Posted by Norman Fadelle
It was the first day for Deb and me, and we met up with Paul about 9:45 a.m. for the 10 o’clock opening. There was a return of the man named M who ended up buying a Strong’s Concordance. He has been borrowing one from the library and was pleased to have one of his own.
The only other visitor was a walk-in who was seeking directions on how to get to a Provena facility, and Paul helped her out.
We had taken in several more books and study aids to add to the BEC library, so we got these on the shelves. Paul walked us through the selling and journaling process, and reviewed the overall BEC procedures. We also talked about what they had learned on Day 1.
We decided it would be a good idea to develop a FAQ sheet, and also that we should consider putting up some pictures. Paul said he had been thinking of that too, and determined we could use Kinkos to produce some photos-on-foam-board. So we can all think about what might be used as suitable pictures. It would be good to have them up in time for the Grand opening.
I discovered that the Internet was not working. Paul confirmed that it was not working the day before either. So I called up AT&T and we did some troubleshooting. The upshot was that we needed a technician to come out to the BEC space for onsite diagnosis, and if we had someone to be at the BEC, we could have a tech to come that afternoon sometime between 2:00-5:00. I volunteered.
Paul had to leave, as did Deb, so I was alone. I had tallied up the day’s activity: 2 visitors and a sale of $10. Not much. I closed the Journal, took out my laptop, and settled in to wait for the tech. It was about 2:20 p.m. when the excitement began:
K came in and started looking around. She had a walking cane. She was checking out the Library stand when the conversation started, and would be there for the next 40 minutes. She was a member-recruiter for a local church, and a Christian for the last 30+ years. She applauded that we were offering study aids and courses, and was curious as to our purpose and sponsor. E.g., she explicitly asked if were a cult like [x]. She was interested in solid Bible study, and thought that she was likely beyond our “advanced” class offerings. At first, she did not want to sit down to chat, but finally did (in the nicely arranged table-chair area in the shop).
K was currently researching Noah and where the ark was built, so starting there, I asked her questions about what she understood the Bible to teach (e.g., what was the size and shape of the ark? why? where else does Noah comes up in Scripture? what was the point being made about him and the lessons for us?). We also got into the fact that when researched, there are two distinct Greek words translated “hell” in the KJV, but had quite different implications. K was sufficiently impressed that she got out her cell phone and called a friend and began to tell her about this great place she had discovered, and that the two of them ought to come by for a closer look. K wanted to continue the conversation but needed to leave (yet wanted more), so she determined to set up a private class; turns out that next available time for both of us was Monday 10:30 a.m. (the BEC is closed that day, but we could still have the class). As she left, she passed another woman who had come in and was examining the bulletin board.
3:00 p.m. J looked at the Bible offerings, and then the class offerings. She said there were many people in church who really needed to get into Bible study, and it seemed we were a place that could provide it. However, she wanted to check us out first: who were we, what church was involved, how could we afford low-priced Bibles, how could the classes be free? She had her own church ministry, and asked if she could take a sample of the self-study course. She asked to take several of the flyers and business cards so that she could give them to friends. She suggested that if we really wanted to make our presence known, we should do more advertising, and maybe offer food/drinks. I explained that we were only 2 days into our “soft opening” and the Grand opening was still planned. She really wanted to get into the onsite classes, but doubted if she could attend all the sessions. However, she took the schedule and provided all the contact info. Since she obviously wanted to talk more, I offered her a seat by the table, and she was glad to sit down. So began her life story.
It was good that Deb had brought a box of tissues to use up front in the shop, since J came to tears more than once. She and I talked about a multitude of things, one of them being that praying to God for help is a definite need, but then we have to get up and do what we understand God taught us. In the midst of our discussion, the tech rep arrived and did his stuff, coming in-and-out 3 times before resolution: the problem was at the AT&T end. Also during this period, another woman came into the BEC and browsed; she finally helped herself to the free material, and said that she would be back later. Jumping to the end then with J, at 4:45, Deb had called on the cell phone asking me to join her and Abigail at a restaurant. I said I should be closing up at 5:00, and would call when I was leaving. As J walked out of the shop, A walked in.
5:05 A cheerfully strolled in and began a flurry of questions. Many were repeats of the earlier inquirers. He was doing in-depth Bible study now, and was looking for something along the lines of the Bible Dictionary – did we have one for sale? Answer: no, but we can order one for you. He eventually agreed for that to happen. However, he first launched into his life story. He is somewhat guided by a prophecy made over him several years ago, and it included a statement about Acts. [About this time Deb phoned back to determine my true time status. I told her to go on with dinner with Abigail, and I would eat later.] Thus A had been attracted by noticing the BEC class-offering on Acts. So we began to talk about that book, starting with Acts 2, then chap 1, then chap 3 = it was apparent that Jesus would be coming back to the earth for another fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, which included an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Skipping to a different topic, A thought the story about the young man falling asleep was amazing, but said his friends did not think Paul had raised Eutychus to life. So discussion of that point led to where Scripture talked about “falling asleep” and the significance of the resurrection. A had never heard such stuff before. He stated that the class he really needed to take was the basic “How to Study the Bible”. I agreed, and gave him some examples of how (a) reading the text, (b) asking questions, and (c) checking out cross references were some of the steps to take – and then used Mt 1:1 as an example. He was “blown away” with the suggested explanation. So I offered to loan him our DVD on “God’s Land of Promises – for You”, which he was willing to take, but ultimately wanted to pay for “since we need you people to continue in operation here in Champaign!” Before he left, A left his name and phone number, wanted us to research the cost of the Bible Dictionary, asked about coming to the SS class for adults, and declared that he would be watching the DVD that night. When A left, I had three info sheets to fill out and update the Journal.
6:10 Having shut down everything according to BEC procedure, I went to the front of the shop to close the gate, having phoned Deb that I am about to leave for home. This is when M (a different one) walked by. She works at the mall, has been seeing our remodeling, and was particularly interested in the class offerings. As an Education Center, she thought that she might attend, but it depended on whether the price was right. So I asked her to guess at what a Class session might cost. She did not want to guess. I urged her on. Question: How long was the class? Answer: Four weeks, or eight weeks. After further prompting, she finally said, $275 for the 4 wks, double that for the 8 wks. I smiled. Running back to the front desk, I grabbed the class schedule, gave her the sheet, and informed her that it cost $5 to register for a class, but if all sessions were attended, the $5 would be refunded. She was utterly amazed. So I gave her one of the BEC business cards, wrote my name on it, and got her to write her name on a 2nd card so that we would know her when she came in to register. The interaction with M lasted about 10 minutes. Now I could close the gate. But not so fast...
6:20 B had been listening in the background, and now stepped forward to introduce himself. He was a fellow tenant in the mall, and ran a shop around the corner. He wanted to welcome me, and the BEC folk; he then went on to pump for a bit of info, which I was glad to provide. For example, Christadelphians have been in Illinois for about 150 years; this BEC is being funded by home churches in Bloomington and Chicago. Our focus is definitely on Bible Education, i.e., providing Bible-based classes and self-study courses, and setting up one-on-one classes if requested. The BEC makes such free and low-cost offerings to the Urbana-Champaign people as a community service. B then told me of how he taught SS classes for years, and hoped that the BEC would last in the area. A final well-wish and he was gone. I went back to the front desk to add two more entries into the Journal, and then quickly came back to lock the gate and be gone too.
As I was walking to the car, three things came rushing to my mind. First, what a great finish to the first day at the BEC – thank you God! Second, given that the shop was to have closed at 2:00 p.m., six more people came before the final closing around 6:30. The final count was 8, not 2 – and three of the encounters entailed long discussion, and raised a spectrum of opportunities. Third I wondered if that Internet outage was simply a technical glitch. Perhaps some angelic hand caused an outage. For if the BEC had not stayed open for the tech, there would have been no encounters with those afternoon visitors. Thank you again, Father, for your Providence.
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