There is joy in selling
books! Joy in seeing someone buy a book that will probably change their life!
Just recently the
PAFCOE students have gone out selling the Ministry
of Healing (under the title of Health
& Peace) and The Great
Controversy. And what experiences they have gained doing so! Here are some
of their stories!
“Doing literature
evangelism was one of God’s ways of training me to be a missionary. And I
remembered that training when this week we went out doing canvassing. Seeing
people’s desire to acquire the books despite their financial incapacity truly
inspired me to reach out to others through literature. From the 4 people who
got our Ministry of Healing books, 3
of them were very poor and had to work very hard just to make ends meet. God
has many ways to bring people the truth – especially through literature!”
Another student said
this when he was canvassing the Health
& Peace book:
“During out literature
evangelism outreach this week, we met a man with a frowning face who said, ‘I
am a Muslim. We don’t need Christian books!’ I answered him, ‘Sir, our books
are not talking about religion. They show how to have a happy family with a
healthy lifestyle. Don’t you want to have a happy family that’s healthy, too?’
He replied in a low tone of voice, ‘Sorry, sir for my bad reaction!’ I praise
God for guiding me what to say to help him be interested in our health book!”
The same student had
another interesting experience:
“We were canvassing
another lady to buy a book. After handing her the book, she said, ‘I want this
book!’ We were so happy and inspired because this was the very first person who
ordered a book from us!”
Another student said:
“My outreach experience
this week is very inspiring! We went to our outreach territory and began
canvassing. Almost all of them responded negatively and didn’t want our books.
But I always prayed silently that God will help us sell some books. Then God
led us to a small house. Inside were 2 people waiting and after talking with
them about Jesus and telling them about the book, they ordered it! And of the 2
people who ordered the book, one of them is the church pastor of a large
Protestant denomination! They told us, ‘I pray that more people like you will
continue spreading the gospel and the truth.’ I was so inspired to hear that!”
Yes, the joy of selling
books to others is incredible! Here’s what one student said:
“We were able to sell
all our books! It’s very inspiring to see even security guards ready to accept
the book! Even some Chinese people who were not Christians were willing to open
their minds on health and buy the book. Almost all the people in our area
wanted our books – so praise God!”
Of course, selling
books is not always easy! One student remarked:
“When we are sometimes
down, God lifts us up by giving us the things we hoped for! This week, when we
felt down from not being able to sell a single book, one day a total stranger
asked my partner about the books he was carrying. They talked and my partner
explained about the book to him and he bought The Great Controversy! Praise God for the encouragement! (Later)
This week we were successful at selling books. I am also inspired to see my
partner so fired up about getting sales! But more than the sales, we were
inspired because of the seeds that we sowed through those books.”
Another student had
this experience:
“We went to do Bible
studies with our interest this week and they refused to continue studying. So
we decided to sell books to the neighboring stores. We canvassed a person in
the store who was so hospitable with us. He talked with us and he liked the
book, but still he didn’t buy it. To make our time useful, my partner offered
to share with him from the Bible. He agreed and what a joy it was to share with
him and to have another Bible study!”
One student commented
on his outreach:
“I really saw God’s
love in our outreach with my partner this week when we started canvassing. Even
though there are so many rejections, yet God has promised us that He is with us
always and that’s what we’re holding onto. Though we have plenty of rejections,
it makes me strong because I know God is with us and I continually believe that
there are people who are waiting to be approached about God. We did sell some
books, though and one of them was to a Pastor and I’m so excited that hopefully
the book will be read and Jesus will come into their lives!”
The book about health
was much more popular than The Great
Controversy. One student said:
“We met many people
during our literature evangelism this week.
Most of them were very much open in having the peace of mind and a
healthy body that we promoted through the health book. That’s why the Health & Peace is the best seller!
Health is so effective!”
You never know who
might read the books! Another student said:
“We meet a man this
week in front of a building that is under construction. We realized that he was
a priest and had devoted his life to his church. We canvassed him and he seemed
very interested, especially when I mentioned that one of our books talked about
whether the dead could communicate with us. When we told him the price, he said that they
also need money for their new building (the convent under construction). So I
offered him a lower price and then an even lower price. Then he asked why the
price was so low. I told him that we’re not here for business but for ministry.
So he told us to go with him to the nearby house and he would get his money to
pay us for the book and we sold him The
Great Controversy!”
What an opportunity!
We are told:
“Let not
the canvassing work be left to languish. Let the books containing the light on
present truth be placed before as many as possible.” Christian Service, page 145.
