Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a blessed day walking with God in the Spirit of Christ. I had a good day on campus and Ethan and Sara each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray they grow in their faith. Yesterday a Muslim girl Nadene heard the Gospel [I forgot to mention her]. She had glasses and long hair, and oval face, and was up on the 3^rd floor of the science building, seemed pretty Americanized. I don’t think she had read the Quran. She said it was the best explanation of Christianity she had heard and took the booklet. Thanks for your prayers. Ethan and Sara’s stories are below if you have time.

Ethan was sitting in the PE lounge at the long table there alone. Four other students were at the far end. He had a couple books out with a receipt on them he must have bought for class, he described himself as a reader. He was tall and thin had a red t-shirt on and a pencil width mustache, his hair was receding around a U-shaped center section slightly. He was very direct in his questions and responses. He said went to a Bible Study that met in the library (I had never heard of) but agreed to do a survey. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Because I’ve been living a really rough life. I have autism—it’s really hard to get by. I’d be homeless if I didn’t have certain people in my life.” On the spectrum he seemed pretty highly functioning talking to me, he just seemed a bit abrupt. It turned out he lived with his parents. He looked 18 and was waiting for his sister to finish classes whom he said was very pretty and shorter than him. She drove him to school. He had a special advisor to guide him as to what classes to take. He was anxious to get some independence so I recommended he look for work at school that might fit his schedule. They had him taking 3 classes however so he might not have had time, but he said he’d check with his advisor. He read off the questioner before I could ask the next question, “What do you think of Christianity in this little booklet?” Replying to the question he said, “I just follow the Bible.” I said the booklet was basically Bible verses and taking it out I began to go through the verses with him saying there were 4 points. He was focused and attentive through the entire thing. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins so God could live inside him. “He forgives you?” he guessed. I said He did and began to go through the atonement and the cleansing blood of Christ, saying it was how God got paid. Before I could explain the righteousness of God I usually stick in right about there he said, “OK what’s the 4^th point?” So I turned the page and began to explain that he received Jesus by faith, believing He was God had died for his sins and rose from the dead. I said “your good stuff doesn’t fix your bad stuff but God can turn bad things into good things because He controls the future.” I quoted Rom. 8:28 then.  “OK,” he replied. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins so God could live inside him or thought something else. “God live inside me,” he replied. I said that if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I explained it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he said. So I said he could pray it silently and God would hear and he’d be forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Yeah,” he said without hesitation. He took the booklet then and prayed to receive Christ. I explained living by the Spirit’s transforming power asking God to change him on the inside. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I said we’d skipped a question and he said he’d seen it and said, “50%,” as the likelihood he would go to Heaven. I explained the righteousness of God then and that, trusting in Jesus righteousness to be his, the likelihood now was 100%. When I explained Strobel’s booklet The Case for Christ Answer Booklet  he wanted it to read so I gave him that and a Bible study. I told him I would keep him in my prayers and got up to go saying I would see him in Heaven and he said, “Thank you sir.” “You’re welcome,” I replied and headed out. Had he not said so I would not have guessed he had autism.

Sara was sitting on the second floor of the MAC Arts building lounge on one of the sofa chairs against the wall. She was Polish, born here but grew up there some, she said and hoped to return to visit relatives. She had tight wavy hair that had grown out 5 inches from where the blonde began. She had a grey hoodie on with some colorful images on it and wore jeans. She had a backpack next to her with some stuffed toys attached that might have been Pokémon. She had a pretty slightly wide face with a pointed chin as I sat down. When I looked back she was covered with a black mask and she said she was immune compromised. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven.” “That’s hard,” she replied. “I would love to see my grandfather.” It turned out he was something of a war hero in WW2 and he had been her favorite relative. She was Catholic but now only went only to Christmas and Easter Mass crediting Covid lockdowns for the change, something several students have said this year. She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. When I said God had to take away her sins so He could live inside her I asked what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away her sins. ‘He was crucified,” she replied without hesitation. I explained the Gospel, the blood and righteousness of Christ and receiving Christ by faith saying this was by faith. “So if someone were to ask why should God let you into Heaven you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me’. Not just that you knew the story from hearing it as a kid but that that’s what you put your trust in as an adult.” I said the Bible taught faith saved her and asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done so God could live inside her or if she thought something else. “Life entrusted to Christ,” she said, using language I had not used. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and read it explaining it and read, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” She nodded. I said if she wanted she could pray it silently. “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and then you’d know you were forgiven. Wanna do it?” She nodded again finishing with a “Yeah.” She took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her (when she’d finished) living inside > out by the Spirit’s power. I said now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I told her I would be praying for her for the next year. “Thank you,” she replied. I got up to go saying, “Nice to meet you.” and she said, “Nice to meet you too, God bless.” And I headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you took in a little sunshine. There’s a chill again in Chicago but sunny today. I had a good day on campus and Miles and Aaron each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Please pray they grow in their faith. Thanks for your prayers. Their stories are below if you have time.

Miles was standing in the foyer at the doors in the northeast corner of the BIC building. He had on a grey newsboy hat and a blue pull over sweatshirt zipped open at the neck. He wore khaki green pants. He had a diamond shaped face and looked to me like a British taxi driver. I asked if he wanted to do a student survey and he said “Sure.” I said we could sit right there. He said he’d been thinking of being an atheist but then decided faith (specifically being Catholic) had value “even if there was no objective proof there was a God.” “I can give you an objective proof there is a God,” I said. I went on to explain to him “You are breathing right now though you are not making a conscious decision to and you have trillions of cells in your body reduplicating though you do not tell them to do it and have no conscious knowledge it is happening. Every 7 years your entire body of cells replaces itself. There must be a knowing entity outside of you directing your body to do this, as you do not do it. That is God.” “Oh ok,” he replied. “The Bible says that if God stopped thinking about you, you would cease to exist. It says he holds the world together by the word of His power, a word is a thought.” He acknowledged this made a lot of sense. I said I had a book he would like then and dug around and found The Case for Christianity Answer Book [basically the long version of the booklet I give everyone.] He went to photograph it and I said he could “have this one” and wrote his name in the front. He took it gratefully and laid it aside. I said he could search for “Y-Chromosome Adam” and he would discover that even evolutionists acknowledge everyone came from the same single man. They say he was part of a group that only his line survived but the Bible says who he is. We went back to the survey then. I asked one thing he would want to do before he died and he said, “I want to have a decent understanding of the Bible.” I asked what he would say to God if asked why he should be let into Heaven. “I would say I learned from my mistakes and I wanted to make something of my life.” I asked him what the likelihood he would get into heaven. Saying he did not know what all the rules were for what is considered bad but he thought he might have a 60% chance. I began to go through the Gospel with him and he asked me to repeat several stories and metaphors after I explained something. I explained the Trinity as a perfect plural being and we were also plural beings though imperfect. I explained that God’s actions to make things into good might be unclear to us because we were unfamiliar with what he was trying to accomplish. He brought up the end of the last Superbowl. If you did not know what was being attempted it might look unproductive to call all the time-outs.  I agreed. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus’ payment for his sins or if he thought something else and he said he would want to be forgiven. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He looked at it and said, “Well… Yeah, yeah it does.”  I said he could pray it silently and he said “Alright.” He took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I said the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in the righteousness of Christ to be his righteousness was 100%. I had already explained living by the Spirit and so I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I suggested the Mass to be symbolic of what we had talked about. I then told him I would pray for him each day until next Spring. “Yeah thank you,” he replied and headed off in a rush.

Aaron was sitting in the computer lounge I walk through as I leave. He was a big Filipino guy with longer hair on top pulled up and really short sides. He looked like a linebacker and had kind of a wide face, goodlooking guy. He wore a yellow hoodie and black sweats. He was sitting alone at a table and the rest of the lounge was empty. He said he’d do a survey. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I go to church every Sunday,” he said without missing a beat. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. He went to a Catholic Church called Christ the King. I began to go through the Gospel with him and said that Eternal life was “knowing God” which meant that He lived inside you with His Holy Spirit. I said God had to take away his sins to make him his type (purified) to live inside him.  I asked what was the big thing Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. He looked a bit blank so I added, “What did He do to save you?” “I know this just give me a sec.” he replied thinking hard. He couldn’t think of anything so I began to explain that Jesus was perfect then seeing the cross on the page he said, “He died for our sins.” “Right,” I said. But then I explained the payment in blood, righteousness of Christ and believing by faith and the rest. Finally I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else. He said he wanted to be forgiven so I said there was a prayer he could pray and explaining it I asked, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” “I think it does, yeah,” he said with conviction. I said he could pray it right now silently. “OK,” he said and taking the Booklet he said, “Thanks.” He prayed then to receive Jesus. I explained then that the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in the righteousness of Christ to be his righteousness was 100%. “Paul says not by His own righteousness would he go to Heaven but by the righteousness that is by faith,” I also said. I told him to read in John and explained life by the Spirit’s power. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave him a Bible study and I gave him the shorter Case for Christ Answer Booklet. We talked some more he was going back to the Philippian Islands in December having not been since he was 8.  “I definitely turned you down once before,” he said [about doing a survey]. “Oh I hope I didn’t piss you off,” I replied. “No you were cool this was definitely good.” I said I’d see him in Heaven figuring I’d be there first. “You never know,” he replied and we talked about the 2400 extra people dying each month in American society. “But you don’t have to worry,” I said. “You’re going to Heaven!” “Yes sir,” he replied with a smile. And I headed out to my truck.

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

Blessings and Prayers,

 Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was filled with life and peace. I had a good day on campus and Dan prayed with me to receive Jesus. I went through the Gospel with a Muslim girl, Roshie who took the booklet and Bible Promises for you. So the seed was planted And I know God lead me to her. She was a kind listener, pretty and petite, she was studying to be a doctor, had no head covering. Please pray Dan grows in his faith and the Gospel begins to ring true to Roshie. Dan’s story is below if you have the time.

Dan was sitting under the stairs near the entrance to the Book Store. He had a curly blonde head of hair, kind eyes pointed chin. He was wearing a grey hoodie and jeans. He was sitting next to Jeremy who prayed to receive Jesus last year and it turned out they knew each other.  Dan said he wanted to climb Mt Everest. I asked him what he would say to God if he died and God asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I don’t think that He’d let me into Heaven,” he replied. “I don’t think I could convince Him. I haven’t done enough good man.” I asked him what the likelihood he would get into Heaven if God was merciful. “10%”, he replied. It turned out he worked at a local church where Ellen and I had gone and had just been helping with the kid’s ministry there. I went through the Gospel with him and asked him did he “know what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world?” He just nodded unconvincingly and it seemed he did not. “Well, this is how it works,” I replied. I began to go through the blood of Jesus to purify him and as a payment for his sins and the righteousness of Christ to his credit and finally saying he was saved by faith and not by good works. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or if he thought something else. “The Jesus thing sounds like that’s the way,” he replied. Jeremy had gotten a phone call a couple minutes before and walked away. So I said that if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I read it through explaining it. I said he could pray it right then and know he was forgiven and going to Heaven. He said Ok and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. When he finished I explained the Christian life where he could ask God to change him on the inside and live by the Spirit’s power “Inside Out.” I said his sins were forgiven not because I said so but because Jesus did. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside and said I’d be praying for him for the next year and had been praying for Jeremy (who had returned) since last year. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study. And we talked a bit with Jeremy and I 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 Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and your car is out of the slush somewhere. I hear it is even snowing in California. I had a good day on campus Wednesday and Rico prayed with me to receive Jesus. Please pray he grows in his faith. Thanks for your prayers. His story starts below if ya want to spend the time.

 Rico was sitting in the sofa chairs along the wall in the Big Gym size lounge of the SSC. He had a black watch cap on and a black zip up lightweight jacket, brown pants and brown lace-up casual boots. He wore a tie around his neck so he might have had a speech class or something to present at school. He looked like an everyman kind of guy, clean shaven diamond shaped face he was Latino. I asked him if he died what he would say to God to get into heaven. “That is hard, these are thinking questions.” He thought for a minute and said, “Because I lived my life as He would have wanted me to have.” I asked him the likelihood he would go to Heaven and he said “40%, I’m not too confident of that.” He said he went to Catholic Church every Sunday. I went through the Gospel with him and I explained that God wanted to live inside him but would have to purify him of sin so he would match God and he said that made sense. So I asked him what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away his sins and the sins of the world. “He died on the cross,” he replied. I said, “He died for you, right,” and began to explain how Christ’s blood cleansed us and also was a payment to God for our sins. I told him Jesus had earned the righteousness of God and that righteousness could be ours by being adopted by God. I explained this was the symbolism in the Mass, the wafer His body and the wine His blood and he agreed that it was. I said he needed to receive this by faith. “Not Just know the story from going to Church but that that’s what you put your trust in so that if someone asked why should God let you into Heaven you’d say, ‘Because Jesus died for me. That would mean you had faith in Jesus. And the Bible says it’s by grace you’ve been saved by faith.” I asked if he wanted to be forgiven or thought something else. He said something like, Forgiven with Jesus. I said then there was a prayer he could pray and explained it. I asked if he thought it was the desire of his heart and he read it again and agreed it was. I said he could pray it silently and be forgiven, “Wanna do that?” “Yeah sure I’ll give it a go,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. When he’d prayed I said the likelihood now he would go to Heaven was 100% trusting in Jesus’ righteousness to be his righteousness. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I told him that Ephesians 1:13 says that as soon as he trusts in Christ the Spirit would enter him and seal him and always be with him.  I explained living by the Spirit’s power and told him faith was a gift and if he needed more faith he could ask God for that. I gave him a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet to introduce him to Strobel. I also gave him a Bible Study and explained it a bit. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. I said, “Nice to meet you,” and he reached out and chook my hand. “Nice to meet you too,” he replied. I got up and said, “I’ll see you in heaven and he said “Ha yeah,” with a smile and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from above. I had a good day on campus and Chris and Will prayed to receive Jesus today. Please pray for them to grow in their faith and trust in Christ. Thanks for your prayers. Their stories are below if you have some time to read.

Chris was sitting in the cafeteria at a table alone. He was messing around on some kind of online game when I asked if he do a survey about what he thought about God. He had an oval baby face and was Latino friendly. The shadow of where a mustache would grow in was the only thing that would have given away his age. He had stick straight hair cut short and pointing up on top. He wore a “Class of 2021” hooded grey sweatshirt and some charcoal-colored sweats with red, white and blue high-tops. He was a kind hearted, laid back guy, not that tall but pretty solid. I asked him what he would say if he was killed by a bus, stood before God and was asked why should I let you into Heaven. He said,” I’d probably say, ‘I saw the good in everyone. I never wished anyone harm or anything, regardless of how they treated you or anything.’” He thought he’d have an 85% chance of going to Heaven. I asked if he went to church and he said he just started going to Catholic Church every Sunday.  I began to go through the Gospel with him. I was explaining how God had to take away his sins to live inside him and asked, “What is the big thing that Jesus does to take away your sins, and the sins of the world.” He thought of a second and said, “I have no clue.” So I explained the Blood of Christ to cleanse him and be a payment to God for his sins. I explained the righteousness of Christ and explained later that was the symbolism behind the Mass—the wafer symbolic of Christ’s Body and the wine symbolic of His Blood. I said he could be forgiven by faith and asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else. “Be forgiven.” He replied. I asked do you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the dead? Do you believe that is a true story?” I asked because he had just started going to Church and didn’t seem to have put it all together before. “Yes,” he replied so I said that if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I walked him through it asking if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said it did so I said he could pray it silently and God would forgive him. Wanna do that?” “Yeah he replied and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to him, he said they had several Bibles at home so I encouraged him to read in the book of John. I said the Christian life is living inside out by the power f the Spirit to transform him and then he would do good things. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside of Bible Promises for You and I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and told him Strobel had more stuff on YouTube. We talked some about the world and how things were going. I told him that the likelihood he would go to heaven was now %100 trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be His righteousness. I told him I would be praying for him each day through a year from Spring. He thanked me shaking my hand and as I got up to go I said, “I’ll see ya in Heaven.”

Will was sitting in the seats that line the corner as you exit the tunnel from the PE building into the BIC. He too had smooth kind of baby face; roundish more oval I guess. He was African American but had kind of fair skin and a smaller nose. His hair was cut short and came out in equidistant dots all over his head. He wore a light grey hoodie and black pants. He seemed kind of tired. He said he wanted to leave his mark on the world, like a “family or a legacy”. Both his parents worked at a big city church I had heard of before. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. “I would say that, ‘In my life I ‘ve grown a lot. I’ve gone through my share of problems and challenges and I’ve tried to keep your word. In this next life I would strive to become better than I was before.” He thought he had a 70% chance of going to Heaven. I began to explain the Gospel to him and he knew Jesus had died. I explained that the blood of Christ had cleansed him and was the payment to God and the righteousness of God was too his credit. “You don’t go to Heaven because you’re good but because Jesus is good and you’re connected to Him. Like if you marry a millionaire you got a million bucks and if you get adopted into a billionaire’s family you get to live in the mansion and drive the cars. So God adopts you and he gives you the blessings of his family. He gives you the sacrifice for your sins the blood that cleanses you and the righteousness of God that surround you. So you got some place to go Heaven and something to wear when you get there—the Righteousness of God.” He leaned in to take in the verses and I told him he was saved by faith not works. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done to forgiven him so God could live inside him and give him strength or if he thought something else. “Be forgiven for my sins,” he said. I said there was a prayer he could pray silently to be forgiven and read through it and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was so I said he could pray it silently. “Wanna do it?” “Umhumm,” he replied and he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I looked down when he was praying and looking back he seemed to have finished praying and has reading the next page a bit. I asked if he was finished and he said, “Yeah.” “Your sins are forgiven,” I said. “Not because I said so but because Jesus says so.” I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven trusting in the righteousness of Christ was 100%. I explained the Christian life living by the Spirit’s power, Inside Out.” I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and forgiven and gave him a Bible Study. He got up to go so I quickly gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I said I would be praying for him through a year from spring. “Alright, thank you,” he replied and headed to class.

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 your day was a blessed one and you found your mind set on things above. I had a good day on campus and Janet prayed with me to receive Christ. I got a seed planted with JP who was sitting on a chair in the hallway as I walked out. He was from Brazil had a thin mustache, a narrow face and a snow cap on. “This is beautiful,” he said when I had explained very briefly salvation and showed him there was a prayer he could pray and explained it. I gave him the booklet and Bible Promises for You and said I would hope to talk with him again. Please pray for them. Janet’s story is below if you have some time.

Janet was on the 1^st  floor of the BIC sitting alone in the hallway on the North side. She had a few highlights in the front in otherwise dark hair and a cute diamond shaped face. She had large lensed near round frame glasses, pinkish in color and wore shredded black jeans, a grey sweat-shirt and black high tops. She said she wanted to have a family. So I asked if she had a boyfriend and she said she did. “Is he a good prospect?” She said she thought so though he was older than her. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “Hmmm, because I’m always very helpful to people, going out of my way to help them in whatever way I can.” She thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven and went to a Catholic Church. She listened attentively to the Gospel and when I asked her what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world she said, “He died on the cross.” I agreed and began to walk through the verses teaching her how Christ’s blood had cleansed her and also was how God was paid so He was just. I explained the righteousness of God through Christ. I then said that this was the symbolism behind the mass and she recalled that the wafer was symbolic of His body and the wine his blood. As I finished I said that all this God had done for her and was hers by faith where she could become a child of God. “If you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the dead, not just that you knew the story growing up with it but that that’s what you place your trust in when you are an adult to be forgiven.” I explained then Eph. 2:8&9 that she was saved by faith. I asked her if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done for her so God could live inside her or if she thought something else. “This one!” she said pointing at the circle with God inside. So I said there was a prayer she could pray to be forgiven and I talked her through it asking if this expressed the desire of her heart. “It does yeah,” she replied and so I said she could pray it silently and asked, “Wanna do that?” “Yeah,” she replied and I said , “Just pretend I’m not here,” and she prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life living “Inside Out” transformed by the Spirit. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside which she liked a lot. I also gave her Strobel’s The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study she liked. I told her I would pray for her each day until Spring and all next year asking God to bless her with a Bible verse and she was appreciative. I asked if she had any questions and she said she could not think of any and so I said she could email me if she did. “Thank you so much,” she said. I said she was welcome. She then added happily, “Thank you for your time, you’re so sweet.” And I headed off.

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 your week was blessed and the snow storm passes beneath you as it has seemed to do us in Chicago to the south. Niko and SarahMary each prayed with me to receive Jesus Thursday and so 6 students prayed to receive Jesus this past week. Please pray they each grow in their faith and love for the Lord. Their stories are below if you have the time.

Niko was sitting on the bench against the glass that looks into the corner lounge at the doorway on the northeast corner of the BIC. He had a mop of curly brown hair and wore black sweats. He looked a little like better looking version of Steve Guttenberg the comedian. He was a nice guy friendly, a couple clicks bigger than me. I asked him one thing he’d like to do before he died as part of the survey. “Recently I’ve dove into my faith, I’d like to find God before I die,” he answered.  It turned out he had been an atheist when he got to school in Missouri last year but his roommate was a devote Christian and persuaded him to go to church there. I asked him, if he died, what he would say to God to get into Heaven. “I think that up to this point I treated everyone with respect. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I give everyone a fair shot.” He thought he had a 75% chance of going to Heaven. As I went through the Gospel with him I said that in order for God to know and live inside him God has to take away his sin, purify him and make him “His type”. “What’s the big thing Jesus does to take away the sins of the world?” I asked him. He could not think of anything. So I began to explain the Gospel to him, Jesus blood to cleanse him and as a payment for his sin and the Righteousness of God earned by Christ, He is our Robe of righteousness. He periodically would comment “Right.” Agreeing and seeming to take it in like he was saying, “OK.” As I finished explaining your good stuff could not fix your bad stuff I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or if he thought something else.  “Life with Christ,” he replied. So I said there was a prayer he could pray if he wanted to be forgiven and after explaining it I asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was so I said he could pray it silently right now and I wouldn’t hear but God would hear and he would know he was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Yeah definitely,” he replied. “Just pretend I’m not here,” I said. He took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him the booklet then and explained living the Christian life by the Spirit’s power, “Inside Out”. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave him a Bible Study explaining it a bit. I talked with him about some apologetics around evolution and gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and recommended looking into Strobel’s stuff. I told him I would keep him in my prayers each day until a year from Spring. I gave him my contact info if he had any questions. “Thanks for all that, I really appreciate it,” he said. I said “God bless you” and I got up and headed out as he went out the door.

 Sarah Mary was someone I met one day after school while I was hanging out with Alma (We do a Bible Study with Alma some times.) who trusted Christ after hearing the Gospel from me last year. Before meeting her I had asked Sarah Mary to do a survey and she’d said no a few times. I’d bumped into her in the hallway and said hi on Tuesday in passing but was talking to another student then (Noah). Both girls are Africans. Sarah Mary is from the Ivory Coast. Her parents never married. Her dad is here but she came here because her grandmother had immigrated to the US years ago. She is short and pump, hard working. She has a really cute circular face, pretty classic lips, small nose, dark skin. Thursday when I bumped into her in the cafeteria I nearly did not recognize her. She was all dressed up with an African sewn dress (She said, “You send someone there money and they sew it for you) of yellow and black print and rhinestones decorating it. Her hair was braided with long brown and black extensions and bejeweled clips in it. She proudly told me she had done it herself when I said it looked cool. She had a black short cape on, wool with a faux leopard collar. I had been praying I could go through the Gospel with her, so when I started chatting with her I said she had to answer my survey question. She agreed. I asked her why God should let her into Heaven if she died. She said she was good to people. I asked if I could show her the verses that say how you get into Heaven and she said I could, saying she had read the Bible this morning. I began to go through the Gospel with her and she could not think of what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. I explained the work of Christ and His blood and righteousness she could trust in by faith. I asked if she wanted to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else, explaining Islam and Buddhism and then asked again so would you want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus. “That,” she replied shortly and I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I explained it asking if it was the desire of her heart. She read it again and said, “Yes.” I said she could pray it silently, I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she would know she was forgiven. She laughed and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ. I gave her Bible Promises for You showing her some of the topics and then turning to “Eternal Life” I wrote Eph. 1:13 and “100%” saying she was sealed by the Holy Spirit in her and the likelihood she would go to Heaven now was 100%. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and she liked that and I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and put her name in it and gave her a Bible Study. She had to go to class so I said I would see her around and we both headed out.

Thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for Evangelism this past week if you had a chance. God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today and you found strength in the Joy of the Lord. I had a good day on campus and Noah and Sarah prayed to receive Jesus today. So that was great and God was with me. Please pray they grow in their faith. Their stories are below if you have the time. Thanks for your prayers.

Noah was a guy I had seen around school. Though he looked black racially, he had ringlets of hair coming down from instead of an afro. I don’t know if his hair was processed that way or it was natural but it looked like the later. He wore a black hoodie and black sweats, average looking, about my height. He had a thin mustache and wire rimmed aviator shaped glasses, a goatee and jaw line beard. Nice smile and very white teeth. He was leaning against a wall in the lounge area outside the student services offices. He stood at the edge of the Hall going to the Book Store. He did not have a lot of time so I asked him the one main question of the questionnaire. “You’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bust so you’re dead and you stand before God and He asked why should I let you into Heaven? So what would you say?” “I would say I believe in you,” he replied. “So you believe in God?” “Yeah,” he replied. “But what do you believe about Him? Say you are trying to get a girl to go out with you and she says why should I go with you and you say, ‘Because I believe you exist.’ You should at least tell her she’s pretty.” He smiled at that. I asked if he wanted to hear what the Bible says was the way he got into Heaven. “Ok tell me,” he said. It turned out he went to church sometimes with his parents. But they did not go as much lately. I began to go through the Gospel with him. At one point another guy walked past and said, “Class starts in 3 minutes man.” But he just nodded and looked back at the booklet I was explaining to him. As I finished explaining the Blood and righteousness of Jesus, I asked if he wanted to be forgiven or thought something else, explaining Islam and Buddhism a little to give him a moment to decide. “Be forgiven,” he replied. So I said there was a prayer he could pray to be forgiven and talked it through, asking if it was the desire of his heart. He nodded and said, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently and God would hear and he’d be forgiven trusting in Jesus work. He said “OK,” and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I quickly gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside of the cover. I quickly gave him a Bible study and told him I would pray for him. “Thank you,” he replied. “God Bless you man,” I said. “God bless you too,” he said and we walked off in opposite directions.

Sarah was sitting on kind of a balcony with some nice sofa chairs with end tables built in that overlooks the doors. It is near the Book Store entrance on the second floor west of the door. She said she’d do a survey. When she told me her name was Sarah I said, “Did you know your name means princess?” She said she did and I said my sister’s name was Sarah and my dad always called her princess. “My dad did that too,” she said with a smile. She had an oval attractive face, and light sandy-brown straight thick hair past her shoulders. She wore a pale green zip up hoodie and black sweats with some white lettering down the legs. Wore no make-up. I asked her what she would say to God and she said, “Hmm… I would say I always try to be kind to others. I know I didn’t always do everything right but I tried my best to follow His word. But you never know if some small thing had an effect.” I agreed we often could not know the outcome of our acts. She thought she had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven.  She said she went to Church about every other Sunday. Her Grandmother came over to pick up her brother to bring him to church. Sometimes they got her to go if she wasn’t too busy with school. I began to go through the Gospel with her and asked what Jesus did to take away the sins of the world. She thought for a moment and then said, “Well the Eucharist and Confession.” I said that the Eucharist is symbolic of it and the priest forgives you recognizing it and began to explain the Gospel. When I finished explaining how the blood of Christ cleansed her and was a payment for her sins I then explained that the righteousness of Christ was to her credit. I gave her some word pictures and she said, “That’s an interesting way to put that.” I said the Catholic Church teaches that only God can forgive your sins. So the priest is technically not forgiving your sins he is telling you God forgives your sins. He can do that because he knows there was a payment for your sins. She mentioned penance and I said I had heard a priest say it was a way of showing you were serious about your confession. She agreed with this. I said the symbolism in the Mass is that the wafer is symbolic of the body of Jesus broken for you and the wine is symbolic of His blood. So it reminds you, you’re forgiven. I went on to explain we receive Jesus and that this was by faith and read the verses. I asked if she would like to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else. “I would want to be forgiven,” she replied. So I said there was a prayer she could pray and I walked her through it. I asked if it was the desire of her heart and she agreed it was. I said she could pray it silently right now and I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “”Yeah,” she said and then as she held the booklet she asked, “Can I keep this?” “Yeah, sure,” I replied. She prayed then and I explained living by the Spirit’s power “Inside Out” asking for God’s help and transformation. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and she said as I handed it to her. “Thanks so much.” I told her I would pray a line from a bible verse to bless her each day. “That’s nice,” she replied. I gave her a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and she was really grateful for the books. I got up to go and she said “Thank you so much,” and something like, this is great. I said you’re welcome and as I turned she said “Thank you so much, have a nice day.” I thanked her and headed off. So it seemed she was very thankful.

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 your day was blessed with all good things coming down from the Father of Lights. I had a good day on campus and planted a couple seeds and saw Xia and Fisayami  each pray to receive Jesus today. Thanks so much for your prayers. Please pray they will grow in their faith. Their stories are below if you have the time to read.

Xia [z I ah] was sitting with a paint set out and some brushes. She seemed to have recently finished the painting the background for the 6 inch red square canvass she held. She was waving it to dry the paint like a fan for 2/3rds of the time we talked.  She had red/orange afro over her head in two grapefruit sized balls. She had a cute face, was African American her left nostril pierced with a jeweled decoration. She had light brown skin. Classic black features, she had a tiny horseshoe piercing through her gums that showed over her front two teeth. She wore a dark grey hoodie and leggings. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven. “Maybe because I put others before me. I think about others emotions before I act.” I asked her what the likelihood she would go to Heaven before she died. “50/50, I feel like I got a shot. I feel like I got some stuff to work on before I [die]…” she said, not quite finishing the thought. She said her grand mom and her parents were Christians. She knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world when I asked. Saying God would have to take away her sins so He could live inside her. She listened closely to the Gospel and tuned right in. When I had finished explaining the blood and righteousness of Christ as payment for her sins received by faith I asked. “So would you want to be forgiven for your sins trusting in what Jesus did to be forgiven, so God could live inside you and give you strength to live the Christian life or do you think something else? “No,” she said emphatically, “That one there.” And pointed to the circle with God inside her. So I said there was a prayer she could pray to be forgiven and after explaining it I asked if it was the desire of her heart. “Umhmm,” she replied. I said she could pray it silently and asked if she would want to do that. “Ok, “ she replied and taking the booklet she said, “Thank you.” Just before she prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life then to her living “Inside Out” where God would give her the power to live by transforming her on the inside and then becoming a good person she would do good things on the outside. I gave her a Bible study and then Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. “Thanks you so much,” she said taking the book. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her I would keep her in my prayers until a year from spring. I got up to go and she said, “Thank you so much, have a nice rest of your day,” I thanked her and headed out.

Later towards the end of my day I walked past Fisayomi https://www.nameslook.com/fisayomi/ .

She was sitting in the computer lounge I walk through outside of which I park my truck. She was alone in the lounge and sitting against the wall in the sofa chairs that have built in tables that swing into place. She had a programming book out but was just kind of looking at her phone. She was African American and her hair was in 6 inch pencil sized ringlets the ends of which were tinted light brown. She had a warm smile. She was cute and her face was pronounced more forward at the chin and jaw. Her eyes were almond shaped she was a bit darker than Xia. When I asked her what she might say to God to get into Heaven she said it was a difficult question and to help her I suggested the question was really looking for what it was that got you into Heaven. I asked if she went to Church. She said she had. So then she said, “Well being faithful to Him, consistently working on my relationship to God. I don’t know if that gets me into Heaven or not, that’s a whole ‘nother topic on its own.” When I asked her the likelihood she would get into Heaven she said, “35%.” Saying more she said, “In terms of—Heaven. I didn’t do all of that [what they talked about at her church] She said she focused on her relationship with God, “instead of completely following what the Bible says, that’s just me.” As I began to go through the Gospel with her she knew John 3:16. I said God had to take away you sins so He could live inside her and make her His type saying it was like a blood transfusion where you had to match God. “That’s a really good explanation,” she replied. Then asking her what Jesus had done to take away her sins she said, something like ‘He cleanses you.” But this was basically what I had just told her. She expressed she didn’t really know how that happened.  I said He did cleanse her and began to explain the Gospel when she didn’t seem able to add what Jesus had done. When I finished telling her of the blood that cleansed her and the Righteousness of God to her credit, I think some of the story came back to her. I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else and she said, “Be forgiven.” So I said there was a prayer she could pray. I explained it and asked if it was the desire of her heart. “For sure,” she replied. And I said she could pray it silently and she said, “I already did.” I explained living “Inside out” by the Spirit’s power. I gave her a Bible Study then explaining it a bit. I said now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I said I did not know how this might differ from something her church would say but she did not reply so I don’t know what she had in mind. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and wrote Eph. 1:13 in the page with Eternal Life verses saying the Spirit enters you when you tell God you are trusting Him and it is always with you. She thanked me and said she had known most of what I had said but it was a “good refresher”. Since she had not been able to express the most important part of the Gospel it was an interesting thing to say. I let it go and just said, “It was also a chance to commit to it,” She did not disagree. So I said goodbye then saying I would see her in Heaven and if I saw her around I would just give her a wave. She replied with a smile and I headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day and weekend so far has been a blessing from the Lord supplying all your needs. I had a good day on campus Thursday and Nicole prayed with me to receive Jesus. Grace was close to trusting in Christ too (a heavy set girl with short brown hair, nice smile from an Anglican background). So I’ll be praying that she sees the light of God’s word. She could not think of how Christ had taken away her sins.

Please God draws Nicole into a deeper walk with Jesus and Grace to saving faith. Nicole’s notes are below if you have the time.

I was in the big SSC lounge at the exit for Starbucks. I felt a nudge to turn down the hall along Starbucks, it runs sort of southwest. Nicole was sitting in some benches that face each other, designed I think to be on either side of a table. They are against the wall in the foyer entrance to the doorway at the top of the waterfall they turn off outside in winter. She looked to be in her 40’s, had gone to grad school and was picking up a class for something at COD. She said she wanted to travel. People in her age bracket are not common at school and usually turn me down to talk. She had stick-straight brown hair and her oval face was nondescript. I guess she could have been a character on “Little House on the Prairie”. She looked a bit worn out, wore a fleece and jeans. I sat across from her to ask questions and then sat at her feet closer to go through the Gospel. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven. She said, “I believe because I’ve tried very hard to be a good person. I tried to be inclusive when it was not a popular opinion. I tried to volunteer my time and recourses to people who needed it. I tried to help those less fortunate and animals. I tried to live life to the fullest.” She said she was raised pretty religious and was forced to go to Church as a kid. When they got into High School they were able to push back more against their parent’s desire that they should go and went less often. By the time she was through college and then grad school she had a family and never went anymore. She listened to the Gospel and knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. She’d gone to a lot of different Churches growing up, some Roman Catholic. She listened to the Gospel and as I finished telling her of the blood and righteousness of Christ I said the blessings of adoption into God’s family, “The sacrifice for your sins the blood that cleanses you and the righteousness of God that surrounds you,” could be had, received by faith. “So if you believe Jesus is God He died for your sins and rose from the Dead. Not that you just knew the story from when you were a kid but that’s what you place your trust in as an adult to be forgiven. So if someone would say to you, ’Why should God let you into Heaven?’ You’d say because Jesus died for me. If you place your trust in that they you have faith in Jesus. And the Bible says ‘For it’s by grace you have been saved through faith. It’s not of yourselves it’s a gift from God and no by works so no one can boast.’ So you should do good things to please God. You seem to have done a lot. But the good stuff you do can’t fix your bad stuff.” I explained God could turn our bad things into good things [Romans 8:28]. I asked if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else. “Be forgiven,” she replied simply. So I said if she’d want to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talked her through it asking if she’d want to pray it silently. “Sure,” she replied. She then prayed to receive Christ. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave her a Bible study on the ways Jesus claims to be God in the Bible linking the New Testament to the Old and I gave her Lee Strobel’s Booklet, The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I explained living by the Spirit’s power, “Inside Out” and I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day. I got to my feet to go and she said, “Thanks, have a good day.” I thanked her and headed out kind of amazed really. I get to talk to so few people who are older, sometimes I forget God is at work in any whose hearts have not grown hard in the tasks of life.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism if you had time this past week. 5 people prayed with me to receive Jesus. 25 have this semester

In Him,

Bob