Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope ya had a great day walking by faith!  I had a really good day at school being led by the Spirit and trusting in Him.  I got a couple good seeds planted, giving books to a couple guys who were close (Rob, white curly haired kid, and Shelton a fair skinned African American guy) and then Leo and Ulysses prayed to receive Christ.

Leo was sitting on the first floor of the BIC in a lounge behind a frosted glass wall that separates it from the hall way.  I like to look for students there since I can’t be spotted from the hall by some bureaucrat who could call the cops on me.  Leo said he would answer some questions and was a friendly catholic guy whose church attendance had fallen off a little with College scheduling, like a lot of peeps.  He had a Boston Red Sox cap on and was into baseball.  Small, friendly looking, thin guy with two days growth of beard on him.  He thought he’d go to Heaven “‘Cause I’ve been a good person most of my life”.  So I explained to him that to get into Heaven you had to be perfect and about the work of Christ.  He believed and he hadn’t really been able to say how God took away his sins, so the Gospel was a new idea.  But he wanted to be forgiven, and after I offered him a prayer he could pray, he prayed with me to receive Christ.  So that was great.  I explained Romans 8:28 to him “It’s like if a guy in the outfield drops a fly ball so the runner tries to steal from third, but he picks it up and throws him out at home, no one remembers the dropped fly ball.  They just remember the great throw.  God remembers what he has made our lives into, not our sins. (Heb. 8:12 ) I got his e-mail to send him more stuff and gave him a Bible study on the deity of Christ and More Than a Carpenter to read.  I explained the work of the Holy Spirit in living the Christian life.  He was really appreciative and thanked me, so that was great.

Ulysses was sitting in the science building lounge on the first floor, up against the glass wall.  He was a good looking guy, slight and thin, straight short hair.  Once he told me his name I asked him is his girlfriend was “Kat”.  He said yes and I said I’d met him real quick before when I’d been talking to her, that had been last semester.  She hadn’t prayed to receive Christ as she’d considered herself a Christian, but I’d given him a booklet to read as I left and he had sat by her for the last part.  I had felt prompted to pray for them and had off and on for a while.  So it was cool to see an answer to my prayers.  When I asked him why God should let him into Heaven he thought for a minute and said, “”Cause my purposes in life were morally good.”  He was pretty certain he would go to Heaven and attended a Catholic Church.  But he hadn’t heard the Gospel clearly before though he knew God had sacrificed Himself to take away the sins of the world. after going through the Gospel with him I asked him if, when praying for forgiveness, he had been trusting in his own goodness or in the Death and resurrection of Christ.  “I never really thought about it.” he replied.  So realizing that he need to, he prayed to receive Christ as his Savior.  I explained the Holy Spirit to him too, and I gave him a copy of the Student Edition of The Case for Faith to read and a Bible study and got his email.  As I got up to go he said, “Thanks for all this.” And I said, “You’re welcome” and told him I would keep him in my prayers.  I’ll pray for Kat too.

So thanks so much for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance.  Please pray for Leo and Ulysses that they might grow in their faith.
In Him,
Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, I hope you had a blessed day hanging in the Spirit and it brought you some joy.  I had an excellent day being led around by the Spirit on campus and two Black students, JT and Kirk, prayed to receive Christ in the P.E. building.

The first guy I talked to David (white guy with a scruffy 2-week growth of beard, kind of happy go lucky looking dude) did not come to Christ.  He was raised a Lutheran but his parents left everything open ended for him, so he was not sure what to believe.  But I gave a copy of The Case for Easter and he was excited to get it, saying, “I’ll definitely read this!”  So that was great.  I had most of the stuff I carry emptied out of the satchel I walk around with, since I am not supposed to lift anything yet after my Hernia surgery a week ago.  The Case for Easter is a small book.

Then I talked with JT who goes to Life Changers Church a couple towns north of here.  It used to be on the radio as an’ ask the pastor show’.  I heard it a few years back and the pastor seemed like a kind person.  JT is a pretty big guy, plays defense for the football team, shaggy beard, shorter hair under a ball cap, good looking face.  He had heard the Gospel in some form and believed God had a plan for his life. When I asked him why he should go to Heaven he said, “Because I believe in God’s plan and I always have.”  So after I had gone through some bible verses and explained things I asked him, “When you pray for God to forgive you, are you thinking you are basically a good person and haven’t done anything horribly wrong?  You go to church and God is a good God so he would forgive you, or are you trusting in what Jesus has done for you on the Cross and knowing that is why you would be forgiven?”  He replied, “Now that you mention it, it’s the first one you said, I have thought about it before but…” and he basically went on to say he’d figured he was good enough.  I explained he hadn’t received Christ then.  So I read through a prayer with him and asked him if he would like to pray to be forgiven based on what Jesus had done for him and he said he would.  We were sitting a bit away from everyone else and the lounge is pretty big so he prayed audibly to receive Christ so that was great.  I explained to him the Holy Spirit’s work in living the Christian life.  He was really thankful, shaking my hand.  He was really into the NBA and so I gave him a copy of Playing with Purpose with the testimonies of some NBA players in it.  It was the heaviest book I brought, too, so I was glad to give it away right away.  He took a Bible study and gave me his e-mail and thanked me again and I told him I would be praying for him.

I was still in the same lounge and I looped around the staircase and saw Kirk.  He was sitting on a bench under it (it’s a big staircase). JT was out of earshot with his back to us so I asked him if he’d answer some questions about God and he was up for it.  Kirk was a bit smaller than JT, bit of a chin beard and mustache, shorter hair, good looking kid, athletic.  He said he went to church way down on 103rd in Chicago.  He was trusting in his moral goodness to save him as well, saying he would get into Heaven because, “I’ve done everything right my whole life, never done everything too bad.”  But after I had gone through the Gospel with him I asked him if he was trusting in his goodness or the work of Christ for him in similar words to what I had spoke to JT.  He replied something like, “When you put it that way I’ve been thinking I was good.”  I reminded him of what he had said earlier, saying that matched and then said if he wanted to he could pray to be forgiven, walking him through the prayer.  He was really interested to do so and did.  I got his e-mail to send him stuff too and gave him The Case for Easter to read.  He was appreciative too and I headed out.

I spent most of the rest of the time talking to peeps I had already gone through the Gospel with before and with a girl Lucia who had come to Christ last year.  I often see her, and try to encourage her. telling her I am still praying for her.  She wants to be a math teacher.

So I had a good day back.  Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance.  God blessed in my weakened post-surgical state..

In Him,
Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

How was your day?  Hope you were blessed by Him.  I had a good day walking around and Raquel prayed to receive Christ.  Just as I had about 20 minutes or so before I had to go, I was walking past the vending machines on the second floor of the science building and Raquel’s brother Chris asked me if I had a nickel.  I said I had a quarter and gave it to him (I carry them for the lockers at school) he then gave me some pennies.  I laughed and turned around and Raquel was just sitting at the table about to eat what she had warmed in the microwave and said she would answer some questions while she ate.  She ended up having a bunch of questions for me as we talked about purgatory and that only God could forgive sins not a priest.  Chris ended up listening in, sitting with us.  She even got him to heat her food up a bit more and as he walked away she smiled and said, “He wouldn’t do that for me if you weren’t sitting here,” having corrected me that he was her brother not her boyfriend (he’d bought her some chips so I figured wrong).  She said she prayed every day and was thankful for even small things “Like food.”  I pointed out that, for a lot of peeps in the world, food was no small thing and she agreed.  And she agreed with the Gospel too and so did Chris (I worked him into things) but he thought he’d been trusting in Christ.  But Rachel said, “I ask for forgiveness all the time, but I never thought about what Jesus did.”  So I said what she need to do was to start a relationship with God based on what Jesus had done for her on the Cross and I walked her through the prayer in the booklet I had been using part of to explain the truth to her.  I told her she could pray it quietly in her heart.  I could tell what she had said had given Chris pause, so I offered him a booklet and said he could pray the prayer just as one of commitment sometime to be sure.  And he seemed to like that idea.  I gave them both books and a Bible study and got their e-mails.  Raquel took a copy of Enjoying Your Walk With God and Chris wanted it too but I only had one with me so he took the student edition of The Case For Christ . So that was really great.  I told them I would keep them in my prayers.  Then Raquel had to run to work and I had to hit it, so we all ran off.

I had some good conversations and touched base with some of the peeps who had trusted Christ earlier this year.  It is always cool when they are happy to see me.  So thanks for your prayers for the ministry today and for evangelism if you had the chance.  God was faithful.

In Him,

Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, I hope your day was blessed by the Lord.  I had a good day talking to peeps about God and a Roman Catholic guy named Alex prayed to Christ.  Kind of an odd coincidence, since a girl named Alex came to Christ yesterday.  He looked kind of like a young Franky Avalon, if his eyes were a bit narrower and his hair a bit bigger.  Alex was sitting upstairs in the MAC arts building overlooking the lounge below.  He was extremely mellow, though grasped what I was saying to him and asked good questions.  Hopefully he wasn’t too mellow.  When I asked him why God should let him into Heaven he said, “I’m your son.”  But he continued to struggle over it, not satisfied with his answer, and asked me what I would say.  I told Him, “Christianity is like a blood transfusion.  I have A+ blood, so if you have A+ blood and gave me a transfusion I’d be great, but if you have B- blood I’d be dead.  God wants to transfuse His life into you, to actually live inside you with His Spirit.  But to do that He has to take away your sin, make you His type.  Then you are perfect and holy inside and God can live inside you.  So I would say to God, ‘Because you took away my sin’.  The question then is, ‘How does God take away your sin?’  But he did not know.  So I went through the Gospel with Him and at one point I said he needed to believe and he replied, “I believe.”  But he had never asked God to forgive him based on the work of Christ.  He said he wanted to be forgiven.  I walked him through the prayer and he prayed it.  He was really grateful and I gave him a Bible study and a book, Who is Jesus… Really? So I’ll look for him some more on campus.  He is a musician.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry today and for evangelism if you got a chance. I’m glad for the help.

In Him,

Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and brothers in Christ,

Hope ya had a great day walking in the Spirit of the King!  I had a pretty good day teaching peeps God got to talk to me and seeing some of the ones I’ve spoken to before.  Alex was the last girl I spoke with and she prayed with me to receive Christ.  She has brown shoulder length hair, a kind face, like someone you’d like to talk to, sweet personality.  Alex goes to a Catholic church.  She was sitting waiting for a friend to get out of class and fortunately by the time her friend came out Alex had already prayed to receive Christ as she seemed in a hurry.  Alex was sitting in the first hallway down the hall from the most Bureaucratic part of campus, which I skirt for the most part, but we were around the bend.  When I asked her why God would let her into Heaven she thought for a long time and said, “Because I’ve always had bumpy roads but get back up and do the right thing.  I always like to look out for other people, do good things for others.”  But she thought her chance to go to Heaven was only about 60%.  As soon as I began to go the Gospel and read Bible verses to her she was really tuned in.  At one point I asked, “So how does God take away your sin?  What is the really big thing God does with Jesus that takes away the sins of the world?”  She thought for a minute and guessed, “Confession?”  I explained that the priest was God’s agent, “He is telling you God forgives you but only God can forgive sins.  And God can forgive them because of what Jesus did.”  After I had gone through all of it and she said she would want to be forgiven I asked her, “Well, you really didn’t understand all this before, right?” and she agreed, shaking her head.  I explained she needed then to ask God to forgive her based on what Jesus had done for her on the Cross, trusting in Him.   I read through the prayer with her.  She prayed it then silently and was really grateful, thanking me.  I talked to her about the work of the Holy Spirit, giving her some verses to look up.  I gave her a Bible, as she did not have one, for which she was very appreciative.  I also gave her a Bible study and the student edition of The Case for Christ as she had had a religious studies class and I thought it might help undo any damage from that.  As I got up to go she thanked me again and I said I would keep her in my prayers.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance. The Lord guided me by His Spirit.

In Him,
Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Hope you had a great day walking with Jesus.  I had a good day today and Junior prayed to receive Christ.  Everyone was a no show at Bible Study.  That’s the breaks of late.  Community college students are pretty easy going in their commitments.  We are fine with whatever God brings though, so Ellen and I talked for 40 minutes and each ate a cookie.  As we got up to leave, Gil, who prayed to receive Christ this year walked in so I walked over and talked him through some of the Bible study I’d printed up and we talked for about an hour until he left for class.  That was good as he sent me his email to get some more stuff.  I headed out as I had to get my guitar to go to my lesson that gives me student rights on campus (not that great yet).  Junior, from Ghana, was sitting on the window ledge in the doorway out to the lot and I felt prompted to talk to him.  He was a good-looking guy, dark skinned with a pretty heavy colonial accent to my ear.  He had a shorter afro and a bit of a goatee.  When I asked him why God would let him into Heaven he said, “I’m a Christian, I follow God’s way… go to church, what’s in the Bible, knowing that why shouldn’t you let me in.”  So kind of a less miraculous version of Matthew 7:22.  But this kind of response isn’t uncommon and often, after hearing the Gospel because the student I am talking to thinks of themselves as a Christian and knows Christ died, they will assume they have been trusting in that regardless of their previous response.  Junior had a similar one but I reminded him what he had said, and explained what I meant again and asked him what he had been trusting in.  He thought for a moment and said, “In my own goodness.”  So I offered him a prayer he could pray and having said he wanted to be forgiven and prayed it.  So that was great.  I gave him a copy of More Than a Carpenter to read.  I also gave him a Bible study on the Deity of Christ and got his email to send him some more things later this week.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and may God bless you this week as walk by His Spirit.

In Him,

Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I hope your day was filled with God’s guidance as you walked in the Spirit.  I had a good day on campus, preaching the good news and Shane prayed to receive Christ as his Savior . He had short hair, receding a bit at the temples, and a faint growth of a beard.  He goes to a Lutheran Church in Winfield not far from where I live.  Pretty straight up normal looking guy.  He runs track at COD.  He was sitting in the PE building killing some time and said he’d answer some questions.  He said he thought God would let him into Heaven because he believed and was sure he would go.  He knew Christ had died for his sins, but still tuned into the Gospel closely and as I finished said he would want to be forgiven.  I asked him if, when he prayed for forgiveness, he just figured he was a good guy and God would forgive him, he went to church and stuff, or if he thought that he was trusting in what God had done for him with the Death of Christ on the cross.  “What should I be thinking or what am I thinking?” he asked.  “What have you been thinking?” I replied.  “The first one you said,” he responded.  So I explained that he really had not received Christ.  I’d already told him I grew up in the Lutheran Church and so I said, “You know when you are a kid you go to church with your parents and do what they do, but you’re in college now, you’re a man, and you have to decide what you believe for yourself.”  He agreed and I walked him through a prayer he could pray where he told God he wanted to accept His forgiveness and receive Christ, telling him he could pray it in his head.  He took the prayer from me and prayed it and smiled.  I said, “Hey, your sins are forgiven, not because I say so of course but because that is what the Bible teaches.”  He smiled and nodded.  I explained asking for the help of God in everything by the Holy Spirit living in him.  I found out he was really into the NBA and gave him the book Playing with Purpose and a Bible study on Christ’s claims to be God in the NT.  We talked for a while.  He was a great guy, and when I got up off the adjacent couch where I’d been sitting to leave he stood to shake my hand and thanked me and was visibly happy.  That was great.  I got his email to send him stuff but must have copied it down wrong as it came back, so I’ll look for him next week to see if I can get it again.  Please pray I find him so I can send him another Bible study.

I had also had a long, encouraging conversation with a French speaking girl from the Congo.  Her name was Gypsia,  and she knew Christ.  She’d been saved in Africa.  It was good to hear her story of how God had brought her to faith.

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

In Him,
Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Well, I hope your day was blessed walking with Christ.  I had a good day sharing the faith with the peeps on campus and Michel’le [mish e lay] Jemile [Jm eel] and Xander prayed to receive to Christ today.

Michel’le and Jemile were sitting side-by-side in the BIC building, killing time between class.  They were dating (I have walked by them before sitting close to each other holding hands or whatever.)  But today they seemed alert and in the moment, so I asked if they wanted to answer some questions and they were cool with it.  African American students, Michel’le had braces and full lips with her hair pulled back, brown tints, really bubbly.  Jemile was a good looking guy, kinda short, with a bears logo backpack, afro, little goatee and wisp of a mustache.  They were friendly.  It seemed Michel’le went to church more often and knew the story of Christ as I went through it.  Both had been sure they were going to Heaven but were trusting in being good (and recognized this later) though Michel’le with more of a religious spin on hers (I’m trying to do His will, what He wants me to do, be an honest person.)  Jemile just thought he was good enough.  I explained they had to be perfect [Matt 5:48] as their heavenly Father was perfect and they agreed no one was and this would mean everyone went to Hell.  They paid close attention to the Gospel and both trusted Christ as their Savior and prayed to receive Christ.  Jemile did not want anything but the booklet, but Michel’le took a copy of the book Enjoying Your Walk with God to read and I gave them each a Bible study.  I also got Michel’le email address to send her more things.

Xander was sitting having just finished lunch, looking outside at the counter that runs the length of the cafeteria.  It is a good place to find peeps as they sit alone and no one can tell what I am talking to them about as my back is to the room.  Xander was at the end of the counter and was happy to talk.  “Sure I’ll do that,” he said really cheerfully.  He is Asian, short hair, boyish good looks, taller, perfect skin so it made him look a bit younger.  He went to a Catholic Church in St.Charles.  He said God would let him into Heaven because, “I gave back to the people, I did what I could.”  Not sure exactly what that meant unless he is really rich.  Sounds like something you’d say if you came from a poor neighborhood and turned into a millionaire.  He was a really nice guy.  He tuned right in to the Gospel, but wasn’t quite sure how to answer when I asked him, “What is the really big think God does with Jesus to take away the sins of the world?”  He thought for a while and guessed, “Confession?” a bit hesitantly.  I explained, like I have before to peeps, that only God can forgive sins [this is actually Roman Catholic doctrine] and the priest is like an insurance agent you buy car insurance from.  When you wreck your car the agent does not pay, the company he reps for pays.  The Priest can only tell you your sins are forgiven by God because of what God does through Jesus.  Then I explained the Gospel to him and the imputed righteousness of Jesus and he said, “That make a lot of sense.”  I explained he needed to receive Christ, to trust in what He had done.  Xander wanted to do that, not feeling sure he had trusted in that before as his answer before would suggest.  He prayed to receive Christ and was really happy about it, which was great to see.  He was really into the NBA so I was glad Jemile had not been into it or wanted the book, Playing with Purpose since I only had one copy and I gave it to Xander.  It had Jeremy Lin on the cover so that was cool as he seemed into him.  (Which reminds me, I need to put more extra books in my truck.)  He gave me his email to send him a story and a Bible study too so that was great.  He seemed really grateful and glad and I said I would see him in Heaven.

So Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance.  God blessed my day and I’m grateful for your help.

In Him,

Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Well, I hope you had a good day walking with the Lord.  I had a pretty good day out sharing the Gospel, and Madelene prayed with me to receive Christ.  She is African American with a bit of an accent from overseas.  She had full features, nice, average looking girl with long braids past her shoulders.  She was waiting for a ride at the doors by the book store and I asked her if she would answer some questions.  After I asked her why God would let her into Heaven she said she did not know, so I launched into the Gospel.  She was attentive and asked some questions.  She went to Church regularly but had never asked to be forgiven based on what Jesus had done and I could tell the story was novel to her.  So I pulled out a booklet to show her a of couple verses (having already quoted several others to her) and offered her the prayer that she read through and she asked, “Should you say ‘Savior and Lord’ or ‘Lord and Savior’?”  I explained, “Most places in the NT the word for Lord means ‘God’, so once you think about it that way it does not matter.”  She was fine with that finished reading and I said, “You could pray the prayer now.”  She hesitated, but once I said she need not pray it out loud she was fine with it and prayed to receive Christ.  She borrowed my phone then, and found out her ride was not coming.  “I need a bus schedule,” she said and so I walked her toward student activities.  She took a Bible study from me but said she was sure she would not have time to read any more books.  We talked as we walked about where to get them on line more cheaply.  She wanted to attend Elmhurst college and I talked to her about the Greek sorority on campus that had a scholarship that usually worked there and pointed her to student activities to ask about that.  I left her once we were in sight of the Student activities office, as I try not to appear within eye shot of the bureaucrats therein.

I bumped into some other peeps who knew the Lord or who I had talked to before and it was a pretty good day since Madelene prayed. 🙂

So thanks so much for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism on campus today if you had a chance, God was Good.

In Him,

Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

How was your Friday?  Hope you were blessed walking with Jesus.  I had a good day doing evangelism on campus and Jimena, a Latina girl, prayed to receive Christ and Cherise, an African American girl, committed to Christ.

Jimena was sitting on some couches against the wall just 20 feet down from the student activities window.  But it was late in the day so I thought I could get away with talking to her without the cops being called on me by bureaucrats who would be concerned with getting out the door for the weekend, and it worked out that way.  She had thick, brown hair, parted on the side and was small, pretty face, bright smile.  Her grandmother used to take her to church but her parents did not go so she had stopped going.  As to why God should let her into Heaven she said, “I’ve never done anything to hurt…” Then seemed to remember someone she’d hurt and changed to “I’ve never committed any crimes or done anything that wouldn’t let me into Heaven.”  She was interested to hear the Gospel though, and afterwards she believed in Jesus and said wanted to be forgiven with this smile on her face that kind of said, “What do I get,” like she had won a prize.  So I walked her through the prayer she could pray to ask for forgiveness and receive Him and she prayed to receive Christ. I gave her the Student Edition of The Case for Christ to read and a Bible study.

I felt compelled to go over to the PE building at the end of the day and found Cherise and Dreyloen [dry lin] sitting together (they were a couple).  He had a mustache and a small goatee and sharp, straight features, good looking guy.  Cherise had fuller features and had dyed her afro brown.  It was pulled back behind a hair band.  She was cute.  Dreyloen said, “She’ll do it,” volunteering Cherise to answer some questions about God.  He answered them too and professed Christ and knew he was “a sinner” and was trusting in Christ to save him.  But his correct answers to my questions did not change the things Cherise said.  When I asked her why God should let her into Heaven, ” she’d say, ‘I need a chance… and that I did all good things, not a lot of bad things.'”  So after she heard the Gospel she said she believed and wanted to be forgiven.  She hadn’t heard it before, but both of them had attended church.  She did not want to pray then though, possibly because her boyfriend was sitting right there who has said he was trusting in Jesus to forgive him.  I asked her if she believed in Jesus and she got a big smile on her face and said she did, so I am hopeful she received Him.  I gave Dreyloen Playing with Purpose and Cherise the Student Edition of The Case for Faith to read.  And that ended my Friday at school.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism yesterday if you had a chance. God blessed my time at school and I had several encouraging conversations with Christians too.

May God bless your weekend!

In Him,

Bob Bollow

To donate to college ministry:
http://www.razoo.com/story/Third-Watch-Ministries-Nfp