “hit the wall.” That’s when the runner wants to give up. Today we “hit the wall.” I heard that Sue wasn’t well last night, and that really upset me. Duane wasn’t able to contact his family yesterday and this morning we got together and talked about how down we both felt. We also talked about how unspeakably terrible it must have been to be separated from your family by the Nazis, herded into a cattle-car and starved to death in a concentration camp. That put our separation into perspective. We prayed, thanked God, and joyfully started the day in our tenth country.

Prague, in the Czech Republic is beautiful. There are buildings that look like something from a scene in a Harry Potter movie (evil-looking) and others that look like parts of Disneyland, where you would expect Pinocchio to appear at any moment.

Once again, the locals were nothing but servants to us. They not only met us when we arrived but carried our bags throughout the day.

We began by dropping wallets, but soon decided that the best use of our times was to do an open air in the local Square. In the middle of the Square was a large statue of Jon Hus, who was martyred for the same Gospel that we were preaching. He made the Scriptures available in the language of the common people, and for that was burned to death. His last words were “O holy simplicity.”

I then preached the simplicity of the Gospel four or five times. EZ and Mark also preached. Mark did the straight jacket despite his bruised arm. But it became too painful for him, so Trish put on the jacket and did a wonderful job. She even stopped struggling now and then to say a sweet “Thank you,” each time the crowd applauded to encourage her. It’s such a good visual illustration, to say that Jesus broke the chains of death through the resurrection.

When a singing group walked passed, we asked them to do a number for the cameras. They gladly complied, and when a crowd gathered I slipped them five dollars and asked them to sing another song after I preached, which they did. They helped pull in a fresh crowd. EZ and Mark preached also.

We then broke for a wonderful lunch. Scotty and Carol ordered a wonderful dessert. We may have to change the Europe promo: “Thirteen countries, thirteen days, thirteen desserts, and thirteen pounds.”

EZ and Duane decided that I should preach to the crowd that formed in front of a famous clock in the town square. It was a perfect springboard for the gospel. At the top of each hour a door opens and moving carved wooden figures of the Apostles appear. About twenty feet below that, there was moving skeleton that rung a bell. At five minutes to three a crowd of up to two thousand people formed. I asked God for help, told them who I was and why we were in their beautiful city. Then I talked about the skeleton holding a bell being symbolic of death. One day their bell would ring, but God had made a way for them to be saved from its grip.

Three of us hopped onto a horse and carriage and I shared on camera an anecdote about love and marriage going together like a horse and carriage, and how there is another marriage bound together by love. It’s the marriage of sin and death, and how there must be a divorce between the two, if the sinner wants to live.

Time was quickly going, so we ran to the main bridge over a huge river that runs through the city. On each side of the bridge there were huge stone carvings of the apostles, Mary, etc. We needed some one-to-one witnessing on camera, and we got a delightful interview with an English couple.

In the middle of the Bridge was a huge statue of Jesus on the cross. I did a quick word in front of the camera, saying that so many people passed by without understanding the meaning of the cross. I looked up and saw that a crowd had formed, so I jumped up on the statue and preached the gospel. EZ followed, and then I preached again.

What a full day we had! I preached more times in Prague than anywhere else in Europe. We broke through the wall. That’s ten countries. We are in a train, heading for Vienna, in Austria. Please keep praying; especially for my wife, Sue. Thank you.

God bless, Ray

P.S. We had been on the train for about two hours when it stopped at a station, and to our surprise, four of the helpers that we had left back in Prague came on board. They lived in the area we had just entered, and had purchased some chocolate for us. I was so moved by their act of love I felt that eating it there and then would be the right thing to do. So I broke some off for myself and as I ate it I looked at a very large lady across the aisle. I tried not to be cruel in my thoughts about her, but I remember thinking that her protruding bottom lip that made her look like the world’s grumpiest woman. She looked very much like General Berkhelter in Hogan’s Hero’s.

I decided that I had better share the blessing of the gift of chocolate with the crew, and as I slid passed EZ, my leg clipped a clip from a walkie-talkie radio that he had in the seat pocket in front of him, and went under Mrs. Grumpy’s seat.

I was horrified as I bent down and reached under it hoping that I didn’t blindly grab her big toe and upset her.

Suddenly I found it and with great joy lifted my head, and bumped it on the tray table that was connected to her seat. That’s when she looked around at me. I could hear Trish choking with laughter at what she was watching (a typical day in my life).

I stood up and offered her a piece of chocolate. Surely she lived on it and would love me for giving her some. She just stared at me as though I was a nut. As I held the chocolate out for her to take a piece I thought that I had better say something to let her know that I wanted to be friends, so I said, “Would you like a piece?” She looked back at me and said, “Nine.” Wow. I remember thinking, “No way. You’re only getting one piece.”

P.S.S She’s just left our carriage, for some reason.

Trish getting out of the straight jacket

2007-10-01T00:04:00.001-07:00

Germany & Oktoberfest

2007-09-30T15:51:00.001-07:00

I was told today that some dear brother kindly sent the ministry a large financial gift when he heard about the theft of our sound gear. We were so encouraged to hear that.

We arrived in Munich, Germany, and I hit the sack at midnight and got just under seven hours sleep.

The next day we went to the famous “Oktoberfest.” This is a beer festival where millions of people drink beer for a two week period. They down millions of gallons of during this time.

On the way there, we stopped at a fast-moving river in the heart of the town and watched of all things, surfing. Duane and I (both ex-surfers) surmised that someone had put a huge board under the fast-moving river and this caused a 3-4 foot wave to form. We filmed them, and then laid the foundational teaching for the episode right in front of the main entrance of the Fest, with thousands of people pouring in behind us.

After that we went in and I got some good interviews, while EZ and Mark were able to get a couple of outstanding witnessing sessions on camera. We were also able to get some incredible B-roll.

We drove a few miles into the center of Munich and had a wonderful German lunch—dumplings, duck, venison, and apple strudel and custard. That gave us the energy to do something I had wanted to do for about a week. I had gathered a dozen old leather wallets, put in tracts and real money, with a cell phone number on the inside. I put on the spy-glasses (sunglasses with a tiny camera in them) and set up three hidden cameras. We then dropped wallets one at a time in a busy square and filmed people’s reactions. Most were honest and made an effort to find the owner. One man pretended to drop his cigarettes, bent down to pick them up and swooped up the wallet at the same time. He then walked away really quickly. I walked quicker, curved around, confronted him and asked him if he had found the wallet. He said that he hadn’t. So I let him keep it.

We are going to use the footage for a program in the Third season, which is on how a lie detector works. It’s not actually a “lie” detector. It’s a “conscience” detector. It measures the heart-rate, sweat on the palms of the hands, etc., looking for guilt.

One man actually fell down on top of a wallet, grabbed it, and then ran like a gazelle, weaving in and out of the crowd. I chased him for about 50 yards. So did Chris with the shoulder camera. The man suddenly stopped and burst out laughing. He had seen our cameras and was kidding. He handed the wallet back to me. It was funny.

We then preached open air. This time I held onto Mark as he stood beside me, wearing the straight jacket and the chain. I said that if we had sinned we were held in chains by death. The crowd stayed for the entire Gospel without Mark hardly doing anything. I handed over to EZ, and he preached while Mark struggled to get out of the jacket. I whispered to members of the local team that he could actually get out in about 30 seconds. It made me laugh to watch him thrash back and forth, make his face turn red and groan as though he was in pain. Mark had done this about ten times, and he was getting really good. I found out later that his arm had gone weak from doing the escape so many times, and this time he couldn’t get out of the jacket! He eventually did escape but at one point he was almost having a panic attack. He’s a real trooper.

We then started another open air and tried something different. We asked trivia questions, and when people got the answer wrong we applauded them, and gave them a Million Dollar Euro tract for at least tying. It was a great way to get tracts into people’s hands. Scotty then preached and did a great job.

On the way to the train station a very kind couple gave a large bag filled with all sorts of healthy food (they had been reading our blog and I suspect that they read that we were pigging out on chocolate). How kind people are. It’s such and encouragement to step off a train late at night and immediately be greeted by brethren who are not only kind, but who are extremely enthusiastic about our ministry.

Valentino bought another 12 cakes of chocolate at the railway station and said that it’s for the special chocolate club. EZ keeps raving about it being the best chocolate he’s ever had in his life. The couple also gave me a box of Weetabix and milk. I was particularly encouraged, because I met a New Zealand couple the previous day. They were living in Switzerland, and I asked the woman if she had had any Weetbix (a very similar cereal). She didn’t and looked disappointed, so I gave her mine (joyfully). Now I had more.

Thanks for all your prayer and support. We are heading for Prague, and we are excited to do more wallet drops. God bless, Ray

Tired Ray

2007-09-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

Zurich

2007-09-29T21:06:00.001-07:00

Monaco

2007-09-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

Switzerland is beautiful

2007-09-29T15:36:00.002-07:00

On the way to Zurich we walked through the train, Mark doing the light show and Trish and I giving out tracts to anyone who smiled. Half way through the train we met a couple who were traveling through Europe. Things hadn’t gone the way they had planned and they were pleased to meet some fellow Americans. We did the light show, sleight of hand, made them laugh a lot, and then we witnessed to them. They were a little short on cash so we got them some food, and brought them back to our hotel. Mark stayed up talking and witnessing to them until 3:00 AM. Please pray for them. Their names are Gabriel and Alison.

The city of Zurich (Switzerland) is beautiful. We arrived around midnight and I literally fell onto my bed, mumbling heart-felt thanks to God for clean sheets and a comfortable bed.

The next morning (Saturday) we filmed the program’s theme on a bridge, with a beautiful backdrop, and then we did an open air. It was very difficult to draw a crowd until Mark got out the straight jacket. Then he began stretching and messing with the chain, and by the time we strapped him in, we had a good size crowd. EZ preached and then handed over to me. After that we split crews and did one-to-one interviews.

Duane found about 15 German-speaking, chanting Hare Kristina’s and pushed me into the middle of them with the cameras rolling. It went well and sure will bring variety to the program.

Mark did some interviews. Trish was interviewing five girls when one began crying. That upset the others and they suddenly began cussing at Trish in English. She must have said something that touched a raw nerve.

When EZ arrived last night he put the card in his hotel room door five times. It wouldn’t open. He finally gave up and went all the way down stairs. He told the attendant, who then accompanied him upstairs. He put the card in and pulled at the door for a sixth time. The man said, in a deep Swiss accent, “Haf you tried pooshing ze door?” We are all in the same zombie state by that time of the night. We are now on our way by rail to Munich, Germany. We have a whole carriage to ourselves and loads of chocolate. Five countries to go. Thanks for your prayers.

-Ray

Pictures of Milan, Italy (Scotty and Carol Scott)

2007-09-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

Italy

2007-09-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

I love Italy, and I will never forget Milan. There’s a good reason for that.

We arrived at our hotel around midnight, and I was able to get eight hours sleep. The team gathered with the local helpers in the hotel lobby in the morning, and off we went for another day’s filming.

We laid the foundational teaching for the program (the philosophy of this world) and then got a really good interview with an Italian couple. We then went by train to “the Duomo,” a famous and huge square in the heart of Milan. When we arrived, I could hardly believe my eyes. There was a magnificent church building with amazing structures surrounding a square, with about ten thousand people milling about . . . another open air preacher’s dream.

I excitedly set up the soap-box, and announced that Trish was going to try to escape from the straight jacket. A crowd of about three hundred people packed around and I preached the gospel, using the straight jacket as an illustration of how the chains of death hold every human until they come to Christ. I thanked the crowd, and finished.

Suddenly a large unshaven man with longish gray hair approached me and started raving in Italian. For some reason he was as mad at Carol as he was at me, and pushed her arm so that she was standing next to me. Our interpreter said that he was a top police officer.

When he demanded to see my passport, I told him that I had left it at the hotel. I gave him my driver’s license and Carol gave him hers. He was still angry and marched us towards some police cars and started talking about the need to have permission to film. He turned to Carol and insisted that she had taken his picture and he threatened to confiscate her $5000 camera for 20 days. The normally quiet Carol was so upset by that she almost passed out. She gestured frantically and insisted that she didn’t take his picture. Scotty showed up, heard what was going on, clicked on the camera and showed the officer the pictures. Thankfully, there were no photos of him.

When he asked where my passport was I told him that I had left it at the hotel. When he asked which hotel, I couldn’t tell him because I had no idea as it was our seventh in seven days.

He then started talking about seizing all of our HD cameras. I was all the while using a soft answer, even though he insisted on speaking to me in Italian. It was strange because he went on and on in Italian when there was no interpreter there, knowing that I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. All I said was “Gratzi.” When he walked away for a few moments, I asked Scotty to pray. He thanked God and asked Him to touch the man’s heart. To be honest I was excited at what was happening. If there’s no Pharaoh, there’s no opening of the Red Sea. Besides, I knew it would make interesting television.

When I told him that we were Christians he started to become reasonable. By now we had been held by the police for more than an hour. Then everything changed. We were told through the interpreter that the whole thing could be solved if I would pay a 198 Euro fine.

I was quite happy to pay the fine, but after another 15 minutes they took me across to the police car, wrote out my full name, address, etc., and asked me to sign forms. I gladly signed the one where I admitted that I was a “transgressor.” I admitted that more than 35 years ago.

EZ came across and told me that Val had gone to the police a month or so earlier when he scouted the area. He had been told by the police that we could use professional cameras, without a permit. He related that fact to the officer.

Then I was told that they had waved the fine. We posed with the top police officer for photos (the same one that was insisting that Carol took his photo), gave him tracts, and left. How prayer changes things.

Later on Tony (our sound-man) told me he recorded the entire incident, because I was still wearing the tiny microphone when they took me away. The incident has made the Fourth Series so much more exciting. I can’t wait to see what God does tomorrow in Switzerland.

-Ray

Monaco

2007-09-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

We are on a train heading for Milan, Italy, leaving Monaco after an eventful day. We stayed the night in Cannes in a clean and wonderful hotel of a Christian couple who allowed us to stay there free of charge. May God bless them for their kindness, as they probably saved the ministry two or three thousand dollars.

The theft of our sound equipment hamstrung us. It left us with only one microphone cable and a very small microphone. The only reason it wasn’t stolen was because Tony had left it taped to the flesh of my chest (something he often does). During the train trip last night, Chris called his family back in the States. One of his little daughters answered the phone and I saw his eyes tear up as he spoke to her. I must have caught the French spirit, because the sight so broke my heart I pounded my chest with emotion as I watched him. Unfortunately, I was still wearing the microphone. It not only broke my heart, but it seems that it also broke the microphone (and left an indent on my chest).

The next day we couldn’t go to Monaco because we needed to find a soldering iron to fix it. We therefore did the main teaching from Cannes (which is on the border of France), and then left after lunch to catch a train to Monaco for interviews.

We had one stop-over in the city of Nice. On the first leg we interviewed two young ladies. One was Italian and the other French.

The second train was seriously delayed and we were in danger of having to abandon visiting that country, so Duane, Chris, I, and a French interpreter jumped into a taxi and drove the distance.

We went directly to the quaintest outdoor shopping center directly opposite the Prince of Monaco’s palace, where, despite the angry weather there was many tourists. We were able to get two good interviews. One was with a colorful Scottish lady and the other with five Canadian teenagers. Just as we ended the second interview there were rolls of thunder, lightning, and it poured with rain.

An hour or so later the rest of the team caught up with us. They joined us under a café’s awning which was already packed with people who were trying to get out of the rain. When Duane whispered, “Do an open air Ray” I told him that it was private property and I would never preach on private property without permission. About a minute later Valentino returned from inside the café and said, “The owner said it is okay.” Huh? That sort of thing just doesn’t happen. So I preached for about five minutes (with a French interpreter) and then interviewed the café’s owner. He wasn’t a Christian but he was open to what I had to say.

It was ironic. The Prince of Monaco flatly refused an on camera interview when I requested one a month earlier, and here I was preaching the gospel less than 100 yards from his palace doorstep, on private property, with permission of the owner. We are praying that the weather will be better in Italy. Please keep us in your prayers.

God bless,
Ray

Pictures from Paris (Mark Spence)

2007-09-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Paris, France

2007-09-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

We are on another train heading out of beautiful Paris for Cannes. We will spend the night there with a Christian Brother and his wife, who own a hotel and are letting us stay there free of charge. That is so kind. You wouldn’t believe the cost of hotels in France. Paris is an amazing city. The architecture, the rivers, the history, and the masses of colorful characters are incredible. By the way, we didn’t feel an ounce of anti-American feeling. It was just the opposite. Everyone was very warm towards us.

This train is moving at over 180 MPH heading for Monaco, and thankfully the carriage we are in is clean and comfortable, and we are eating good food. I say “thankfully,” because we are all exhausted and needed to sit down. We have carried bags up and down so many steps we have lost count.

We arrived in Paris last night at around 11:00 PM. Duane and his team arrived ahead of us and shot B-roll of the Eiffel Tower and other well-known locations. We met for breakfast the next morning and I laid down the main script (about the importance of purity for the Christian). This will tie in with Todd’s script about the Puritans he was filming at the same time in Scotland. I spoke about how many within the contemporary church could never be called “puritanical,” and that the pure character of God needed to be thundered from the pulpits to awaken the false converts that sit among God’s people. That was done on a grass area with the massive Eiffel Tower behind me. As we were winding down, an over-emotional park security attendant walked towards us yelling something in French. Apparently she was telling us that we couldn’t film on the grass area. She finished with a loud “Viola!” The American equivalent is “That’s how it is buddy!” She did, however, say that we could film on the sidewalk.

Despite the theft of our sound equipment, we were able to film. I felt sorry for Tony (who is a sound perfectionist) who so wanted to do a good job, and had to use minimal equipment was very frustrating for him. Still, things seem to be working out.

After the shoot, we broke for a quick lunch at a restaurant. Scotty and a few others were eating outside when Gypsies walked passed and asked for his chicken bone. Being the kind man he is, he lifted his plate to give the poor people some French Fries he had left. One woman grabbed the plate and tried to run off with it! The owner suddenly appeared; started yelling at her, then chased them down the street. He said that they were always stealing things from his tables. We apologized and walked under the Tower, across a bridge, and Mark, EZ and I preached open air a couple of times about a mile from the Tower. The interpreter was good. One official there tried to stop us by saying that we didn’t have a permit to speak. I told her through an interpreter that we didn’t need one because we weren’t using amplification. She backed down and said something like “Be careful you don’t break the stone steps.” I guess she had to exercise some semblance of authority. It was strange because I perhaps could have done some damage if I had had a sledge hammer, and I didn’t have one.

After the sound equipment was so easily stolen I took my belt off and threaded through two loops and through my bag. That’s the way we are transporting the entire mini DV’s (21 so far) from our filming. If someone stole that bag, the entire trip would be a waste of time. So whoever steals that, takes me with it. Viola!

STOP PRESS! We have been on this train for three hours. Everyone is asleep and Duane has pulled out a bag that was given to the team. It contained twenty large cakes of deluxe chocolate . . . the good stuff. Chris, Duane and I totally lost control. I’ve never eaten so much chocolate in my life. I think I overdosed on caffeine. I can hardly type . . . but the three of us are very happy.

Back to Paris. EZ, Scotty and I preached open air outside Notre Dame and got a large crowd. Our interpreter was wonderful—an American sister who knew how to translate with enthusiasm. On the way back in the train we had around 5,000 people in our carriage. I showed the team how to do “crush” evangelism by putting my backpack into the face of a French woman. The lady in the opposite seat began laughing which gave me a clue as to what was going on. I then turned to Mrs. Crush and offered her a million dollar tract as a consolation. Then everyone around me took tracts and watched a little slight-of-hand.

On the next train some musicians got on and started singing. I gave one of them five euros and gestured that I wanted to speak. He handed me his microphone and I gave a short gospel message to the passengers on the train.

We met with Todd Friel and team (team three) who were in Paris for a couple of days. We did an interview for Way of the Master Radio and quickly left for the train station. We were like ships passing in the night. Last night they arrived late in London to find the hotel had given away their rooms. They had to sleep on the floor. The poor guys.

Five countries down--eight to go. We arrive in Monaco tomorrow. Keep us in prayer. We are so grateful. God bless, Ray

P.S. I just interviewed an atheist on the train. He was a 56 year-old, who backslid after we started talking and said that he believed in a kind of force. He also said that there was no right or wrong. I asked him if I stole his wallet from him if it would be wrong. He said rather than it being wrong, that it would be his fault for allowing me to steal it from him. If I raped and murdered his daughter, was that wrong? He couldn’t make that judgment. Wow. Trish and I then walked through the train looking for more interviews, and were shut down by the police who were on board. They said it was “forbidden.” Surprise.

Amsterdam Photos (Mark Spence)

2007-09-26T10:42:00.001-07:00

Amsterdam, Paris, and $5,000 of Equipment Stolen

2007-09-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 5:26

We had a four-hour train trip to Amsterdam. It was during the trip that Carol (our ministry photographer) showed a picture of me posing with a foul-mouthed female heckler. I said to Carol, "Wait until See sues that." That's when I realized how much I needed some sleep. We arrived in the city around 10:00 PM, met with a few enthusiastic helpers (that had driven nine hours all the way from Denmark) and went out for a late-night dinner. I was able to get an amazing 7 ½ hours sleep, then we met with ten helpers and had breakfast. It was pouring with rain, and it was forecast to rain all day. So we split camera crews. Trish went to an indoor mall to do some one-to-one interviews, and I went with the other crew to film the foundational script for the program. That went well until the last 30 seconds, when it started pouring with rain. It was almost comical. I carried on speaking in the rain (a real trooper), while everyone else gathered together in a huddle trying to keep the rain from getting into the equipment. EZ was able to get permission for me to interview a young man who was smoking marijuana at a bar. It was a great interview, and I think will be a highlight to the Amsterdam program. Duane and a crew left for Paris while we proceeded to Dam Square where Mark escaped from a straight-jacket and EZ, Scotty and I preached open air. That went very well. We did a few more one-to-one interviews and rushed to catch the train for the five-hour trip to Paris.

It had been a good day of filming-colorful interviews, good crowds, and the rain held off, for which we thanked God. We then walked for about a mile to the train station and lost one cameraman on the way. Chris completely disappeared. He was behind us filming "B-roll," lost sight of us in the crowd, thought he had been left behind, so he ran ahead of us (he must have past us without knowing it). We didn't know that, and sent people back to look for him. Finally he found us in the crowd. It was a prodigal son reunion. We fell upon him, kissed his neck and killed the fatted calf. Well, not quite. We bought chicken sandwiches and chocolate milk. I sat next to a well-dressed gentleman on the train, and after some small-talk found out that he was an "adamant atheist." I pleaded for an on-camera interview but he adamantly refused. I then told him (as nicely as I could) that he was a chicken atheist, so he conceded to do an interview where we didn't show his face. EZ spoke to him after the interview, and he backslid to being an agnostic. Please pray for him. His name is Jon (pronounced Yorn). We will be in Paris in two hours. That should be interesting. STOP PRESS! I had just finished praying that God would cause something exciting to happen in Paris. As we were exiting the train Tony said, "Where is my blue bag? It was just up here on the baggage shelf!" We searched the entire carriage and sure enough, someone had stolen a bag that contained almost all of our sound equipment. It was a huge disaster. We gathered, and thanked God for His sovereignty. I'm looking forward to seeing how God takes care of this. By the way, the bag contained about $5,000 worth of equipment and went missing around the time our well-dressed atheist (who didn't want his face on camera) left the train. Keep praying.

God bless,
Ray

Trouble on the Rail - Paris (Trish)

2007-09-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 11:55 AM

Arrived in Paris today. It's been a wonderfully smooth trip up until I (Trish) got a call from one of the team members. Team two had trouble on the rail. Our soundman's equipment was stolen. You see Ray was preaching on the rail and the soundman must have looked back for a second and then it was gone. It is only the fifth country and we are declining a bit... but nonetheless doing surprisingly well. Please pray that the team will keep their wits about them. We really need to keep our guard up.

Trish

Rain in the Netherlands

2007-09-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Luxembourg. It wasn't quite as exciting as Brussels; but the gospel was preached, many were witnessed to, and we escaped the enemy with the footage by the grace of God.

We are in Amsterdam and it is morning and raining. All of your prayers for us are so appreciated and we have had exceptional weather so far. I am confident it is due to your prayers. Please continue to lift us up in prayer in all things - weather, travel, attitude, etc., the crew, the speakers, the hearers.

At each stop the volunteers have been wonderful and so helpful. How awesome it is to have friends of the ministry around the world who are willing to serve.

God bless,

Scotty & Carol

Friendly post-modern atheist

2007-09-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

Trish adjusting to the time change

2007-09-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Ray reacts to the train's food on the way to Amsterdam.

2007-09-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Chris Hopper filming the sunset

2007-09-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ray Preaching

2007-09-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

EZ open air preaching

2007-09-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Mark

2007-09-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Duane Barnhart, the producer, scouting out a location

2007-09-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

film crew shooting an anecdote

2007-09-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Ray looking over his notes

2007-09-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for the day

2007-09-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

Luxemburg (by Ray)

2007-09-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I didn't know much about Luxemburg until today. It is said to be the richest country in the world, per capita. We were going there to find how rich they were spiritually. We arrived last evening, had an Italian meal and then a very pleasant walk through the city, looking for shooting locations for the next morning. Thankfully we got an early night, but I woke after half and hour, and for some reason lay awake until 3:00 AM. I got up around 7:00 AM, put my much-needed sunglasses on and went down for breakfast. Almost the whole crew had had a horrible night, which was very consoling. We spent most of breakfast laughing about it, but it wasn't funny in the early hours of the morning. I need to have a fresh mind and at least look reasonable on camera. Around 9:30 AM we began filming an anecdote about two men in jail. The location was in a quant and quiet cobblestone ally. The trouble was we had to stop shooting for about 30 cars, an ambulance and around 50 people who walked through while we were filming. We then split into two crews, and I, Mark Spence, EZ, and Trish got ten witnessing interviews with locals. We then preached open air in the town square, and jumped onto a train to Amsterdam. I said yesterday that there would be a huge market for deodorant on trains. I'm now not sure about the issue after Duane (our director) sat next to a gentleman who reached a new odor height. Poor Duane had his face against the train window, trying to get relief, but when he saw Chris (one of the cameramen) sitting opposite him with his head turned to one side, trying to breathe with his mouth twisted half way around his head, he got the giggles. He had to move, and felt nauseated for some time. I was very pleased to get a witnessing clip of a university student who was an atheist. Todd Friel was still filming in England while we were across the channel, and the interview will dovetail perfectly with his teaching on why so many of today's youth are brainwashed into the philosophy of "My truth is my truth and yours in yours."

Photos of Belgium (from Mark Spence)

2007-09-23T16:36:00.001-07:00

First Day of Filming in London

2007-09-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

Sun 9/23/2007 1:56 PM

On our first day of filming in London, we witnessed a miracle. The sun was out. Summer fell on a Wednesday last year and it looks like we struck it on just the right day this year. We had breakfast around 8:00 AM and then met with the local team for the day’s shoot in London. It was more like a “crowd” rather than a team. Between 50-60 helpers showed up! We then walked about quarter of a mile to Trafalgar Square and set up to shoot our first footage for the Fourth Season. How exciting.

Authorities shut us down before we even had a chance to turn the cameras on, because we didn’t have a filming permit. The reason we didn’t have one was because we had applied for one in Monaco. They had asked why we wanted to film, checked out the website and told us that there was no way that we could film in that country, anywhere. So we sent a scout to Europe a month before the trip and he was told that almost all the countries didn’t require a filming permit. Not so with London. However, the security officer kindly gave us permission to film in an area above Trafalgar Square.

We did so for about 15 minutes and then moved location. That’s when the police moved in on us, and shut us down completely. They informed us that we couldn’t film anywhere in London, and if we did, they would confiscate all our camera gear. Nice. The reason the police got to us so quickly was because we didn’t exactly enter Trafalgar Square subtly. We had a camera crew of about a dozen and an entourage of 60 people. Duh. We prayed and then told our helpers to meet us at noon for the planned open air, cut our camera crew to three and decided we would film on the top of a double-decker bus. Surely they would allow that. Nope. They wouldn’t even let us get onto the bus.

We then walked to a place called Covent Garden and found a stack of street performers and thousands of people. It was perfect for open air preaching. We drew a crowd with Mark Spence escaping from a straight jacket, and then from trivia and then to the gospel. After about 15 minutes we were told that we weren’t allowed to speak in that area, so we moved. As we were about to start, a gentleman told us to move again, even though we were on public property. We moved again and started preaching. The next time I was told to stop I had had enough. I became convinced that if we preached in the Sahara Desert we would be told to move on.

Suddenly a woman came behind me and tried to stop me speaking. By then I had had enough of being tossed about. I ignored her and she became extremely vocal and used words that would make your grandmother’s hair curl into tiny fuzz balls. The crowd thickened, the gospel was preached and our cameramen, who were striped to bare essentials (gear), captured some wonderful footage. Finally. Thank God and thank you for your prayers.

We took a fast train to Brussels in Belgium. If you want to make some quick money there is a huge market for deodorant on trains in Europe. We arrived at Brussels around 10:00 PM and were told by part of our team that thousands of people were gathered in the local square, not far from the hotel. It was an opportunity we dare not pass up. The hotel gave us some hot chocolate and a piece of chocolate and away we went. I had said that the key to doing 13 countries in 13 days was that we eat well and sleep well. We had been traveling for two nights. So far I had had seven hours sleep and we had filled up on burgers, fries, and hot chocolate (so much for good intentions). Mark did the light show, pulled in a crowd of about 100 people, and I preached open air until 2:00 AM. We got some wonderful footage of hecklers asking philosophical questions.

It’s now Sunday afternoon. Fortunately I was able to sleep right in to 6:30 AM. Joy. I had one verse in mind as my head hit the pillow last night: “I awaked, but the Lord sustained me.” I have a feeling I will have that verse in mind during this whole trip. We had a great breakfast, did some filming and then an open air. The Square in Brussels is amazing…absolutely breathtaking. It’s about 200 yards long by 75 yards wide with awesome-looking tall 300 year old Gothic building surrounding the entire square. This has resulted in an open air preacher’s paradise. Lots of people, incredible acoustics. I succumbed to the chocolate fountain. I’m typing this on a train heading for Luxemburg, looking forward to what’s ahead.

God bless,
Ray

Safely to London

2007-09-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

Friday, September 21, 2007 11:44 AM

First report. We all made it safely to London. We had folks come from Florida, Minnesota and from Los Ageless, to make up a production team of seventeen people, Todd has been on the streets doing his radio program, and we begin filming on the streets tomorrow at 8:30 AM, until noon. Then from midday until 2:00 PM we will be filing an open air at Covent Gardens, where there should be lots of people. We are expected about 30 helpers, so that will give us a good rentacrowd. Not many of us were able to sleep on the plane. I have been able to fend off sleep until now --it's 7:40 PM, so I should be able to get a good night's sleep and be fresh for tomorrow. I am so tired though, I can hardly type. We are all excited about tomorrow. Please pray for us.

God bless,
Ray

Three Teams - 13 Days

2007-09-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Team 1 has four people and is in charge of general logistics and B-roll.

Team 2 has eight people (including Ray Comfort) and is in charge of doing interviews and getting all the main footage.

Team 3 has four people (including Todd Friel, the host of The Way of the Master Radio) and is in charge of filming Reformation movement historical locations.

Leaving for London

2007-09-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

It's 10:42 a.m. on September 20th, and the whole crew is gearing up to leave for the LAX airport. Double checking everything is tedious. Please keep us in your prayers!

July Newsletter - About Europe Trip

2007-09-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Over 100 Contacts in Europe

We are thankful that over 100 people have volunteered to act as contacts in Europe as we film our Fourth Season. One hotel owner in France has kindly offered his hotel free of charge. We are at present negotiating with the Prince of one of the countries to allow us to interview him on camera. Each program will not only have open air preaching, give the history of the country's heroes of the faith, interview local pastors, but they will also have some unique aspects. We will drop real wallets containing money and a card. The card will say "IMPORTANT: If lost, please call this cell number," and we will secretly film what people do. If they steal it, we will follow them (wearing spy-camera glasses) to see what they do. The wallet will also contain an important-looking "Bond Certificate" that will have a gospel message (in two or three languages) that emphasizes theft. If the person does call the cell phone, they will get a reward, and we will them ask on camera why they returned it. Were they tempted to steal it? Do they fear God? Etc.

Please pray for us as we work out the logistics of 14 people traveling to 13 countries in 13 days, and filming 13 episodes. We leave New York for London on September 20th.
We still need contacts in Munich, Germany and Timisoara, Romania. Please contact Trish at tramos@livingwaters.com if you can be a contact person in one of those areas. Also, please contact us if you're interested in sponsoring one of the programs.

May Newsletter - About Europe Trip

2007-09-20T10:36:00.001-07:00

We are going to Europe!

God willing, we are going to film 13 episodes in 13 countries... in 13 days. They said it couldn't be done, but we thought differently (high-speed trains will make it possible). This is for the 4th Season of "The Way of the Master" TV program. We are going to:

1. London (England)
2. Brussels (Belgium)
3. Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
4. Paris (France)
5. Barcelona (Spain)
6. Monte Carlo (Monaco)
7. Milan (Italy)
8. Zurich (Switzerland)
9. Vienna (Austria)
10. Budapest (Hungry)
11. Prague (Czech)
12. Frankfurt (Germany)
13. Amsterdam (Netherlands)

It will be a combined travel log, home show, history show...all soaked in evangelism. We leave on September 20th, and yes, we need contacts in every country to help make this a reality. Please contact Trish at tramos@livingwaters.com if you can be a contact person. Also, we are still looking for sponsors for each program.