180 Project : Success!

[Cowboy 6]

Project 180

29 AUG to 3 SEP: Meshoppen, PA

It is funny that when most people think of our ministry, they think that we race motorcycles and practice being nice to people. We do indeed do that however, we do so much more. In addition to doing chapel service on Sundays, handing out free Bibles and spiritual counseling, we venture out beyond the track too. This year, we have stepped up our game and increased our volume to the point of making some serious noise in the name of the Lord!

Honestly I cannot remember exactly when the Lord put the idea in my head to take on what we have been doing for the last six days. I do know that it was Him and that hopefully, He is smiling at our efforts.

Vision has not always been one of my strong points. This project though, was broadcast on a big-screen in my head and what needed to happen was perfectly clear.

I remember the first time I watched the 180 Movie. I was already staunchly against abortion, but this 33 minute movie made me cry. Right then and there, God put it in my head that I had to get this word and logic out to as much of the world to which I have access.

I asked Cecilia to contact both of our somewhat local county fairs that were coming during the summer to get the dates, costs and any other pertinent information that we may need. She did so and after consulting our existing schedule, we determined that the Wyoming County Fair would be the one for us. The cost would be high for our rental space, but not insurmountable. After contacting the fair officials a few more times, we sent in our payment for our own little piece of real estate at the fair in August.

I contacted Living Waters, home of Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. After speaking with a few folks there, we received a generous donation of movie DVDs, a banner and other assorted items to get us started. After doing some math to flesh out our material needs, I created a budget, put it to paper and drafted a support letter to take to our church and a few others. Cecilia, Luke and I all delivered a set of these documents to our churches and a few additional groups and the ball was rolling.

As things usually occur, papers get lost and people get busy. With only a few weeks left until the event, we still had no support from anyone. We renewed our efforts and reminded everyone of our project. Knowing we needed the materials regardless of support, I placed a substantial order with Living Waters to make sure we were supplied. With the bank account empty, we prepared for the rain of God’s blessing.

Surprisingly, we received many declinations. Considering that there was no minimum support designated, I found that a bit discouraging. However, we did have two churches come through and we were overjoyed at God’s blessing! The two donations that we received took a nice bite out of the funding issue. With all of the planning and logistics handled, we were now ready to execute.

It all started on Monday the 27th. We had just driven home from Summit Point the day before and I had been at work since 0630. But, we had to unload the trailer and re-load with the items we would need. We drove the 40 minutes North to the fairgrounds and proceeded to enter another world! Thankfully, the staff at the fair (thanks Kim!) were very friendly, helpful and accommodating. Site selection and trailer drop-off were relatively painless and we were on our way. Tuesday night found us back at the fairground setting up vinyl walls and making the floor plan for our area. We were ready!

Due to my need to pay the mortgage, Denise had to go it alone on Wednesday morning. Cecilia helped her set up but had to run to work right after. Now, Denise just had to hold her own until we could rescue her after work. When I arrived that first day, I had already been texting with her to make sure she was OK throughout the day. I found her in our tent tired but in good spirits. She had already made a friend across the lane. His name was David. He was a genuine Israeli Jewish man who was thrilled at what we were doing to save the lives of the unborn. When I arrived, true to her form, Denise had already told David our life story and he knew me better than I knew myself! Dave kept an eye on Denise for the three days she would be there on her own and brought us coffee in the morning as well as samples of food almost every day. God could not have provided us with a better fair neighbor. Thanks David!

We continued on sharing stories and talking to people through the night until 1100 pm rolled in and we were done for the day. We packed up the trailer and our tired but encouraged crew headed home. The alarm would sound in just a few hours so we needed to get to bed as soon as we could.

Thursday and Friday brought more of the same. Denise opened with Cecilia’s help. Then after work, Luke, Cecilia and I arrived to finish out the evening. We were exhausted but overjoyed at how the Lord was using us. There was a constant supply of people to reach out to as the days rolled on.

Finally, Saturday arrived and Denise would have me to help her in the morning. On top of that, I was able to get more than four hours sleep for the first time in a week! We were energized from the start and with more help, the area was set up much more quickly. People started rolling in and we went non-stop all day until closing. Sunday was more of the same and we had the added bonus of having several visitors who were friends that we had not seen in a while.

Among the thousands we spoke with, there were a few special cases that really stood out. Here are a few of them:

First, when talking with people, we found that while many were against abortion in general, they were willing to make an exception in the case of rape. I understood this thought process as I used to think that way many years ago myself. The problem is, do we punish the child for the crime of the father? Ray Comfort addresses this issue in the film and most times, when explained, people understand and are willing to change their mind. We even had a woman tell Denise that she had become pregnant as a result of rape but she not only allowed her innocent baby to be born but kept her. The daughter is now 34 years old and very happy to be alive.

One night, we had a young man visit our tent. Luke talked with him about the bike and our team. He had questions about my number and Luke shared the verse with him. The conversation then moved to religion and how this young man had read some of the Bible but was not sure about where he was. Luke then walked him down the Romans Road and then, right there, under our tent, he gave his life to Christ. Luke made sure he had our contact information and encouraged him to find a local Bible based church to attend.

One afternoon, I was speaking to a wonderful family who was at the fair three generations deep. There were the grandparents, parents and children all in a group. In speaking with the middle generation father with regard to a question he asked, a grumpy woman from the Democrat booth happened to be walking by. She had heard me talking to him and felt it necessary to stick her nose into our conversation. As she put her head over the shoulder of the man’s wife, she indignantly informed me that “You should be talking to her! It’s her choice. It’s her choice!” I almost chuckled while she ranted and when I saw her 4 inch Obama button on her chest, her problem became obvious. After she moved on, the family I was speaking to were shaking their heads. I felt sorry for her and the misery that must be her life without God in it. Later that day, we did a little commando run on the Democrat booth. Denise distracted them with a feigned interest while I provided several “180 Movie” cards as free donations to their booth area.

We were, on one afternoon, accosted by a 60 year old man who kept yelling things like “what are you made of?” I responded “mostly water” but he continued with telling us we were stupid, didn’t know anything and that “we were made of pyramids of light.” He stayed to engage us for about 10 minutes but as it became obvious that he did not want a conversation but merely an opportunity to share his lunacy, I subtly indicated to Cecilia and Luke to disengage and move on.

[Cowboy 6]

Monday was here and we were ready to start our last day. Because it was a holiday, all four of us were in attendance again, all day. It was bitter sweet as we were indeed tired but the work we were doing was definitely worth it. As we moved into the evening hours, the crowd was dwindling and we prepared to pack up. Just then, a security cart came around and the driver stopped to talk. He thanked us for not leaving early (apparently this was a problem) and the conversation turned to the 180 Movie. I explained it to him and ended up talking to him for 20 minutes! He and another man in the cart drove away with copies of the movie.

As we closed the trailer for the last time and prepared to crawl our way through the mass of people and vehicles still scurrying about the fairgrounds, we reflected on what had transpired over the last six days of the fair and all the work we did in preparation. What were the end results? We had brought many different groups of people together reaching all the way to California. We had sacrificed our time, money and energy in order to make this happen. In return, we had talked to thousands of people about the crisis of abortion, the murder of children in the womb and the need to stand up and do something about it. We had shared the Gospel with hundreds, and had someone accept Christ right there in our humble fair tent! Was it worth it? Do you even have to ask?

Please contact us if you would like us to do something with or for your organization. The schedule fills up quickly so get on the phone!

We have plenty of on and off track work to do for Him!

………….Joe (Cowboy 6) Cotterino

[cmh_sprint]

This same post started a nice battle over on ST.n

[gl1200]

Great job , we need more of thisd type things going on ,

God Bless you A ll

[Earache]

This same post started a nice battle over on ST.n

Religion is something I'd to keep to myself.

Can't get people to agree on politics, favorite beer, best bike or anything else.

So you can see where this might go.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Earache

[600ZZ4eb]

Hey Joe!!! thanks for posting!