Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was a good one blessed and walking by the Spirit. I had a good day on campus and Hazel and Valentin each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Angelina committed to Christ saying she trusted in what he had done to be forgiven so I hope she will pray later. Please pray for them if you have a moment and if ya want to read their stories they are below.

Hazel was the first person I found to talk to today. We talked for a little over a half hour. She was sitting in a chair in the first big atrium lounge on the ground floor of the BIC building on the North side. I sat on the floor beside her. She described herself as “shy, careful and nervous” so I’m glad the Lord moved in her heart to talk with a stranger. She is a Latina and has a cute round face and long brown hair. She was wearing long black sweats and a black hoodie that had white writing up the sleeves. She said she recently moved here from Mexico (her English was very good with no accent) and had not found a church yet, but had been attending a Catholic church there. She was interested in finding out what other religions taught. When I asked her what she would say to God if asked why He should let her into Heaven she said, “ ‘Cause I did things to make Him proud and did my mission on earth.” She thought she had a 75% chance of getting into Heaven. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins she did not know. As I went through the Gospel with her, explaining that faith in the blood and righteousness of Christ saved her, she was receptive, understanding the Bible verses. I asked her if she now wanted to be forgiven trusting in the blood and righteousness of Christ, so that He could live inside her or thought something else asking, “In your heart do you think this is true?” She nodded and I said if she wanted to there was a prayer she could pray and God would hear her. I walked her through the prayer and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life living “inside out” where God transforms us on the inside and then we do good things. I explained that part of the way we knew that Christianity was true was that Jesus fulfilled prophecy. I showed her Isaiah 9:6 and gave her a Bible study on the deity of Christ. I then also gave her the Rose Publication “100 prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.” I talked to her some more and gave her another Rose laminated fold out “Why trust the Bible.” I explained the writings of Buddha we have are 2500 years after his death, so we really cannot know what he said and that other Holy Books do not predict the future. I gave her, Bible Promises for You writing her name the date and “forgiven” on the inside. I explained that now if she trusted in the righteousness of Christ, the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I told her I would keep her in my prayers. She thanked me and said, “I was needing your words.” She said she believed God sent people to us, suggesting He had sent me to her and I agreed. As I walked away she took off her mask so I could see her face and waved goodbye and I waved back and headed down the hall.

Angelina was sitting in one of the connecting halls in the BIC studying on the second floor. She had a narrow face and dark pretty eyes long brown hair. She wore a grey hoodie with some skeletons on the front that seemed to be dancing. Had jeans on and red high tops. She too was Roman Catholic. When I asked her what she would say to God she said, “That’s a hard one…” Then thinking some more she said. “I don’t know personally what would qualify someone to get into Heaven.” She said she’d hoped she would go though and thought she had a 90% chance. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins she did not know. I explained the Gospel to her and that Jesus lives a perfect life for us. And when they kill him, He wants to die because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. I explained “Life is in the blood and when Jesus pours out His blood, He pours out like a life-force on the world, and that the Bible says in 1John 1:7 that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. So we are cleansed inside and we match God and know God can live inside us.” “Oh!” she said understanding this for the first time. She said at the end when I asked “I would want to be forgiven, but I feel like I have to do my part.” So I explained that that was true. That by asking God to live inside us and transform us, we will become better people who will do good things, explaining the Christian life living inside out. I think I had given her a lot to think about and she needed to process some more to pray, though I walked her through the prayer. But I asked, “Do you believe Jesus is God, died for your sins and rose from the dead?” She thought for a moment and said, “Yes.” “And do you trust in that to be forgiven,” I asked. She said yes again, thinking. So I said then she knew God forgives her and she can talk to Him about it later and she agreed that made sense. I gave her the Book Bible Promises for You writing her name in the front. And I left her and she thanked me for talking with her. “Thanks for talking with me,” I replied and headed off.

Valentin (vale n teen) was sitting in the last lounge I walk past heading for some lockers no one else seems to use this year, where I put my coat. I was pretty spent but I asked him if he’d like to do a survey and he did, so I’m grateful I asked.  He was wearing a winter cap, his mask pulled down on his chin. He wore a red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger down vest and had blue sweats on, a roundish face, pug nose with a 5 o’clock shadow where a mustache would grow. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I’d just let it be in His hands. I’d let him judge me, what I was doing in life… He’s seen me fail and seen if I had [done the right thing]. I would see if He had forgiven me. I would look Him in the eye and ask Him if He would let me into Heaven.” He thought he had an 80-90% chance of getting into Heaven. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away our sins so God could live inside us, he did not know guessing, “you repent” and then saying he was searching for another word. I offered “reconciliation” and he agreed. So I said, “This is what God does to reconcile us to Him.” I went on to explain the blood and righteousness of Christ. I explained the Mass was symbolic of what Jesus had done, “The wine is symbolic of His Blood and the wafer of His body, and it is commemorating that He has died for you and so you are forgiven. So when you take it you should say, “Thank You.” He understood that and as I finished I said, “If you feel like you haven’t had a chance as an adult to tell God you are trusting in Him to forgive you, there is a prayer you can pray.” I walked him through the prayer and said he could, “pray it right now and God would hear.” I asked if he would want to do that and he nodded and I said, “Just pretend I’m not even here.” Then he prayed to receive Christ. I explained living “inside out” to Him as well. I gave him the book Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven”. He thanked me and I also gave him a Bible study. I explained that we could not offer anything perfect to God to pay Him but we could show by our actions we were grateful. I told him I might not see him again but I would pray for him. “Preciate you, thanks so much,” he replied. And I said goodbye and headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed the work.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed in the Lord. I had a good day on campus once I settled down from first day jitters and Matt prayed with me to receive Jesus. I also went through the Gospel with 3 girls who had not heard it before. Of them, Cindy (Latina in the science buildings lounge) and Sameen, who had family members in Islam and Hinduism as well as Christianity, cool green eyes. They seemed open to thinking about it. So I will pray for them. If you have a moment please pray these are blessed. And if you have even more time, Matt’s story is below.

Matt was sitting on the south side ground floor of the BIC in a run of chairs. He had a longish mop of straight dark hair pulled into a ponytail, the left side falling in front to his chin. He wore black sweats and a rust red T-shirt. Real nice, open guy. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I’d say ‘please.” Then letting the joke set for a minute he said, “But umm… I’ve done my best to help as many people as I can. I’ve given my best effort. I pray every night.” He thought he had about a 70% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with him and though he said he had attended a Catholic Church when he was young, he did not know what Jesus had done to take away his sins. I explained more and he said words of agreement as I went through the verses and explained things. I said the mass was symbolic of what I had been talking about; the wine was symbolic of His blood and the wafer of His body. But I could tell that did not mean anything to him and I realized later he had probably gone to church as a kid and never participated in the Catholic Mass. I finished explaining how Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness saved him and that God could forgive him and turn all things into good. I asked if he would like to be forgiven, trusting in what Jesus had done so He could live inside him. Or if he thought something else, giving him examples of Islam and Buddhism. Matt said, “The first option.” So I said if he would like to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I walked him through that saying, “It says here ‘Is this prayer the desire of your heart?’ so if you’d like you could pray this and know you were forgiven. I wouldn’t hear it but God would hear and forgive you. Wanna do it?” “Yeah,” he replied. “Just pretend I’m not even here,” I said.  And he softly prayed to receive Jesus.  I explained then living the Christian life “Inside out” by the Spirit’s power. It turned out he did not have a Bible so I gave him one and showed him the “Where to Turn” section that answers questions with passages. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and a Bible study on the Deity of Christ. “I hope I haven’t weighed you down with too much stuff,” I said. “No, thank you. This is awesome,” he replied.  I gave him a fist bump then and headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day. I had a good last day on campus and Lewis, Adrian and Leon. All confessed Christ as Savior after I went through the Gospel with them in the Cafeteria. I also got to give witness to some peeps in the works righteousness cult on campus, one of who may be saved but is stuck there. So please pray these guys would truly realize the faith. They were all High School students from York visiting for something. They did not seem old enough to be seniors. Their story is below.

I walked into the cafeteria and towards the back several students were sitting at the windows. I asked if they wanted to do a student survey and Lewis was game right away. He was shorter not 6 foot looked a bit like a cross between Jon Bon Jovi and John Mellencamp (if you know of those old rock stars). Had sandy hair. Adrian was shorter still and looked Latino. He had a small round face and a narrow mustache a flat mop of brown hair. Leon was the furthest from me at the counter. He had a big mop of dark blonde sandy hair was a bit taller could have been Lewis’ brother but had a less serious face and demeanor. They were waiting for a bus that was a half hour off. When I asked them what they would say to God to get into Heaven Leon said, “You shouldn’t I have not followed your rules.” Adrian agreed saying, “Yeah, I’m a messed up person.” Lewis said, “I feel like you guys but you know you can be forgiven.” I went through the Gospel and asked how Jesus had taken away their sins. They didn’t know but Lewis said, “Confession”. I said that was true but checked if he was catholic and then said that the Church says only God can forgive sin. I then used the analogy of priest being like an insurance agent where when you crack up your car you don’t expect the agent to pay the company pays. I said the reason God can forgive you is because he got paid. I explained the atonement to them and the righteousness of God Christ earned and Lewis agreed affirmingly throughout, saying “That’s right.” Adrian was really tuned in. Leon checked on something at one point but they all tracked with me. I asked if they would want to be forgiven and they all did. So I said there was a prayer they could pray. I talked them through it. I knew they were not going to pray right there around a bunch of friends so I asked each if they wanted a booklet, they all agreed they did. So giving each one a booklet I asked them one by one, “Do you believe Jesus is God He died for your sins and rose from the dead.” Lewis said yes as I addressed him first. “And to you place your trust in that to be forgiven?” He said yes again. They had kind of gathered towards me and so I did the same with Adrian and he answered, “Yes” to both questions. Leon was next and I could tell he wanted me to ask him and I did also getting a yes to both questions from him, it seemed he went to a Lutheran Church. I then gave each of them The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and wrote their names and mine I the front. I said “So if you guys are trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be your righteousness like the extra credit in class, {referring to the story I had told them} the likelihood you will go to Heaven is 100%. Because how righteous is Jesus 100% righteous and what is his righteousness worth, an infinite amount. So there’s enough for an old Bike like me and you guys too.” They all liked that. “Thanks for the Lecture,” Leon said and they all agreed.  And they decided to head over to Starbucks and I went over to talk with a friend Roy a few tables over who prayed to receive Jesus a couple years back and had been invited to Church locally by his science teacher on the 19^th.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry this semester and for evangelism today if you had a chance. I hope the seeds planted in Lewis Adrian and Leon with take root and they have truly trusted in Christ. I’ll be praying for them until a year from spring, in the hope it has or will.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was filled with the fullness of God in Christ. I had a good day on campus. I’m not sure many classes were in attendance today. Today one guy, George, was close. He was thin in a jacket and years with his mask pulled down on his chin. He looked like Phineas from the cartoon “Phineas and Ferb”–if you put a narrow mustache and a jaw line beard on him like a French impressionist. He hadn’t known what Jesus did to take away his sins. He said he wanted to be forgiven and nodded when I asked if the prayer was the desire of his heart. But his friend had entered the lounge. 3 is a crowd, and being Greek Orthodox it might have been a little too outside the box to pray in public in front of a stranger. He took the booklet, so I am hopeful and will pray for him.

I bumped into Jeremy, who had to run to his ride a month or so back but said he would pray, and he said he did so I gave him a book and Bible study. I was grateful for the confirmation. He is half Italian and Mexican short with a mop of hair. I could not recognize him with his mask up and didn’t t first. “Don’t you remember me?” he asked, when I asked his name. When he told me it was “Jeremy” I said I had been praying for him but had never seen his face, so it would not be possible to recognize him. I still haven’t seen it. He said he had prayed so I gave him Bible Promises for You and a Bible study and we talked for a while.

Nya came to Bible study, so we’ll make plans with her next semester too, so we are grateful for that. There is one more day tomorrow, but I am not sure any classes are meeting as many use the last day for an exam. And Fridays were a ghost town more than any other day all semester. So I’ll go and see if God has some more miracles to show me. 86 Students prayed to receive Jesus this school year so far.

Thanks for your prayers this semester. God has really blessed the work.

In Him,
Bob

Third Watch Ministries, NFP                                             Bob & Ellen Bollow

P.O. Box 1283                                                                     November 29, 2021

Wheaton, IL 60187-1283  

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Hope you are being blessed by the kind things of God as the Holidays start. I’ve begun them with a back problem that has got me moving tentatively off and on for the last week. I was kept home today with heat on my back, unable to stand up quickly out of a chair. Our Christmas tree waits in a bucket of water in the garage. Likewise, the star waits to be hung on the chimney until a day when a sudden spasm will not send me tumbling down to the yard below. But it’s not like I could put the ladder up anyway. So today I am home writing you. Fortunately God, knowing my limitations, has blessed evangelism on campus and 86 students have already trusted Christ as their Savior after hearing the Gospel from me. I hope to get back before the semester closes, but I am grateful God has already worked in the strange setting on campus. College of DuPage has only 50% of the students coming to school for class. Some days it is a ghost town for want of someone to talk to about the Truth. They plan on raising that to 75% next semester, but reactions to various Greek-lettered variants may bring different decrees down from above. New York has already declared a new state of emergency. Though early report of the “Omicron” seems like a simple flu. Something bugs typically do as they mutate is they become weaker. So there is hope in that prognosis.

COD is a commuter campus. Students often only have a short time before running to the next class or the bus or their ride when I come across them. There is a pressure I feel each time I talk with someone, hoping they won’t have to hurry off. The moments they have to hear the truth are often compressed. We live in a time of that kind of attention span as well. I often recall Warren Wiersbe, saying, “It is a sin to bore people with the Gospel.” He, the one time pastor of Moody Church now with the Lord, is now never bored. One day we will all stand before Christ and recognize we are stupid and boring by comparison. But if you are telling the greatest story you ever heard, it would seem to be inexcusable to screw it up. Fortunately, in evangelism God is more directly concerned to communicate than He might be in the telling of other tales in our lives. I think a glorified body might lead to glorified storytelling in Heaven. There, the illustrations I use on campus will pale presumably unless they are a part of someone’s overheard salvation story. The sermon I have often thought would be most interesting to hear was the explanations of Jesus to Cleopas and his friend on the road to Emmaus. There Jesus “beginning at Moses and all the prophets… “expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” If we for a moment doubt this was a good sermon we have only to read the response of the hearers in Luke 24:32 “And they said one to another, “Were our hearts not burning within us when He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” It is my hope that Jesus, in the moment I speak to students on campus, makes their hearts burn unto salvation as I quote to them the verses they might believe to be saved. So I pray for each by name, every day, some piece of scripture or a prayer of Paul that they might grow.

Thanks so much for your prayers and gifts to make these moments possible again on campus this fall. These are the names of the students I know of who confessed faith in Christ and prayed. Please pray they are blessed. (An * means they said they would pray later and I have yet to know.)

Brieana, Delyla, Jermaine, Tryvis, Dajon, Edwin, Solomon, Adiel*, Brandon, Joe, AJ, Rafael, Keyshawn, Edmund, Fiyin, Cedric, Marshawn, Derek, Micheal, Anecia, Adrian, Amarillus, Richard, Joe, Victor, Natalie, Katie, Abraham, Eddie, Beth, Devion, Karina, Arielle, Slone, Henry, Leo, Jake, Anthony, Laila, Cam, Fashawn, Aniya, Amaya, Garrett, Gabriel, Ryan, Travis, Jack, Juan, Armen, Nathan, Roman, Fabi, Noah, Ben, Eugenia, Alexis, Bobby, Jeremy, Alma, JJ, Yaritza, Maritza, Karina, Vernon, Sam, Brooklyn, Keagan, D’Andre, Ash, Matt, Tyler, Nuvia, Dom, Kaliyah, Jenn, Romel, Kendall, Thea, Eduardo, Daniel, Marissa, Harry, Jimmy, Elena, Jordan, Nya

In Him,

Bob & Ellen

P.S. Dec 9th update: 6 additional students who have prayed and Bob’s back is better!

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day walking with Jesus in the light of His word. I had a good day on campus and Nya prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray she is blessed and comes to Bible Study on Thursday. Thanks for your prayers, the details are below if you have time.

I got to school later than I wanted to and dawdled around; having walked to the door without my mask I had to double back to the truck. I walked in and my sciatic nerve started killing after not walking far from the locker I used. So I stopped and took some aspirin. I went on and got just inside the cafeteria and had this sense I was supposed to go over to the science building, which feels like it’s on the other side of campus. That’s if you take the hallways and don’t cut through the outside. So I spun around and started walking. I thought possibly someone on the way would be interested and no one was. I was starting to tell myself that there was no one in the science buildings. They are empty as almost every class is remote it seems. But one student has prayed to receive Jesus in there this semester and one in the lounge. I stuck with the sense I had had, which had come and gone in a second. I got to the first building and the halls were empty as expected. I went to ground floor empty all the way to the lounge and there was Nya, an African American girl sitting on one of the cushioned seats at the window. It turned out she had a round face and class full features, a kind smile as I saw her face as I got up to go. She had camouflage print leggings on and a black parka. She had long braided extensions and a hair band just above her forehead. She said she’d do a survey. It turned out she had come an hour early for her class and was just sitting around. I asked her what she would say to God if he asked ‘Why should I let you into Heaven and she said, “Hmm, that’s a good question.” Then thinking a bit she said, “Because I’ve done my best to live by Him and follow His rules.” She said she went to church and she thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. She listened to the Gospel and she knew Jesus had died but she had not placed her trust in His work on the cross to be forgiven. So I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done for her or thought something else. “No I’d want to be forgiven.” she said. So I said there was a prayer she could pray to be forgiven and walked her through it and said, “It says here: ‘Is this prayer the desire of your heart?’ would you say that it is?” She looked me right in the eyes then and nodded. So I said she could pray it silently right now, “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and then you’d know you are forgiven. Wanna do it?” “Yeah,” she replied and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life walking by the Spirit’s power “Inside Out” and said that her 80% estimate was 100%—if she was trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness. I gave her a copy of Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I also gave her The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. I gave her a Bible study and explained a bit. She asked about the bible Study and said she’d like to come so we’ll see if she pops in tomorrow. She thanked be twice and I said I would be keeping her in my prayers and I headed off. I looped through the empty halls and went up to the 2^nd floor and by the time I reached the bridge to cross over to the east-most empty building a couple kids had entered the lounge but she had gone to class.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly blessed and guided me and I got a seed planted with another student Adiel.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you day was blessed walking in the light of God’s presence. I had a good day on campus and Elena and Jordan each prayed with me to receive Jesus. I also got a good seed planted with Aneliz who took a copy of The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet saying she was interested. Please pray these students are blessed. Their stories are below if you have time. Thanks for your help.

Elena was a brown haired girl with Latina coloring. She had long brown wavy hair and what looked to be a round face under her mask, pretty eyes. She was waiting for an end of semester interview of some kind with her professor, just sitting in the hall outside her classroom. She wore a black puffy coat and shredded jeans. I asked her one thing she’d like to do before she died and she said, “Be forgiven for all my sins.” I asked her what she would say to God if she died and was asked why He should let her into Heaven and she said, “I guess, ‘cause I love him. I guess I tried to follow Him as best I could.” She thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. She tuned right in to the Gospel as I began to go through it. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away all our sins so God could live inside us she said, “Sacrificed?” And I said she was right and I went on to explain how God was paid through the blood of Christ and His righteousness could be ours. Then her professor poked his head out asking if she was ready saying she was the last one. But then he spotted a guy down the hall and seeing we were talking kindly asked if she’d want him to go first. “He can go,” she said. I was grateful for that and had been moving a quick as I could, knowing there was a time deadline. I explained God would adopt her and give her the blessings of His family, the sacrifice for our sins, the blood that cleansed us and the righteousness that surrounds us. She could receive forgiveness by faith. I asked if she would want to be forgiven with God inside or thought something else and she said, “God inside me.” So I said there was a prayer she could pray and I said, “It says here: ‘Is this prayer the desire of your heart?’” and she nodded and I said she could pray it silently and know she was forgiven and she said, “Sure.” She prayed then to receive Jesus, crossing herself as she finished. I explained that trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness that now it was 100% she would go to Heaven. I explained a symbolic view of the mass and that in taking it she could now remember she was forgiven and just say, “Thank You.” I gave her a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven” on the inside along with “By the Spirit’s power” having explained living the Christian life “Inside out”. I said I would keep her in my prayers through next spring and a year after. She was grateful and we talked about Christmas time and now understanding it all and I headed out.

 Jordan was sitting at a counter height table in the hallway leading to the Bookstore out of the BIC on the ground floor. He mask was down as I walked up she had natural blonde hair and pretty angular features wore Jeans and a hoodie. He put a mask on as we began to talk. When I asked her what she would say to God if asked why should I let you into Heaven she said, “Nobody’s perfect but I think I’m a good person. I think I deserve to go to Heaven. I respect people. I made my confirmation.” She thought she had about a 90% chance of going to Heaven. I began to explain the Gospel to her and she could not remember what Jesus had done to take away her sins guessing, “Confession?” I agreed quoting 1John 1:9. Then I explained that the Priest was like an insurance agent when you get insurance for your car. When you get I a wreck the agent does not pay, the company pays. I explained the standing doctrine of the Catholic Church was that only God could forgive her sins and that the Priest was saying God forgives her and this is why He can to it and be just. Then I went on to explain the gospel. When I had finished talking about how Jesus had died for her and his blood cleansed her and was the payment for her sins she said, “Oh.” When I finished explaining that she would not go to Heaven because she was good but because Jesus was good and she was connected to Him I told her she could hook up with all God had done for her by faith. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else and she said, “Forgiven.” So I told her there was a prayer she could pray and explained it and asked if it was the desire of her heart. She Nodded and said it was. I asked if she would want to pray it silently and she said, “Yeah.” And she prayed to receive Jesus. I told her she could keep the booklet and explained the Christian life being transformed by the Spirit’s Power “Inside out”. I said the likelihood she would go to Heaven now was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness. I gave her Bible Promises for You also writing her name and the date and “forgiven’ on the inside along with “By the Spirit’s Power”. I gave her a Bible study and The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. “This was good,” she said thankfully after I had finished the Gospel and I told her I would be praying for her. We talked then a long time about current events. I gave her some websites she could look into but encouraged her that really things were so far gone in some ways that only the Lord could provide for us and get us out of it. I said that again after some other topics of how bad things were came up. I know she is trusting her future to the Lord and so I will be praying her heart rests on Him.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed. This is the last week of school before exams some kids have them this week.

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and things are good. I got some lights up at the house and Harry and Jimmy each prayed with me to receive Jesus. I got a good seed planed with Nick (a tall thin guy with a face like young Mick Jagger and dyed blonde big mop of hair) who took The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. Please prey these guys all come to a deeper walk with God in Christ. Their stories are below if you have some time. Thanks for your prayers.

 Harry was sitting in the upstairs lounge with Raj a Hindu guy and a black dude who I could not recognize with his mask on. But the Black dude got them to do a survey when I walked up as I had done it with him. Raj answered the questions and said he wasn’t interested in Christianity as he was Hindu so I focused on Harry. Harry looked Filipino, had straight hair, straight-up on top and very short on the side. He had an oval face with a broad nose. He wore a black hoodie and athletic shorts, it seemed like their class in the Gym had been canceled. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Whatever happens is God directing it. He has a reason for what He does. He’s got good ends for what happens.” I said then that he thought it would be up to God and he agreed. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to heaven. He went to church of some kind but had no idea what Jesus had done to take away his sins. He tuned into the Gospel. When I asked as we finished if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else he said, “I want to be forgiven.” His Black friend jumped in then trying to help and muddied the water a bit but I explained there was a prayer he could pray to be forgiven and talked him through it. I asked if it was the “Desire of his heart?” and he said, “Yeah.” I asked if he’d like to pray it and he nodded. The time praying was kind of odd he stopped a couple times asking the guy I had surveyed before if he’d checked on the cancelled class. Maybe it was a spiritual distraction from the Enemy or ADD but he finished and I explained the Christian life trusting in God’s Power. I offered him a book with Bible verses in it as they got up to go and he wanted one so I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front saying, “That’s the date you were forgiven.” and he seemed really grateful for that sincerely thanking me. So I said I would keep him in my prayers and they headed out.

 Jimmy had been on his way to class in an empty hallway and stopped to finish a pool game on his phone with his friend in the 1^st floor of the BIC on a row of chairs. He said he’d do a survey and had about a half hour until class. When he finished, he lost on the 8 ball, he settled in. He had short hair cut close but not shaved dark blonde and a smaller doe-boy face, was wearing a black cotton hoodie and sweats. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I mean everyone’s a sinner. I go to church every Sunday. I tried my best, I know I do sin. I feel like what’s really important is not what you say or do but that you follow your where your heart leads you. As long as you have good intentions I feel like you can’t go wrong with that in life.” He listened attentively to the Gospel, said he went to a Christian church in Elmhurst and he knew Jesus had died to take away his sins when I prompted his memory a bit. He asked after he had heard the Gospel if God was in control and knew we would sin how our choices made sense, why didn’t God just intervene and stop us. I talked to him about the limits of human knowledge and that the Bible said that one day in a gloried body we would “see him as He is” [1John 3:2] and “know Him as we have been known” [1Corinthians 13:12]. I talked to him about particle physics and the mystery of free will. I suggested the Bible is telling us to make choices and would not do that if we could not make choices, even with all the things determining us. Why we suddenly want some pizza or just have to watch a show several of our friends think is a waste of time. We don’t understand our world or ourselves. But when we ask God to live inside us we are one with A truly free Being and so will be able to make free choices, even if we cannot understand this side of Heaven how that was possible. I explained the prayer to him and he said, “I have seen a prayer like this before, so how do I know if I am ready for this?” I said that this was not deciding to become a monk but that God would help him and give him strength by His Spirit in life and transform him, But not all at once. God can’t tell you everything that is wrong with you or will be wrong with you on the first day or you would have a psychotic break down. It would be like if they put every book and every paper you will have to have to read in college on the first day of class at school. You’d look at the pile and say, “Yeah forget it.” But God will give you strength little by bit. (And I explained the Christian life living “Inside out”) You get married and you realize something else that has to change and you have a kid and you realize something else when he is acting out and you say “What are you doing?” and he comes back with, “That’s what you do!” And you are like, “crap.” So this is not asking for you to change everything in your life all at once but to start to change. Some things you may have to go back further and say Lord make me the kind of guy who will ask you to change me in this way. And little by bit He changes us. So this is really saying, “I want to be forgiven and I want to start walking with You. Are you ready for that?” I asked. “Yeah,” he replied. “Then I would pray,” I said. And he did. I gave him a Bible Study then, he is not at school when we have ours now on Friday. I gave him the book Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. He took it and shook my hand. “I’m not gonna lie, I really needed this today,” he said. Then, “I really appreciate your sitting here and talking with me. My life has been kind of a roller coaster lately. But I feel like God has been with me.” I said God had led me to him and that God living in him might get him off the ride or at least give him strength and peace to keep him in the up and down. He shook my hand again and thanked me. I told him I would be praying for him each day until a year from this Spring. “This time next year I will still be praying for you. He thanked me again and shook my hand again and headed off to class.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a good day in the Lord and have found His grace and peace. I had a good day, on campus at least. It started with a long conversation over the gospel with Victor who was close to receiving Christ. He’s a Latino guy and we talked up in the glassed in lounge on the 3^rd floor of the BIC where God directed me. And Marissa prayed to receive Jesus today so that was great. Their stories are below if you have the time. Please pray that Victor receives the Lord and Marissa grows in her faith.

Victor was wearing a grey hoodie and grey sweats. His hair was trimmed very short on the sides and the top mop was swept back Clack Kent style. After going through the Gospel with him and talking he said he was “ready for this” (receiving Christ) but said, “To be honest it bothers me that I am not in control of my own destiny.” I talked to him about different factors that show how little we control in life anyway. I talked to him about the strength we are given when God lives inside us, and the freedom. He said that the idea that someone could live a good life and God would not let them into Heaven because they did not believe bothered him. I said heaven was not just a place, it is the presence of God and if our sin is not taken away we cannot be there as God cannot be in the presence of sin. I asked him, “Say you are applying for a job and there are 50 candidates all good but the company says it only will hire someone who is from IL. You are the only person from IL so you are offered the job. Would you take it?” “Yes,” he said. I said there are criteria in life all the time that are happening that may not seem fair. I talked to him about many blessings we had people in other places and times did not have, we truly were blessed. You can see friends make poor choices, but you had a good mom and you remember things she said to you and it keeps you from screwing up. It might not be fair that their mother was a drug addict or in some way failed them. There are all kinds of inequities built into life. But God offers Heaven to anyone. Anyone can be forgiven. He said with all the religions he thought it was hard to know which one was true. I talked to him about the complexities of life as we find it, the human cell and the solar system and the idea there must be a creator God. Even evolutionists have run out of time for an explanation of how positive mutations could be passed on in a short time frame of what they now know is the Human genome. Finally he had to go to class. I gave him my phone number and said if he decided to trust in Christ and be forgiven he could just text me, “I did it.” No strings attached to me and I would pray for him until a year from spring each day. He seemed grateful and took The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. He said he wanted to believe. Please pray God breaks through to him.

Marissa had been to church though more when she was younger. She had long dreadlocks, a couple were dyed blonde. She had narrow almond shaped eyes if the almond was turned with the thin side looking at you. She had fair skin and I could only see part of her nose but she seemed to be mixed race. Had grey sweats on and a grey hoodie. When I asked her what she would say to God if asked why He should let her into Heaven she said, “I would say that I helped people, I love helping people, I love being nice.” She thought she only had a 60% chance of going to Heaven. When I said God wanted to live inside her but had to take away her sin she remembered Jesus had died for her sins. She listened attentively to the Gospel and as far as I could tell seemed engaged. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else she said, “Uh this, forgiven,” putting her finger on the circle with God living inside her. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it and asked if it was the desire of her heart. She nodded. So I said if she wanted to she could pray it silently and only God would hear. “Wanna do it?” I asked.  “Ah yeah,” she said brightly. And she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I said that the likelihood she would go to Heaven was now 100%. I explained a life in Christ and she was willing to take Bible promises for You so I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I told her I would pray for her and she was grateful and headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you were blessed today and are resting in Christ who holds our future. I had a good day on campus. Thea, Eduardo and Daniel each prayed to receive Jesus today. Their stories are below if you want to make the time to read them. Please pray they are blessed in their faith and grow near to the Lord.

When I got to campus I felt like I was being directed to the hallway that heads toward the book store on campus. So I headed that way and the first person I talked to was Thea. She was sitting on a sofa couch with a mask on and I never saw her face. But she wasn’t wearing any make-up and had mouse brown hair. Her hair looked untouched, like she’d been late for school and just rolled out of bed, threw some jeans on and her orange sweatshirt. She had kind eyes and a really sweet meek personality, seemed like a really happy person. Petite. She struggled to answer nearly all the questions on my short questionnaire. Though she did know she wanted to travel. When I asked what she would say to God to get into Heaven she shrugged and said, “I don’t know what I would say.” “Do you ever go to Church?” I asked. She said, she was Orthodox and regularly went to church. “What do you think they would tell you at church you have to do to get into Heaven?” She was not sure but she thought probably obeying God would be part of it. I asked her if she thought she would go to Heaven: “100% you’re sure, 10% unlikely 50/50 you got a shot,” I said. “I don’t know,” she replied. “Some people say if you believe in God you will go to Heaven. I’m not sure I guess 50/50.” I began to go through the Gospel with her and she was really interested. A girl kind of strangely walked up saying she wanted to talk to her and Thea somehow made it obvious she wanted to talk to me and the girl said she could come back. I said that would be good and we kept on. Possibly the girl thought she would rescue Thea. It happened once before this semester. So I continued to go through the Gospel with Thea who God had made interested to hear. I asked her if she would want to trust in Christ to be forgiven believing He was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. She nodded, she did. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I walked her though it. “It says here, ‘Is this prayer the desire of your heart?’ Would you say this it is?” She nodded again. So I said if she wanted she could pray it silently, I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Ok,” she said with just a titch of a laugh. And she took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life to her living inside out. I explained now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. She did not want a book, she’d basically said she didn’t like to read so I gave her a Bible Study and explained it a bit. I told her I would pray for her until a year from this spring asking God to bless her. “Thank you,” she replied. “It was so nice to meet you,” I said, getting up to go. “Thank you,” she said with a bit of a laugh and I headed out.

 Eduardo was laying face down on a bench looking at his phone in the east science building. He was willing to do a survey and got up and sat on the bench and we faced looking out to the North through the glass wall. I sat beside him on the table that is attached to the end. He was Latino and had swept back brown hair and black glasses. I never really saw his face with his mask off. He had on a pink t-shirt and black sweats with red tennis shoes. He said he’d gone to church with his family when his grandmother was alive. I have heard that a few times this year, a grandma was bringing the family to church and then died and they more or less stopped. He was raised Catholic and though they did not go to church as much they still prayed he said. He said he wanted to have a family. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he said. “I guess, I just went to school, studied hard for my family. I tried everything in my power to be a good person.” But when I asked him what the likelihood was he was going to Heaven he said, “40%.” I’m tempted to ask when people say that if they don’t think they are very good or if they don’t think goodness seems like enough of a reason to get into Heaven. He listened to the Gospel attentively and keyed in, when I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins he had no idea. So I explained the perfect life of Christ and His blood and righteousness that saves us. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in What Jesus had done for him or thought something else and he said. “Yeah.” So I said there was a prayer he could pray but I think he was thinking about what I had said and had kind of missed the explanation so when I asked if it was the desire of his heart he said, “What is that now?” So I explained it again. Asked if it was how he believed and he nodded. I said he could pray it silently. “Yeah,” He replied and he prayed to receive Christ. I gave him the booklet (I always give people the booklet and the notes I made) and explained living by the Spirit’s power and that the likelihood now he would go to Heaven was 100%. “Yeah,” he laughed, “Thanks.” He had to run then so I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and forgiven in the front. I said I would pray for him each day and he said “Yeah, thank you.” I said, “You’re welcome,” As he grabbed his black puffy coat and hit it down the hall. “Thank you, thank you,” He called back and he was gone.

 Daniel was sitting at the other end of the school near the tunnel that goes from the BIC into the MAC arts building. He seemed to be killing time and it was 45 minutes to the next class. He was dressed all in black. Black fleece, black sweats and trainers. He had a flat lifeless mop of hair, looked like a regular guy, Latino, couple day’s growth of light beard. He was a good dude, upbeat and tracked well with everything. He had gone to years of Catholic school but when I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he thought about it and said, “I’m not too sure.” He thought he had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. He did not know what Jesus had done to take away his sins. I explained the righteousness of God earned by the perfect life of Christ and His blood shed to save him. I suggested that was symbolized in the mass the wafer was Jesus body given for him and the wine symbolized his blood so when he took it he should just say, “Thank You.” I explained how “God got paid” by the perfect life of Jesus. He died and paid for all the imperfect things we had done to damage God’s world that we owed God something perfect for. I explained that only God could forgive sins and that was Catholic doctrine. I compared confessing to a priest to buying insurance for your car from an agent. When you wreck your car you call the agent and he says he’ll notify the company and they will be in touch but we don’t expect the agent to pay, the company pays. God is the company. He liked all the examples and when I asked if he wanted to be forgiven or thought something else he said, “Yeah, forgiven.” I said there was a prayer he could pray, and asked if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently and he nodded and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained living by the Spirit inside out. He did not have a Bible so I gave him one showing him the “Where to Turn” section and writing his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave him Bible Promises for You and a Bible study and said I would be praying for him. We hit it off and talked a bit and he was thankful and I headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob