Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I had a good day today sharing and Senovio prayed to receive Christ as his Savior. He is Roman Catholic and said he goes to Church every day. He wants to be a Professional Soccer player and works out constantly. He did not think about Jesus as his Savior. He thought he would go to heaven because he kept the Ten Commandments. I explained that this was great and pleased God and he should want to please God but his good works would not take away his sins or get God to love him more. When I had gone through the gospel with him and asked him if when he asked God to forgive him for his sins if he thought of what Jesus had done for him on the cross to forgive him he thought for a moment and he said, “I had never thought of that before”. So I said if you wish for God to forgive your sins based on what Jesus has done all you have to is ask Him and accept His forgiveness telling him you are grateful for His death for you on the cross to forgive your sins. I showed him the prayer explaining this and he prayed while I sat on the floor at his feet. I gave him More Than a Carpenter and a Bible study and talked to Him about how God might Glorify Himself through his efforts and how he should seek to depend upon the Holy Spirit. He really seemed to have Joy and told me to stay on “My Mission” encouraging me. I said I will and I would pray for him and gave him my e-mail and said if he ever had a prayer request to send it to me and I would be faithful to pray. He shook my hand and I said I will see you in heaven. He smiled and agreed.

I had a long conversation about truth w/ a strange character who was raised Roman Catholic and decided to become Jewish and thought he wanted to be a Rabbi. He was wearing a Yamaka. He was convinced the Bible had all kinds of contradictions in it but could not name one when I pressed him. He basically told me I could not prove anything I said saying subjective and societal values were what was right and wrong. I said he had basically just laid out the philosophical basis for the Holocaust. We were sitting by a bridge that connects 2 buildings and I said if I had an engineering degree I could sit down and have a conversation about the structural integrity of the bridge. We could talk about trigonometry the temperance for the steel and the likelihood built as it was that it would last 20 years. Now you could say well what if a tsunami hits it? Now I can’t say absolutely that can’t happen but as we are about 1500 miles from an ocean I can say with huge probability it won’t same with an earthquake as we do not get the magnitude earthquakes around here to threaten a bridge, but it is not absolutely impossible, some construction worker towing a crane he thought was not erect could strike it and take it out but also unlikely. There is no such thing as zero probability. But within a certain set of givens that engineers could agree upon we could say it would be definitely there in 20 years. All truth claims in conversation work on an agreed upon set of givens or there is no point of contact in which to have a dialogue. If you don’t believe in Math you don’t believe in bridges. I pointed out History had similar givens as he was trying to suggest I could not prove Jesus had even existed as many people had that name in his time. I said there were other adjectives attached to Jesus name like his town of origin or that he did miraculous works so it is clear in Historical literature who is being spoken of, and there were within the parameters of a certain set of givens sound reasons to believe the claims about Jesus in the NT. He was a real know it all and yet had not read anything and in the end just said he was a Nihilist and it did not matter what the Torah actually said or if it had any contradictions as it was more important what he got out of it. I said German Scholarship took similar positions on Biblical criticism and then wondered why no one wanted to read the Bible anymore in Germany. He never quite got it but hopefully he left a bit less sure that he knew what he was talking about.

Well thanks for your prayers God guided me and gave me words today. Please pray for Senovio to grow in Christ.

Blessings in Him,
Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Had a pretty good day today, Alissa prayed to receive Christ with me. She was sitting on the floor at the end of the hall [because the construction ends the hall] on second floor with her friend Carly. They were waiting to get into class and said they would answer some questions about God. Carly had fuzzy boots and Alissa’s were covered with something like sequins, so hey. Both had brown hair, cute girls. Alissa struggled with the question of what she would say if God asked her “why should I let you into heaven” but Carly just said she didn’t believe in God. I asked her how long she’d felt that way and she said after thinking a minute, “since the 5th grade.” I asked her what was going on then and she said her grandma had died and she just had bad feelings in church after that and kind of blacked out a few times during services. She said she went through confirmation and stuff but nothing stuck. Alissa couldn’t make up her mind on the question and asked me what I would say. So I went through the gospel with them both in my own colorful way quoting a lot of Bible verses. Carly was attentive too. When I was done, Alissa said, “well then I would say Jesus.” I wrote that down and asked her, “Well, has there ever been a time in your life when you asked God to forgive you for your sins because of what Jesus has done for you, ’cause what I said seemed like it was pretty new to you?” She said she hadn’t so I pulled out a booklet to show her a prayer she could pray and she said she wanted to ask for forgiveness for her sins and prayed telling Carly not to look at her as she did, which was kind of sweet. I asked Carly then if she would like the booklet and she said she would so I gave her another one and they both also enthusiastically took More Than a Carpenter to read from me when I offered then a Free Christian book. I gave then a Bible study and then their class was starting so they had to run in so I promised them I would pray for them. I’m going to pray that Carly believes.

So thanks for your prayers today. Please pray for the girls if you get a chance.

Blessings in Him,
Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well today was kind of a drag. I got hassled by security again and then the campus cops showed up. My problem seems to be one lounge where some busy body ladies who sit at a circular desk and have nothing better to do like to call the cops on me. Once there is a complaint the campus police have top come “hassle me” in their words to look like they have checked into it. The one cop was a little apologetic saying he respected what I was doing and I explained I had been walking around talking to students about God for 10 years at COD and never had a complaint until this year. I had only talked to 2 students b4 this, both were Christians so neither complained. So he more or less acknowledged that it might have been a complaint from somewhere else and that staying out of that lounge would probably solve my problem. He said I should check with student activities or whatever and I said I already had. There are no, for obvious reasons, rules for having conversations with other students. This is why I signed up for a class, so I am now a student. He said I should sign up for a table, I declined since that would mean I basically did not talk to anyone and they have rules for tables so then they can hassle me more. Since I had done nothing wrong and was having a conversation about God there was little they could do so I walked over to another part of campus. It’s a big place but it jerks your chain more than a little and makes you look over your shoulder all the time wondering if someone is going to cut you off and give you an authority lecture. The Cops were actually respectful and kind enough to me if not a bit over cautious, the security they replaced had given me some grief but they dismissed him.

So Thanks for your prayers, I got away anyhow for today. I’ll be staying out of eye shot in that lounge for a while.

Blessings in Him,
Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I had a great day today sharing the gospel one girl, Kristina, prayed to receive Christ. Two others I think believed or I got a good seed in, Ryan and Lauren.

Kristina was sitting in an over-stuffed chair looking out the windows by the revolving doors in the SRC building. She just thought she was a good person and would go to heaven because of it, went to a Catholic Church. She was responsive and I redirected her thoughts on the Mass to the cross and told her to think about Jesus sacrifice for her and thank Him when she took it. She agreed to that. I know the Mass is sketchy doctrinally in many Catholic Churches, maybe all but few Catholics pay attention to the words and I am not going to get someone out of a Church after they just met me and I’m not sure that would be wise even if I could for various reasons. I think the Holy Spirit will move many Peeps that pray to receive Christ out of the Church they are in, if they are not hearing the gospel there. But there are Evangelical Priests flying under the radar according to R.C. Sproul who believe faith alone saves you, and outside of a headship issue– well I would just say God can use Trinitarian Churches if they are not prosperity gospel or some lie like that and they will not be crippling to new faith even though doctrinally they are off base some. Kristina prayed to receive Christ I slipped around the corner to get a drink and leave her alone to do so– as I do when it seems like it might help. I gave her More than a Carpenter to read and a Bible study.

Ryan was also Roman Catholic, big guy reddish short hair. He asked to keep the booklet I had used part of to share the gospel w/ him but said he would pray (after asking if he could keep the booklet) once a friend had walked up and was looking on, I said sure and when he stood up he shook my hand and thanked me. That act seemed sincere and so I think he truly believed. Lauren was outside smoking so I had just put on my coat to walk to another building and seemed to want so company and agreed to do my survey. She was really a lovely girl and tracked really well w/ me and said she had helped a lot of people and was sure she’d go to heaven. After I went through the Gospel with her she said she’d like to be forgiven but didn’t want to pray w/ me, she’d known me all of 8 minutes so I’m actually surprised most people do pray with me sitting there, it’s God obviously. I said something like, “no worries you can keep the booklet” and I thanked her for talking to me as she shivering began to walk back to the doors and she replied, “ha you just made my day”. So I hope she believed and did receive Christ. She was going to Church when she was with either of her parents who were divorced but not as much w/ her mom of late so I think this too says God might be at work in her heart.

So thank you so much for praying if you got a chance. I’ll head out tomorrow too.

Thanks for your prayers,

In Him,
Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thanks for your prayers today if you had a chance. Two guys came to trust in Christ to pay for their sins and make them right with God Eric and Julian. Eric was sitting in the health sciences building in a lounge on the second floor at the west end. He is Vietnamese. He said he had heard me do a survey with his friend a while back but seemed to want to do it and it came out that he had started going to a Bible study with some friends at a house more recently. When I asked him why God should let him into heaven he said tellingly. ‘Because I wouldn’t want to be separated from you.” But as I went through the Gospel he did not know how God took away his sins. Just as I showed him the prayer he said he believed but, “I have to be in class like right now, I’ll be sure to pray this. I grabbed him a copy of More than a Carpenter and a Bible study and he reached out to shake my hand and said “Thanks Bob” and ran to class. So I’m sure he is in a good study and God will continue to bring him closer to himself.

Julian was below on the first floor same corner. He goes to a Lutheran Church and listened to the Gospel and believed in God but after talking him through the gospel he didn’t know either how God took away his sins. He said he would want to be forgiven. I asked him, “Well this all seemed pretty novel to you so do you think there has been a time in your life when you asked God to forgive you for your sins because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross.” His reaction was interesting he held one finger in the air about chest high from a sitting position and thought and said, “I haven’t done that.” So I offered him the prayer and said I was going to get a drink if he wanted to pray for a moment and I walked down the hall and he finished as I walked in. I explained the Holy Spirit in the Christian life to him than I gave him the student edition of The Case for Christ and a Bible study and headed out saying I would keep him in my prayers.

Thanks again for your prayers if you had a chance. I had a couple other pretty good conversations today that God may use as seeds.

Thanks for your prayers,

In Him,
Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I had a great day today sharing though almost every student I spoke with ended up being a Christian. 4 out of 8 were not and two, Tyler and Monique received Christ. Tyler was sitting on the floor in the hall of the health sciences building eating a foot long Subway sandwich of some kind of solid meat drinking something blue in color. He had a Ski doo hat and shirt on and was totally into snowmobiling, wanted to go to Alaska. We had a used snowmobile that would have been considered a joke now days when I was a kid; his dad was up in the UP sledding as we spoke. He went to a UCC Church about 20 minutes away. We talked about winter and crazy stuff people do on sleds that go 120 MPH, but according to him get great gas mileage– who knew right? He was a good, big guy, glasses. I went through the gospel with him. He had been trying to be the best he could be and hoped that would get him into heaven but said he wanted to be forgiven so I asked him if he had ever asked God to forgive him for his sins because of what Jesus had done for him on the cross and he said, “I haven’t done that yet.” So I explained a prayer he could pray to accept God’s forgiveness and give him eternal life and asked him if he wanted to pray it quietly in his heart and he said, “Yeah, I want it.” And he prayed to receive Christ. I gave him The Case for a Creator as he said he was interested in science and A Bible study on the Deity of Christ encouraging him to start reading in the book of John.

Monique goes to St. Luke’s. She was a quiet kid sitting around the corner from the lounge where we have Bible Study, cute kid brown hair. She struggled a long time with why God could let her into heaven, she was unsure and finally went with because of all the positive things I’ve tried to do throughout life. She is the kind of person I become hopeful as I am speaking to her will receive Jesus as her savior. She focused in on the gospel and though she had to run to class still prayed with me. I encourage people to pretend I’m not there and pray quietly in their heart. She did. I gave her More Than a Carpenter to read and a Bible study and she ran to class w/ about 4 minutes to get there.

So Thanks for your prayers today for the ministry if you had a chance. Prayer makes all the difference. I’ll be going out tomorrow b4 our Bible Study and Wed we are going down to Moody Founders week.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Hope you had a good day today. I had a good day sharing the faith on campus and two students believed in Jesus, Chris and Heather. Chris was just eating some Asian food in the cafeteria, he said he would do a survey for the Bible Study group we got and it turned out he liked to rock climb so I told him some stories and how a guy I knew almost died, and about some others who did. I went through the gospel with him; he was from a catholic background. Short military haircut good guy. He hadn’t been to church in 4 years, he figured. But after we talked for a while and I’d told him the gospel I asked him if he had ever asked God to forgive his sins because of what Jesus had done for him on the cross. He said he might have somehow in Church as a kid, "I prayed whenever everyone else did," he said with a grin. I asked him if he had ever done it where he had thought about it as an adult and he smiled and said no and wanted to pray to have a relationship w/ God and did. He said he only had a children’s Bible at home and so I gave him one and a bible Study and More than a Carpenter to read. He was appreciative as we walked out I told him I would keep him in my prayers.

Heather had "like 4 minutes" before class but wanted to talk and I kind of raced through the gospel with her helping her understand stuff. She wanted a Bible but I hadn’t run out to the truck to get another after I had given the one I had to Chris. She seemed kind of disappointed but I promised I would look for her and have one for her next week. She was sitting out in the open in the Health Science building lounge so it seems likely I can find her again. I did give her More than a Carpenter also and a Bible study and asked her if after what I said she Believed that Jesus had died for her sins and rose from the dead and trusted that this is what made her right w/ God and she said she did so I touched her shoulder and said well then I can tell you that your sins are forgiven. She got a big smile on her face and ran off to class. So please pray I can run into her again and get her a Bible, it has worked out before so hey.

I tried to talk w/ a girl last week but she spoke almost no English so I gave her More than a Carpenter to read. Today I found her again, she spoke just a bit more, she was taking English classes and said she had read a little of the book, or understood a little, it was hard to understand. Her name is Mohera [might be spelling it wrong] and it turns out she speaks Russian and is from Uzbekistan, she missed home. So I tried really hard to communicate a bit more w/ her since she was friendly. Pretty girl she said she married her husband 2 years ago and he brought her here, they live in an apartment and are Muslim. So I am going to get ahold of my friend Sergey Rakhuba who runs Russian ministries in town and get some kind of materials for her to bring home if he thinks it is a good idea. Frankly I read an article about Canadian honor killings tonight that gave me pause but one book or two should be ok as it seems her family is far away.

So thanks for your prayers. It seems God is still willing to use them and me as well.

In Him,
Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Well, I had a couple pretty good talks with students Anastasia who was raised Russian Orthodox and didn’t know who God was anymore. She’d lost 4 friends in an accident and had landed on being good and hoping for the best, she didn’t know if she believed in heaven, didn’t go to church. I felt like I connected w/ her some, told her the gospel and that God loved her. Tried to help a bit.

Alex was a cute blonde Jewish girl sitting eating spaghetti and meatballs in the lunch room. She went to Temple every week and said most of it was not in English. She really tracked with the gospel though and said she hadn’t understood b4 how God took away her sins. She said, "That was good I really understood it and I could relate to the examples you used." She said it wasn’t like going to Temple where she did not understand anything. So we talked a little more and I showed her a prayer to ask God to forgive her sins based on what Jesus had done that I had contrasted to the Jewish sacrificial system earlier saying if it was in her heart to ask it was a place to start with the Lord. Then she took a copy of the student edition of The Case for Christ from me so that was great. But I think she had accepted the verisimilitude of the gospel and I blessed her and I hope it was a good seed planted. I’ll be praying for her.

Thanks for your prayers,

In Him,
Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thanks for your prayers today I had a couple of good conversations and Kristin Prayed to receive Jesus a her savior. She’s African American cute little athletic girl in sweats. She didn’t know how God took away her sins but then the story of salvation seemed a bit familiar to her as I explained the Gospel to her. I asked her if she had ever asked God to forgive her sins because of what Jesus had done for her on the cross and she said no. So I invited her to do so and showed her a prayer to receive him, believing He was God and had died for her sins and thank Him for His forgiveness. She said after she prayed to receive Christ that she had known a little but she had never committed to Christ b4. She said her Church had not taught her the gospel and she didn’t get anything out of it but I encouraged her to pray that God would show her more every time the Bible was read in Church. She took The Case for Faith from me and I gave her a Bible study, invited her to ours and got her e-mail to send her stuff. She thinks she might be able to make Bible study.

I had a several other interesting discussions with a girl in recovery and encouraged some other Christians.

Thanks for your prayers and for coming along if you had the chance.

In Him,
Bob