For the past few weeks and Suitcase Sideshow has been on the road once again visiting churches and other none traditional venues in Minnesota. After coming off such an exciting tour through Europe, picking it up again can have a number of complications. For one, spiritual attack saying, “This show was only meant for Europe, God wants you to stop now.” So after trying to keep it going in the fall, and hitting every barrier, I asked God “WHAT?” Then He said, “Take a moment, rest, notice the flowers in front of you, and seek me.” So I did, and God blessed me with a friendship. So there are a number of exciting changes in my life now, and more still to come that I am waiting to watch God direct. But the job is still not done with the Sideshow, and when the time was right, He would release it once again.

So this past weekend the time became right and the Suitcase Sideshow was sent out. We brought it housing the performance “Blessed are the Poor” to our first “outside the church walls” show for that particular performance. It was our third time visiting the Some where else Café in Cambridge Minnesota, a place where teenagers go that have nothing else to do in a small town, except do drugs and be sexually active. We went up with a small folk group called the Screaming Tea-pots and there we witness a repeat of Gods power. I could feel the struggle as I stood up to share, taking me back once again to the orphanages in Romania and Hungary where I last felt this intense pressure in front of the same sort of audience. But as tears swelled up in my eyes over the fact of Gods love that I had to share with this group, we all witnessed about forty teen-ages stand up to pray and ask Jesus to come into their lives. Afterwards we were swarmed with questions and tears. To me the victory stands in the camp of the workers and their commitment to those kids. We were just there to do our part, but they will continue with the follow up. Now we must pray that God will continue what he has started and see that the seeds grow. That also goes for the show we did at the Arlington Hotel, a place where the local meth drug dealers and prostitutes live. This was our third attempt to get in after getting kicked out and refused for the first two attempts. But this time, as we gave of our time and security we were able to pray with five men in the lobby of the hotel after the performance. We knew it was because of our persistence that God had touched these people. PRAY they get plugged into the local recovery group called the Fish House. We also brought the show to a mental housing unit. This was our second time visiting, and afterwards, we all stood up and prayed together again, which might have been a miracle for some, but as we walked out tears of gratitude came over one of the ladies faces as she looked at me like I had just saved her life.

So looking back on the weekend it could get real easy to think, “Yea, we really are something special. Look at all the stuff we’re doing. After all, these were just a couple of the incredible moments that we witnessed.” But to get the full picture I must explain the hard stuff too. On our last performance at the Salvage Yard, a home show, it was by far our worst technical show ever! The power broke, the puppets were tangled and the props were all messed up. This was to be a celebration, not a look at failure. I have always said, “Jesus, I will follow you, even if I look like a fool,” but it’s never easy to say that when it‘s happening right then. I wasn’t even able to explain the problems afterwards; I just took a slight bow and sat down. Wow, I felt like such a fool. But after looking back on it, I am reminded that I am completely reliant on God. I am no hero, no miracle worker, nothing to be looked at for saving a life. All that I have, all that I do, it is only because of Gods mercy. My prayer after the show was that even though we messed it up royally, that it wouldn’t have distracted from the message. I prayed, “I am fine with not seeing the fruit of my faith and even looking like a fool, but just allow them to feel your power in spite of my failures.” No sooner was I sharing that with one of my helpers, than a man came up to me completely touched and blessed to have seen the show. I had invited him off the street a few months ago, and now he had been coming. He shared with me his terrible day and how he was struggling with going back to the bottle to numb the pain, but that after seeing the show, he had changed his mind. He would not give in. We talked and then I prayed with him. Afterwards, I thanked God for his mercy. That God does discipline those he loves, that he has blessed me, used me in spite of my weaknesses, my failures, and my sin. That God has taken the time for me, to shape me, to continue to humble me, and to grow my character. And for that I am joyful, and even hungrier for Jesus. I am also even more enraged with the enemy for trying to use this to beat me down.

So this is my final letter before I leave for New Zealand. Please keep me in your prayers as I travel. I have witnessed God speak and touch many people, so now allow me to go and learn how to be an even better steward with the gifts, passion, and calling that I have been entrusted with, so that I may learn to be an even bigger fool for Jesus and bring his love to the far corners and back allies of the world.

I am pushing ahead towards Steiger's Radical Evangelism and Leadership School. My original goal for fund raising this trip was $4,000.00, and now I am $1,500.00 away from reaching that goal. If you would like to help the work being done here, please contact me about how to help.

Thank you and God Bless,

Philip Shorey

www.suitcasesideshow.org
www.steiger.org