Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 2 Tim 4:2

We have arrived in Arizona.  We plan to be here for the campuses to open up for their second semester, in mid January.  Eliza is here with us for three weeks during her Christmas break. Words can’t describe how wonderful it is to have her back with us. We’ve missed her so much!

While we are here, we will again be preaching and witnessing in the streets of Tempe and sharing Good News alongside brothers and sisters such as Jeff Rose, Edwin Lo, Rachael Mews, and many others. Scott and Patte Smith plan to come join us for a couple of weeks in January.  One great thing about preaching in downtown Tempe is that amplification is allowed. So we truly get to lift up our voices like a trumpet! (see Isaiah 58:1)  The ASU and U of A campuses are now on break, but sin abounds at night on Mill Avenue downtown Tempe regardless of the time of year.  Additionally, while we are here we hope to preach outside abortion mills, do lots of one-to-one witnessing, hand out tracts, preach to the people lining up to take the mass transit, be in the Word, fast and surrender in prayer, and Lord willing, I may even be able to get up to Las Vegas for New Years eve but we are still waiting on the Lord for that opportunity to open up.

It has been a year since we were here in the Phoenix area.  It seems like just yesterday!  As I reflect on how fast things are changing in the world and how desperately we need to share the Gospel, I again want to thank God for continually providing for us and all our needs.  We thank Him for all of your financial support and your prayer support.  We are living by faith and we consider all of you to be a part of this family ministry.  So if you are so led, please consider continuing to support the Holes family ministry of Luke 10:2,  Thank you.

Leaving Oregon, we had one more day on the U of O campus in Eugene.  Roger Hertzler joined me to share the Gospel with some supportive students (and some not so supportive).  There are so many lies out there in the minds and hearts of young people these days.  If it weren’t for the Holy Spirit convicting these sinners of the impending judgment to come, we would have no hope.  We know that while we are preaching and witnessing and handing out tracts, there’s a spiritual battle waging all around us.  We probably have no idea the magnitude of how fierce it is.  We pray that the students hear the truth about what the Bible says about Jesus and that the truth wakes and shakes them up a bit.  Roger is somewhat of an expert on exposing lies about evolution and additionally he is an author and pastor.  Men like Roger are a great resource while in the trenches of open air preaching.

Author and Pastor Roger Hertzler at Univ. of Oregon (click on photo to enlarge)

The Half Mile Haler donated by bro. John Chisham, has come in handy when towns will allow us to broadcast our voices with a public address system.  I found this video at a brothers site called bring the noiz.  It shows a great test of the half mile haler. You can see how this PA really broadcasts.

Before I forget, I just wanted to fill you in on a conversation that I had with a Muslim taxi driver that I met while in Dublin a few weeks ago.  We had a great conversation. As he got lost trying to drive me back to my hotel, I shared the Good News with him.  He was in awe while I shared with him. He said that I am the second person in the last week to tell him about Jesus Christ.  I told him and that unless we repent of our sins and put our complete trust in Him, that we deserve to go to hell.  I gave him a gospel tract and he was very convicted of his sin.  Well, guess what?  He called me from Ireland a couple of mornings ago to thank me again for telling him about Jesus.  He is going to be emailing me soon to ask me for more information.  It is so refreshing to see people respond to the Holy Spirit!Praise the Lord.

William (who is now taller than Dad) and Shawn play chess on a rainy day outside the RV.

Shawn Holes at the University of California Berkeley (click on image to enlarge)

While in the San Francisco area, I was able to preach at four separate universities: Berkeley, Sacramento State, UC Davis, and San Francisco State.  All are great schools to preach on and I probably would have stayed in the SF area longer but “dead week” was starting and then finals week.  I met some wonderful Christian brothers who are bold and go out regularly to share the truth on campuses, on streets, etc. There are about 10 schools in the area that I would like to preach at someday, perhaps even staying several days on some of these campuses.  San Francisco is such a dark city.  Just driving around there are so many drug dealers, prostitutes, massage parlors, porn shops, homosexuality, etc., and all in such beautiful surroundings. You might think that at UC Berkeley the students would be respectful and intellectual, but from what I encountered I saw the complete opposite.  When I began to preach, a group of 40 or 50 8th graders who were evidently touring the campus stopped to hear me preach. Most of them became quite hostile and foul mouthed, especially a couple of the young girls.  I found it to be surprising considering their age as well as how their teachers were right there with them. The teachers did not seem to care that the children were using such filthy language.  The blanket statements that were thrown out that day included things such as, “the Bible is full of errors”, “God loves us just the way we are”, “Everyone is going to heaven”, “who are you to judge us”, and of course all the personal attacks and four letter words… After these young people heard the Gospel preached for an hour or so, the Berkeley students showed up.  Nothing really changed from 13 year olds to 21 year olds.  I think it may be because they are all watching the same TV shows, listening to the same atheist teachers preaching from their secular pulpits, and believing what they see and hear without ever using the Bible or God as the standard.

As I scouted out a place to preach at Berkeley, I saw this man standing in the middle of a walkway holding his Bible and it appeared that he was getting ready to read. I said, "hello brother", and it was the beginning of some precious time of fellowship prior to me preaching. Eddie is 76 years old and reads aloud from his Bible daily at the UC Berkeley campus.

After I had preached for a few hours at Sacramento State, these young people all came up and thanked me for preaching and we all prayed together. Only the two Ukranian girls in the middle knew each other prior to us all praying, but now they will see and know each other on campus and hopefully encourage each other in their walks.

Chris Bauman on right, witnessing at UC Davis

We drove down this steep twisty road in San Francisco called Lombard Street

William and I got to go out to the Island of Alcatraz. It was amazingly educational, sobering, and fun.  I suppose it could be viewed as a field trip for William because I did take him out of school for the day, but really I just wanted to have fellowship with my son.  We have had wonderful opportunities to see some sights while traveling the country. But lately even more amazing to me, is what a responsibility God has given us parents to raise our children to fear and love God.  I have discovered that it is one thing to make time to be with our children, but the real question to ask ourselves is, do we desire to be with our children.  In other words, are our children the desire of our heart?  Surely we as parents can’t just sit back and relax thinking that just because we are saved that our children are too.  In fact, I recommend we raise up our children knowing that they come to us as sinners in need of a Savior. They need to be born again!  Lord, help us raise these children up in your ways.  Loving them, guiding them, directing them, praying with them, reading the Bible with them, and leading them to the cross. What a privilege it is!

William and I visited Alcatraz prison.

I met up with these brothers whom I had never met in the San Francisco area and we witnessed and preached on two campuses together and outside the night clubs in Modesto, California. Lisa grabbed this shot in the RV while we all had some fellowship after preaching...I am always so grateful when I can be with other laborers. back row left to right, Chris Bauman, Jose, Kevin Borden, and of course William and me in front.

Shawn Holes preaching open air at Sacramento State University (click on image to enlarge)

I preached in Las Vegas in an area called the Fremont Experience.  It is about three blocks or so covered by the world’s largest big screen TV.  I was able to use the half mile haler and I was blessed to know that God’s Word does not return void.  I was asked by a security guard if I could go across the street to a different corner, and then later on another asked me to please turn it down.  I had already turned it down as low as it would go, but it was still fairly loud, and I had already moved across the street.  I explained to the police officer that it wouldn’t go any lower, so he said then that I had to quit.  I asked if I could speak to his supervisor and he said “no”, and that he had made up his mind.  Well, this put me into a difficult situation.  Do I quit?  Do I keep preaching?  I decided to wait and hand out tracts hoping that perhaps his supervisor would come by.  He did come by, and he said that I was not too loud. He actually said, “I can hear you all the way down at the end (three blocks)”.  He was a born agian Christian that was encouraged by the preaching and told me I was “in the right place” and that there are plenty of sinners here in Las Vegas.  He encouraged me to keep it up, and so I did. I thank God for His favor and His protection.

The "Fremont Experience" in Las Vegas, Nevada where I preached for hours with amplification warning sinners of the wrath to come and pleaded with them that there is mercy at the cross.

The Shawn Holes family (minus Eliza) and Chris Bauman and Family... brother Kevin took the photo so he is not shown We stayed with them while we were in Modesto California.

We stayed with Gary Wiegand and family while in Kingman Arizona

Recently, Edwin and I went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to share the Gospel to people waiting in line here in Mesa, Arizona.  DMV’s usually have a line waiting to go in and we try to preach to as many people as possible at once. Ten people at 8:00 in the morning hearing Good News is way better than NO people at 8:00 a.m. hearing Good News.  The response was really good.  Everyone but one person thanked us, which is really amazing because when I preach, I try to make sure that people understand their deserved wrath in hell.  One young man right in front of me appeared to be really convicted.  Of course each person was offered a Gospel tract and only two people didn’t take them.  Now that we aren’t going to campuses during the break, we have more time to go other places to do this type of evangelizing.

Shawn Holes preaching at the Mesa DMV

We made up some packets and call them the “Least of These” packs (containing socks, Gospel tracts, New Testaments, gum, tooth brush, tooth paste, water, trail mix, vienna sausage, and chocolate) to give out to the many homeless people we encounter out here in the west.  Instead of giving them money, we decided to have these packs ready in our car or backpacks so we can give them food, a Bible, and the Gospel via tracts.  Edwin Lo had the idea of going to the local dollar store where we could get more than a dollar’s worth – and boy was he right.  While we were there, we cleaned the store out of Holy Bibles, miniature New Testaments, and audio Bible mp3′s.  We plan to give these out to people on campuses and in the streets while witnessing.

items we put in the packets

finished product

I have changed my service provider for my cell phone from AT&T to Verizon for a couple of reasons.  One is that the coverage is so much better with Verizon.  While traveling it has become quite apparent that I will have more coverage in more places with Verizon (no I am not advertizing for them). Additionally, it is cheaper for me because I will be on a family plan with the rest of my family, and most of my friends are Verizon… that said, while getting signed up at a Verizon kiosk in the local mall here in Mesa (directly across from the Victoria’s Secret “porn photos” plastered all across their windows, I was sharing the Gospel with the young man that was signing me up for their Verizon services and he said, “hey, I knew I had seen you before, but I couldn’t remember from where!”  It turns out he heard me preach at ASU last year and he began to put it all together.  He was such a nice young man, karate expert, good student, and sinner that needs a saviour… Well anyway, he was so receptive to the Gospel and has even been taking the time to text me to help me with my phone and do some really nice follow up. I told him that I am praying about returning to his campus and if I get to preach there again that he should stop by and listen again.  Amazing how the Lord works things out.

Well God bless you all.  There is so much more to share and so many more things have happened but really all I wanted to do is keep you all posted as to what God has been doing in our lives.  I hope that this blog is an encouragement to you.  In addition, I pray that you are strong in your faith and that the Lord is answering your prayers in amazing ways!  Oh, and Consider sharing some Good News today.  Somebody’s eternity is depending on it.  Again, if you would please keep praying for us it is so appreciated.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be made famous,

Shawn Holes and family

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