Walk Team Makes Their Way Through the Midwest

August 2004

Walk Team Makes Their Way Through the Midwest

We are headed to Columbus, Ohio, for our National Event as this newsletter goes to print. Next month’s newsletter will be devoted to all that the Lord accomplished in Columbus. Please continue to pray for the Walk team as they near the end of their journey. When they reach Washington D.C., our prayer is that the Lord would open the door for this message to be presented to the President. The Walk team should be reaching D,C. in late August. Please call the White House and leave a message requesting that the President meet with us at 202-456-1111. You may also send your message via e-mail to president@whitehouse.gov. God is able to do more than we can think or imagine!

Bill Hewitt and Shekinah Thomas in the midst of the "homosexual lust fest" in St. Louis, MO

June 28, 2004 Report
By Brenda Spurlock

St. Louis Planned Parenthood was treated to a second go-round with our Walk team on Saturday. Afterward the team went to the Hope(less) Clinic in Granite City where a baby's life was saved, thanks be to God! Flip said police brought a horse trailer around and "tried to put our animals in jail, because they're 'farm animals.'" He told them, "These aren't farm animals, they're parade animals!" That did the trick. Justice and Mercy retained their freedom.

Daniel and Angela Michael fed the crew lunch and also found them free hotel rooms for their stay. They all enjoyed the luxury of soft beds and hot showers!

Sunday, Rusty and Flip preached at a Baptist church in Valmeyer, Illinois. Pastor Zip, his wife Donna, and the congregation fed everyone lunch, then gave them a big cake decorated with the Living Parable, right down to the horse!

In the afternoon our Walk team visited the St. Louis Gay Pride Festival or "homosexual lust fest," as Flip called it, where homosexuals freely "... displayed their sin like Sodom" (Isaiah 3:9). According to Flip, the newspaper grossly overexaggerated attendance, claiming 70,000 celebrants over a two-day period. He said there was a maximum of 5,000 at the park while they were there.

He described the badges worn by many participants, pink backing with "Gay by God" in black lettering. "They are NOT 'gay by God,'" he said. "That's an attempt to justify their sin. A sinful nature will kill you. It needs to be repented of. Sin turns us into animals and monsters." He said his message to those dying in their sin was, "God loves you and is sending you a letter today through these foolish people you see here. The message is: Homosexuality is a sin that will destroy those who practice it and the nation that approves it."

A pavilion sign read, "We're not sinners. We're just spreading God's love." Flip responded, "The love of God would tell you homosexuality will kill you. The good news is that if you confess your sin, He'll save you. He can't save someone who won't accept His judgment that homosexuality is an abomination." He said, "Jesus is a friend of sinners, not of those who think they are well and are relying on their own righteousness."

The crowd grew angry as the Truth was preached, swearing at the team. "We got a feeling for what it would be like to be in a Muslim country trying to preach the Gospel," Flip said. It was a scary feeling, he admitted. Two sodomite policewomen came after them. "We know they were sodomites," he remarked, "because they told us they were. They wanted us to know how angry they were that we would dare come into their lust fest and ruin it with truth and the light of the Gospel." He said, "Every time the Gospel was spoken they would blow whistles trying to drown it out or make viperous comments. They became enraged, screaming over and over, 'Get out! Get out!'" He told them, "This is a public park and we're exercising our First Amendment rights."

"Here are people who are calling for tolerance the most," he said, "who are being the most intolerant." The policewomen grabbed Flip by the tie and shirt and even grabbed the kids and shoved them. He said, "If these ladies had their way, we'd all be dead. 'All who hate Me love death.'" (Proverbs 8:36). Flip said, "Sodomy is still illegal in St. Louis, but the St. Louis Chief of Police was at the head of the Gay Pride parade. How would you expect police to enforce laws when the chief is saying by his actions that sodomy laws don't matter?"

Eventually they were forced to leave the park. As they stood on the sidewalk outside the gates, Flip said some policemen realized they were being harrassed and kept a protective eye on them. One of them said, "You know, you brought this on yourself." Flip asked him, "Do you mean you want us to just stay inside the church and not take the Gospel of Salvation to those who so desperately need it and are dying without it? Jesus could have stayed in His heavenly sanctuary, but He was scourged and He was crucified for us. Did He bring it on Himself? Sometimes you have to despise the shame and endure the cross."

Later on, another police officer told Flip he had to stop preaching over the sound system. He said, "The sodomites had a sound system even louder than ours going for four hours, so it wasn't the sound, it was the content of the message." When he didn't stop immediately, the officer slapped handcuffs on him. The sergeant, who had talked with him earlier and who was a good Christian, said, "Hey, don't arrest that guy!" So, he was released.

Rusty and Angela prayed with a 93-year-old woman. They saw her all hunched over walking slowly past the park looking at the sodomite fest. They said she was weeping as she walked past. She turned around and walked past again still weeping. They learned that she had come from Romania many years ago and deeply loves America. She was despondent this day because she saw so clearly that liberty has become license and "a shining city on a hill" has lost her gleam.

According to Flip, there were opportunities for team members to talk one-on-one with some of the homosexuals...and they listened. He said as far as he knew no one was saved, but one guy he talked with told him he wanted to kill himself. After they had talked awhile and Flip had offered him the hope that is to be found in Jesus, a change seemed to come over him and he wept and hugged Flip before he left. He said, "Deep inside they know this is wrong, so many are conflicted. The problem is nobody's telling the truth about this sin anymore."

July 7, 2004 Report By Brenda Spurlock

One of the most popular secular radio programs in Indianapolis, the Smiley Morning Show on Z99.5, started receiving phone calls from listeners early this morning telling about a strange caravan they'd seen winding its way through the city. Host Dave Smiley wasted no time sending out his mobile unit crew to find this pilgrim band. What they found, of course, was our Walk team, and what his listeners got an earful of, via a telephone interview, was Flip giving a full description of the Living Parable.

He told how this nation has repeatedly broken the Ten Commandments, and explained how a small casket carrying a broken baby represents over 4,000 little boys and girls murdered in the womb every day in this country. He warned of the judgment to come. The longer Flip spoke, the more agitated Smiley became. He said, "Now don't do any preaching. My daddy in Iowa is a preacher. Dad doesn't do it on the air, this is not the place for it." Undaunted, Flip asked him, "Are you being faithful to the Jesus your dad preached?" Smiley admitted that, no, he wasn't. "Maybe this is God's way to reach your heart," Flip suggested.

Young Shekinah Thomas who heard the entire radio segment is convinced that Smiley became convicted. She said, as often happens when one is brought under conviction, he went on the defensive, saying, "Don't you be judging me." Another time, he accused Flip of being negative. Shekinah said the interesting thing was, that callers to the program defended Flip and told Smiley Flip was not judging him.

Flip said the team presented the Living Parable at the Indianapolis State Building where they met Lance, who had been in prison for two years and had just gotten out. He needed a place to stay. Someone had given them $20 earlier in the day, so they used it to help Lance get a hotel room. Flip said, "That was our lunch money, but God always provides." He said Jennifer saw them and loved them. She told them, "We want to give you some lunch." She not only gave them lunch but many personal items they needed as well. "Here was this wonderful lady," Flip said. "She told us she started out with no money, no anything, but she wanted to do something for God. Now she has Solomon's Wardrobe and God's Super Bowl to provide people with food and clothing." Jennifer works out of a nondenominational church. When they thanked her for the lunch, she said, "This meal was bought and paid for 2,000 years ago."

A woman stopped them just outside of Indianapolis and told them she worked at the Free Methodist Headquarters of North America. She said, "Why don't you come out where I work and I'll give you a donation?" The headquarters was only a couple of miles away. Flip, who attended a Free Methodist seminary and has pastored a Free Methodist church, said he was thrilled God gave him this opportunity because he had God's message for the Free Methodists.

He said, "We walked to the headquarters and marched around the building. I reminded folks of the church's rich history, how Free Methodist began in 1860 because a group got thrown out of the Methodist Church for their stand against slavery." He said, "We challenged the Christians there to come out of the saltshaker, to rightly divide the Word of God, and to take a stand today for unborn children." Flip told me a rather huffy lady brought out a Light & Life magazine with articles about how the culture of life is overcoming the culture of death, which, he agreed, "...is definitely happening." Thinking about his lunch money story, I asked, "Flip, what about the lady who invited you, did she give y'all a donation?" He chuckled and said, "Are you kidding? She wouldn't even come outside the building."

They stopped next at a Church of Christ and got to talking to a couple working there. The Walk team helped them move some heavy items this day. The couple told them about their son Tom who has schizophrenia. They prayed with them for Tom. They also met another son who needs Jesus and were able to share some things with him. Flip described today as a day chock-full of divine appointments.

Just as I was getting ready to send this report off, the following e-mail came in to the Operation Save America website from Linda:

I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR COMING TO INDIANAPOLIS, IN. I WORK @ THE STATE HOUSE AND WAS ON MY LUNCH HOUR. I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU ARE APPRECIATED AND I PRAISE THE LORD FOR YOUR COURAGE.

THE LORD IS WITH YOU--- MAY GOD TRULY BLESS YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU AND YOUR ANIMALS.

Oh Saratoga – 2004

OSA and the Walk team will head up to Saratoga, NY, to join Father Francis in standing for Jesus and for life. Come and unsheathe the Sword of the Spirit, August 15-19, 2004. For more information on this regional event, call 518-355-5919 or 518-634-7021. You may also look them up on the web at www.OhSaratoga.com.

Keep storming the gates,

Flip