Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a great day and the Joy of the Lord was your strength. I had a slow day the first 90 minutes I could not get a conversation going except for briefly talking up a X-Muslim guy (now agnostic) I bump into once in a while that I am friendly with. Finally up on the second floor of the BIC I came across Daisy sitting in the southwest most lounge on that floor, who prayed to receive Jesus. I spoke with an older student Samantha who appealed to her good works to get into Heaven but in the end said she had already been trusting in the Gospel. So I’m hopeful that gave her something to think about. Please pray Daisy will grow in her faith. Thanks for your help in prayer.

Daisy was sitting in the second floor lounge as I mentioned. She was willing to do a survey. She had on a black fleece hoodie, it was long enough to be a skirt but she was not very big, black pants were tucked into brown winter boots. She was a real cute kid, Latina, kind of a pug nose and had a pair of long thick dark braids that both went up onto the top of her head. She said she went to a Christian Church. She was close to her family, just her parents and one sister. When I asked her what she would say to God if He asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” she said, “Because I do believe that God exists.” “I just talked to a girl who said she didn’t,” I replied—mentioning a girl who’d turned down doing a survey 5 minutes earlier. I asked what she thought the likelihood was she would get into Heaven, “10% is low, 100% you’re sure, 50/50 you got a shot.”  “I think I have a shot,” she said. “I guess no one’s perfect so no one can be sure.” I began to go through the Gospel with her and when I asked what Jesus had done to take away her sin she said, “He died on the cross.” I explained the blood and righteousness of Christ then and that she could know she was going to heaven not because she was perfect, but because Jesus was perfect and His righteousness was to her credit. I explained salvation by faith and asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done so God could live inside her or thought something else. “God inside,” she replied. So I said if she’d want to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it asking if it was the desire of her heart. She nodded. So I said she could pray it silently, “right now, I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and then you would know you were forgiven and going to Heaven. Wanna do that?” She nodded again and taking the booklet prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her then asking if she had a Bible and she said she’d just gotten a Bible. I explained living Inside out by the power of the Spirit. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. “Thank you,” she said taking the book. I gave her a Bible study and The Case For Christianity Answer Booklet. I said I would pray for her each day through spring and for the following year. She thanked me again. Getting up to go I said I would see her in Heaven and she could tell me how things went. “Have a nice day,” she replied. And I said, “Thanks,” And headed out. She was a sweet kid and I felt blessed.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a good week and the Lord has made His faithfulness clear in your heart. I had a goof week as 5 students in total prayed to receive Jesus. On Thursday, though delayed again by clearing my driveway of snow, Sabas (Sebastian), a semi-pro soccer player prayed to receive Jesus. I also had an hour long talk with Abbey.

Abbey’s mother had died when she was young, leaving her an agnostic, sexually active and denying the Christian values she grew up with. When we parted I had given her The Case for Christianity Answer Book she was touched to get and a side-by-side hug. I gave her my contact info if she had any questions. She had auburn colored hair an oval face and was a bit heavyset. God helped me make many points with her. As we got up to go another student walked up and asked me for my card to talk sometime. She talked then about her mother and he said, “She’s still with you.” I said the Bible says “there is a great cloud of witnesses watching us in the Book of Hebrews”. “I just got chills when you said that,” she replied. She’d been looking for something miraculous to tell her there was a God and I think God was beginning to answer. I told her I often asked God to say hi to my dead father and mother or to tell them thank you for me for something. I said we were told not to talk to the dead because we could not be sure if we were talking to a loved one or an evil spirit impersonating them. But we can talk to the dead in Heaven through God. I told her what Jesus had said about Him being the God of the Living. I felt directed to that lounge and went there expressly looking for someone to talk to in the computer center. When I arrived she was the only one there and was willing to talk. Please pray for her and Sabas. His story is below if you have time.

 Sabas was sitting in the cafeteria eating area when I came across him. I’d prayed for God to lead me to someone a bit after I had arrived and felt a nudge to go to the cafeteria. I’d been headed the other direction toward the Book Store and turned around and headed to the cafeteria seeing it in my head sort of. That happens sometimes.  Sabas was a good looking guy, slight build and had two tone hair sort of a mop with bangs, otherwise classically Latino in hair coloring he had light brown tints that seemed random. He had a pencil thin mustache and a bit of chin hair, a narrow handsome face with sharp features. His left arm had two dark bands of tattoo making stripes around his arm (possibly it covered something he no longer wanted seen. Closer to the wrist there was a cross on an angle, 2 by 3 inches. He wore a white T-shirt with some printing on it and blue nylon sweats with stripes down the sides. He sat at a table alone. He said he’d do a student survey. I asked what he would say to God if asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?”  “Not only [because] am I Catholic,” he replied, then thinking a second he added,  “I know going to Church and praying does not make you go to Heaven… but I pray.  I do a couple prayers before bed, before I eat as well.” I asked the likelihood he would go to Heaven when he died. He at first said, “I’m not too sure, I’d confess first… 60-70%” then said, “I didn’t really do anything that would be [sic] going to Hell.” Then he added its 70%, the high 70’s” he said changing his mind a bit. He listened to the Gospel and when I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins he said, “He died on the cross.” “Right,” I said and then explained the way Christ blood was how God got paid so that He was just to forgive us. I explained that it was by grace we are saved by faith not by works so no one can boast. “So we should do good things to please God, I’m sure God is please that you are praying to Him, but the good things you do don’t fix your bad things.” He shook his head in agreement to that. “Say you got a girl friend for about 3 weeks, you thought she was pretty cool but then you find out she’s cheating on you and stealing your stuff. So you cut her loose. Then she comes around in about a week and she says, ‘Sabras, I know I did you wrong. I was even stealing your stuff and selling it for drugs but I just want you to know—I’m gonna be nice to my next 3 boyfriends.’ You’d say yeah that doesn’t help me at all,” and he agreed with a grin. “But some people think that way but God says he’ll turn your bad stuff into good stuff.” And I quoted Romans 8:28 to him saying God controlled the future. I asked then if he would want to be “forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done so He could help you with everything in life” or thought something else. He leaned in and pointed at the circle with God inside. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I read it through asking if it was the desire of his heart. “What?” he asked. I repeated is the prayer something you would want to be forgiven. He paused and read it through again and said, “Yeah.” So I said he could pray it silently if he wanted to and He took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I talk through the Christian life with him explaining God giving him power to live by the Holy Spirit. I explained that he could pray for God to help him see the field in Soccer or anything else he needed to do. Then if one day he won a championship and someone put a microphone in his face and said ‘how’d you do it?’ you can tell them it was Jesus and God will get the glory.’ He nodded in agreement. I said God would give him as much help to succeed as would be good for him and that some people were destroyed by success so God could only give them so much of it.  I gave him Bible Promises for You and I wrote his name and the date and forgiven. Also I gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and a Bible study and told him I would be praying for him. I also pointed how the Mass was symbolic of what Jesus had done and so when he took it he should just say thank you. I got up to go and he said, “Thank you very much.” “Oh you’re welcome,” I replied. “God bless you.” “God bless you as well,” he said and I headed off.

So 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 Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you are tucked in somewhere warm and comfortable if you’re in a cold state. I had a good day on campus and Kelly prayed to receive Christ. The other students I spoke with were Christians. Thanks for your prayers. Please pray Kelly grows in her faith.

Kelly was sitting in the southwest corner lounge in the west science building, on the ground floor. She had stick straight black hair that went well past her shoulders. She wore a pink sweatshirt and had a black winter cap that had square a Carhartt label on the forehead. She had braces on her teeth and an oval face. She was pretty had blocked end eyebrows. She said she’d do a survey after asking how long it would take I said 5 or 6 minutes. I asked her the questions I always do but when I asked what she would say to God she thought for a bit and said, “I wouldn’t know what I would say.” I asked if she went to church and she said she went to 2 different Catholic churches. “What would they say at church was the way you get to Heaven, did they ever talk about it?” That didn’t help any and she said she didn’t think so. I asked the likelihood she would go to Heaven and she thought she had a 50/50 chance. “Would you like to hear some Bible verses that tell you how you get to Heaven?” I asked. “Yeah,” she said nodding. I began to go through the Gospel with her then and asked if she knew what Jesus had done to take away her sin. She did not know so I explained the blood of Jesus as payment for her sins, the Robe of Righteousness of Isaiah 61:10 fulfilled in Jesus as we are clothed with Him Gal. 3:27. I recapped what I said and while repeating Jesus had died for her she said, “a sacrifice.” I think she was remembering some of what she might have been taught in Church (as I had not used the word sacrifice) and I agreed. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in Jesus so He could live within her and give her strength. “Yeah” she replied. I talked her through the prayer and asked if it was the “desire of her heart”. She nodded in reply again and so I said she could pray it quietly and only God would hear, would she like to “Yeah she said. She took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained living “Inside out” trusting in God’s transforming power by the Spirit. She did not have a Bible. So I gave her one and wrote her name and the date and  “forgiven” on the inside, after I showed her some content in the back. She thanked me liking the bible. I gave her a Bible study and Bible Promises for You.  Then her friend Jackie walked up as I gave her The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. I asked Jackie if she knew Jesus died for her sins and she said, “Yeah I go to Church all the time?” So I said, “Well Kelly can explain to you what we were talking about would you like a Promise book?” I showed it to her and she said that that would be nice to have so I wrote her name in the front (they had similar coloring Jackie had browner hair and a longer face. Then, having taken far more of Kelly’s time than I’d said, I said I was sorry to have taken so long. Telling her I would pray for her I headed out and they seemed happy.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from the Lord and you had Joy and Peace and Believing. I had a slow day on campus only finding 2 students to talk through the Gospel with. But Carissa, a pretty blonde girl with an oval face who had gone to church when she was younger took a copy of The Case For Christianity Answer Book saying she was leaning there but not quite there yet. And Osvaldo prayed to receive Christ. Please pray they are both lead into a closer walk with God in Christ. Osvaldo’s story is below if you have the time. Thanks for your prayers.

Osvaldo was sitting in a lounge on the first floor of the BIC just beyond the northwest stairwell. He had a plaid shirt on and jeans and a short flat wavy mop of brown hair on his round head. He was a really friendly amicable guy, friendly face, wide smile.  He accurately described himself as short. He had a slight hearing problem and said it made him loud. When I asked him what he would say to God if asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven he said, “I don’t feel like I should have to plead my case. It’s God he’d know if I should be here or not.” Then pausing while I wrote that down he said in a light hearted way, “It’s God I’m not gonna tell Him He’s wrong.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sin and he said, “He was a sacrifice.” I went through the Gospel with him explaining that Jesus was a payment and that His righteousness was too his credit. Saying that God wanted us to have faith in him I asked if he would want to be forgiven. “Yeah who wouldn’t?” he asked. I added if they had faith and he agreed. I asked “do you believe Jesus was God He died for your sins and rose from the dead. “Yeah. Well I’m Catholic.” So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it and said he could pray it now, “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven.” “Hmm… sure,” he replied and he prayed to receive Christ. When he finished he said, “That’s a nice prayer I like it.” I told him now, “Trusting in Jesus righteousness to be your righteousness the likelihood you will go to Heaven is 100%.” “Thanks so much,” he replied. He said he had a Bible but I gave him a copy of Bible Promises for You and saying the Bible was a big book he thought that it would be a good way to find some verses. I gave him a Bible study on the Deity of Christ and explained to him living Inside Out by the Spirit’s power. He said He’d been in the military and preferred the Bible studies there to the services because they “broke it down more.” I told him I would pray for him each day asking God to bless him with one of the verses from scripture through the end of this spring semester and one year after. He said, “Thank you so much,” for the third time. I also gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. I shook his hand and getting up to go I said, “I’ll see you in Heaven.” “See you up there,” he replied. “I’ll try to keep it up until then.” “You’ll be fine,” I said. “God does all the work.” And he smiled and I headed out feeling grateful such a warm hearted guy had come in.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today with good things from God. I had a good day on campus and Allison and Ishani each prayed with me to receive Jesus. I got a couple of seeds planted with an Asian guy Steve, who wanted to “know the secret wisdom to life” and a guy who seemed to have one foot in the door with Islam, a former Christian, Deagan. Also Alyssa a girl who looked Native American. I gave them all The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet. Please pray Allison and Ishani will grow and the others come to know Him.

Thanks for the blessing and power of your prayers. The stories of those who believed are below if you wish to take the time.

Allison was sitting in the hallway outside the bookstore in an overstuffed chair with a cushioned circular ottoman in front of her. She had a white sweater on and faded light blue jeans. She had straight dark long hair and a round face and wider pug nose, cute. She said she came from a Mexican heritage. I asked her what she would say if God asked her: Why should I let you into Heaven? “I would say… I haven’t thought about that before,” still thinking. In a moment or two she just said, “All I can think to say is to see my family, past family that I lost.” She was kind of answering the question: Do you have a reason to be here? Like who invited you to the party? She thought she had a 67% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with her and I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sin so God could live inside her. She had no idea. She had said she’d been to Catholic Church some. I explained the blood of Christ as a payment for her sins and His righteousness. I said that the real meaning of what was symbolized in the mass was that the wafer represented Jesus Body and the wine represented His blood. “It is commemorating that Jesus died for you and so you are forgiven and should say thank you.” “Wow,” she replied, having never thought about it before. I came to the end of the gospel. I said the last question was would she like to be forgiven trusting in what Christ had done on the cross with God living inside her. I pointed to the circle with God inside. Or did she think something else? I began to explain another option but she cut me off and said, “I believe that, I wanna be that!” Pointing at the first circle with Jesus on the throne of her life. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it asking if it was the desire of her heart saying, “So you wanna do it?” “Yeah,” she replied and I said “Just pretend I’m not here,” and she prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front.  She said something like, “Oh this has all these topics this is helpful, thanks,” flipping through it. I also gave her a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet.  I explained living the Christian life, “Inside out” asking for God to change her and give her strength. “Thanks you so much Bob, I feel so light and warm inside right now.” I told her that was the Holy Spirit letting her know He was in there and she enthusiastically agreed. I told her I would pray for her until a year from spring. We talked some more and she thanked me again and I said I would see her in Heaven though hopefully not too soon and she laughed and I headed out.

Ishani was sitting in the hallway as you turn the corner toward the student services offices on the ground floor. She at first said she had done a survey, so I said it was different and answered the question “So you are walking down the road and you get hit by a bus and you stand before God and He asks: ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say? So it is basically the answer to that. So do you have any interest in that answer or do you already know or maybe don’t care?” She said she would like to do it so we began to talk.  She said her mom was from Burma and she thought she’d like to visit there. She was small wearing black leggings and an oversized blue Northern Illinois University hoodie. She had tinted her hair light brown, which came over her shoulders and had lovely brown skin and a small nose, full lips, very pretty. She said she had gone to Church with her Godmother and X boyfriend each Wednesday and Sunday for a while. When I asked her the question she said, “That’s a tough question.” Then thinking some more said, “I don’t really have the answer to that.” She thought she had a 78% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with her and asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sin. She said she didn’t know. So I explained the Blood of Christ to pay for her sins and the righteousness of God to her credit. She listened attentively to all I had to say and smiled just a bit here and there. She was pretty meek. I asked her at the end if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done so God could live inside her and give her strength or thought something else. “So would you like to be forgiven?” I asked again, “Yes,” she replied. I explained there was a prayer she could pray to be forgiven and have God inside, giving her strength to live. I walked her through it asking if it was the desire of her heart. “Yeah,” she replied and so I said she could pray it now and “I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and forgive her, would you want to do that?”  She nodded so I gave her the booklet and said, just pretend I’m not here. She prayed then to receive Jesus. When she finished I said now trusting in Jesus righteousness to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. She did not have a Bible and so I gave her one showing her the “Where to Turn “ section and the messianic passages section and I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I also gave her a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I gave her my contact information and encouraged her to ask God for guidance. We talked about the shortages of food and the price of eggs, the Tonga volcano and she said she had some fear about that. I said she could ask God for guidance but he did not guide us with fear but would care for us. She thanked me and I said she was welcome and headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you’ve been blessed this Christmas season with every good and perfect gift coming down from the Father of Lights. We love driving a round seeing all the lights this time of year. My last two days on campus were blessed. Ozzy committed to Christ on Wednesday and Ashley prayed with me to receive Christ Thursday. Their stories are below. If you have some time, please say a prayer for them to grow.

I gave Brad a Bible who I talk to periodically having gone through the Gospel with him earlier in the semester when his hair was shaggy. Clean shaven guy with short dishwater blonde hair. We talked a long time about culture and comics and superheroes last week. I talked about the moral grounding Spiderman has because of the death of his Uncle Ben. If you know the story Ben is like a Christ figure. In as much as Ben’s death becomes the thing that changes Peter Parker into a Superhero dedicated to fighting crime. He off handedly said, “I’d read the Bible if somebody gave me one.” “You don’t have a Bible?” I asked. He said he didn’t. “You want one?” “Sure,” he replied. I explained I had some really nice studies Bibles this year that my friend Pete bought the ministry. I showed him the cross references and the devotional pages and told them there were 99 doctrines listed and where to find them in the front. He said, “Tell your friend Pete I said thank you.” He was pretty disappointed with his Catholic upbringing and I explained he could have a relationship with God by faith and the Church did not have to be a part of that. “If you met the perfect girl and she had a crummy family you’d still marry her. You’d just figure out how to avoid her family as much as you could.” I’d been praying for Brad so I will keep that up in the hope he will decide to have a relationship with God in Christ. I’ll be writing a yearend letter tomorrow. Thanks for your help in prayer this semester.

Ozzy was sitting in the hallway I think waiting for some kind of review or evaluation with his professor. A guy sitting next to him went in while we were talking and another girl walked out as he walked in as we finished, we didn’t have much time. He was a small guy (freshman in high school size) and looked Filipino or Mexican in heritage. He went to a Spanish speaking Catholic Church. He had glasses and a square jaw, good-looking kid, hair swept back on his head short on the sides, wearing shredded jeans patched on the inside and a tan hoodie. He wore black frame glasses, a mini Clark Kent. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven if he’d died. He thought for a while and finally said, “I guess I tried to do things best for myself and everyone else.” He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. He listened to the Gospel and he knew when I asked that Jesus had been sacrificed for our sins. I finished explaining the blood of Jesus to cleanse him and His righteousness to his credit that he could receive by faith. I also explained his good things couldn’t fix his bad things but God could turn all things into good for them that loved Him. I asked him if he’d like to be forgiven or thought something else like what other religions taught. “I don’t know, that’s a lot to take in,” he replied. I said it was but it was really similar to what he had been participating in his whole life at Church. If he thought of the mass as symbolic the wafer was symbolic of Jesus body and the wine of His blood. He agreed. I don’t often find a student who believes the body and blood of Christ is changed by Transubstantiation. He said he was not sure how to say it because it is always said in Spanish but that the priest says that in taking it they are one with Christ. I said that you can only be made one with Christ if you have faith in His works. I explained the prayer to him and he said he usually prayed on Sunday. So I asked, “Do you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the Dead?” “Yes,” he said. “Do you trust in that to be forgiven?” “Yeah,” he said nodding. So I said then that he was forgiven he could just tell God that Sunday. He did not have a Bible in English so I gave him a compact one showing him the “Where to Turn” section and another on Messianic passages. I told him now he could say “thank you” in talking the mass (thinking of it the way Jesus presents it in the Gospels) because he has faith. I gave him a Bible Study and then told him I’d be praying for him. He got up and headed into the classroom.

Ashley was sitting in the hallway just around the corner of the BIC building as you head toward the bookstore. She had long dark brown hair, parted just off to the right, pretty features and a small diamond on her nose. She wore ha hooded coat with faux lamb skin in the hood and a long sleeve white t-shirt with a multi colored logo on the front. She looked like a bit Latina in coloring and said she went to a “Christian” Church. It seemed like she was struggling with her relationship with her family. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and she said, “Hmm,” thoughtfully. “I don’t know, that’s a good question.” She thought some. “I honestly don’t know,” she replied. I asked her then if she went to Church. Saying she did I asked, “What do you think they would say at Church gets you into Heaven?” She thought and said again, “I don’t know.” She said she thought she had a 75% chance of going to Heaven. So I began to go through the Gospel with her. I explained that to know God was to have Him live inside her. She knew Jesus had died to take away her sins. The story seemed familiar to her as I explained Jesus blood and righteousness to her credit. I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done and have God live inside her or thought something else. I compared what I’d said to an Islamic god who can’t be known, is not a Father, does not have a Son; forgiveness is arbitrary as there is no sacrifice for sin. A different god. Or the Buddha, the nearest writings to his life are 2400 years later so we don’t know for sure anything he said. But he was not looking for God but for enlightenment.  “God live inside,” she replied. So I said there was a prayer she could pray to be forgiven and talked it through asking if it was the desire of her heart. “Yeah,” she replied. So I said she could pray right now, I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven? She nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished I said, “You’re forgiven.” She had a Bible and so I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave her a Bible study explaining it. I gave her The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet, saying she might have time to read it over break. In reaching for it I took out a similar sixe book, Pocket Prayers by mistake and put it back. “Do you sell those prayer books?” she asked. I said she could have one and that God was probably trying to tell me to give it to her when I took it out by mistake. It is a Bible Verse and a prayer following using the verse. The author of it has identified with some false teachers lately but the book was written years ago with his wife and is orthodox. We talked for a while about families and the problems of living at home after becoming an adult. I told her I would keep her in my prayers until next spring and then one year after praying a Bible verse for her and she was grateful.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism this semester. I’m truly grateful for them. God blessed and 80 students prayed with me to receive Christ. I got a bunch of seeds planted and in addition 5 students committed to Christ saying they would pray later.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with good will toward men and you prayed for peace or the destruction of God’s enemies by which it would then come. I had a slow day on campus and could not find anyone to talk to for hours until the end of the day. But they have taken up the tables for the weekly college recruiters and it’s pretty close to a ghost town for the most part. Or people are visibly dug in studying for a final so I don’t feel free to interrupt  At day’s end I had only spoken with Sam and he did commit to Christ, saying he would pray at a different time.  He was of course the last person I talked to today and the first. Please pray he grows in faith. His story is below if you have some time.

Sam had just finished his Subway sub, the empty wrapper as evidence of its demise on the table he sat alone at in the cafeteria. He had some time to do a student Survey. He had kind of a baby face mixed with a bit of dock worker/wreck it Ralf, smooth skin, not a big guy. I don’t think he could grow a beard at all. His hair was parted just a bit to the right and went up randomly like straw poking up. He wore generic sweats—blue grey. He wanted to be a businessman and said he’d thought about getting an ecommerce thing going but the shipping went up too high. I asked him what he would say to God if a bus killed him and he was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven. “”Cause I’ve, ah, I’ve lived a decently moral life. I haven’t been decently in touch with my faith but I’ve always believed, Right now I’ve been more consistent, trying to pray every day.” He thought he had a 60% chance of going to Heaven saying he had some stuff to do. I sat across from him and held open the booklet and he silently followed along and when I asked him what the thing was that Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world he thought of a moment and said, “He was crucified.” I explained salvation by faith in the blood and righteousness of Christ and he was pretty much without a change of expression through it all. I asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. “I’d want to be forgiven of course.” I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it and asked, “It says here is this prayer the desire of your heart?” “Yeah,” he said. I said he could pray it silently right then, I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “I don’t have a lot of time right now,” he said. I said no worries, “Some other time.” “Yeah,” he nodded in a way to assure me that he would.  Do you believe Jesus was God died for your sins and rose from the dead, do you think that is a true story?” I asked. “Yeah,” he said without hesitating at all.  And do you trust in that then to be forgiven?” “Yeah,” he said. “So then your sins are forgiven,” I said and we bumped fists and he looked pleased. I offered him a book with Bible verses but he said he had all that kind of stuff already. So I said I’d be praying for him. I said that if he was trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was now 100% and I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism on campus. I hope Sam has truly believed and I will be praying for him.

In Christ,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things as we head toward winter. I had a good day on campus talking with some of the Students. Janelle just began going to Church and did not trust in the Lord yet, (pretty Latina face, full features, short hair, ringlet curls on her forehead).  Quin & Denise prayed to receive Jesus today. Please pray they both grow in their faith thanks for your prayers. Their stories are below if you have a chance. Today I talked with Maritza who I’ve been praying for since last year when she trusted Christ with her sister Yaritza, she needs prayer. They are both in bad relationships with the fathers (whom they have not married) of their children. Please pray they can be brought in alignment with 2Peter 1:5. Small cute Latina girls. They are impoverished and dependent on the state. I gave her good advice and steps to take, I hope by the Spirit’s power she will take them.

I came across Quin sitting in the hall of the BIC as I first came in through the computer building and stopped to hang up my coat. He had 2 inches of loose curly sandy-blonde hair on top, shorter sides and freckles on a clean-shaven, boyish face. He had on a light brown hooded sweatshirt. I asked him what he would tell God to try to get into heaven if he died. ‘That’s a tough question,” he replied while thinking. “I would say that [He should let me in] because I have like put my life in His hands almost every day. I’m trying to impress Him.” I said God had to take away his sins so he would be like God, “His type” like a blood transfusion. Then he would be perfect and holy and match God and He could live inside him. “Makes sense,” he replied. I asked what the big thing was that Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world and he said He was sacrificed. He listened closely to the Gospel and I asked if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else and he said, “Be forgiven.” So I said there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it asking if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied and I said he could pray it now and know he was forgiven and God would live inside him asking if he’d want to do it. “Yeah,” he replied and took the booklet and prayed the pray out loud. We were along in the hallway. When I finished I told him the answer to how likely it was he was going to Heaven trusting now in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness was 100%. I talked him through the Christian life reading the Bible and prayer and asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to transform him. I gave him Bible promises for you writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. “Thank you so much,” he replied taking the book. I gave him a Bible study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. He said it was soon his birthday and I talked about John 3 where Jesus told one of the Jewish leaders you have to be born of the Spirit. I said now he had a spiritual birthday right near his other one and wished him happy birthday. He thanked me again was visibly happy. He went to Catholic Church and so I gave him the original meaning of the Lord’s Supper in the Bible and said when he took it he should just say thank you. I told him I would pray for him each day saying I’d see him in Heaven. “Thank you so much,” he said again and I headed off.

At the end of the day I came across Denise sitting by the first set of vending machines in a lounge. She was at one of the 2 tables in an open area just east around the corner of where I’d been sitting with Quin. She was a Latina girl with pretty features, kind of a pug nose. Her long brown hair parted in the middle around the perfect skin of youth. I seem to notice that more these days as I wrinkle. Denise had a spring green blouse on and a cardigan sweater. She said she had been to Catholic Church as a kid and less so now. I asked her what she would say to God if she was killed by a bus, stood before Him and He asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “That’s such a hard question,” she replied thinking and said, “The big think about God is He’s loving.” I nodded. “and the Golden Rule, I think I’ve done a lot of that,” she said. She thought she might have a 50/50 shot at going to Heaven. So I began to explain the gospel. She hadn’t really remembered at first that Jesus had died to take away her sins when I asked what he had done she wasn’t sure trying to help a bit I asked what she thought they might have said at Church and she said, “Repentance?” I said, “Yeah you repent and change your mind the real reason God forgives you is He is paid.” She listened then she listened and seemed to enjoy what I had to say about how she could be forgiven. I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done and she said “Yes.” I asked if she believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead, if she thought that was a true story. She paused for a moment thinking and then said, “Yeah.” “If you wanted to put your trust in that to be forgiven there is a prayer you can pray,” I replied and explained a prayer for forgiveness saying she could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear but God would hear and she’d be forgiven. I asked if she’d want to do that. She said “Yeah,” in a lighthearted tone of voice and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I told her then trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. “Thank you so much,” she replied. I said, “Can I give you a book with some bible verses in it?” “Sure,” she replied. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I took the booklet back saying she could keep it and explained living the Christian life. She had a Bible and I told her John was a good place to read and the Christmas story was in Matthew and Luke. I explained living by the Spirit’s power asking God for help in everything. “Life is full of streets and God wants to help you cross all of them,” I said. I gave her a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet saying she might have time to read a bit over the break. I told her I would see her in Heaven being old I’d get there first and got up to go saying, “Have a good one, Merry Christmas.” “Bye, Merry Christmas,” she replied and I headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

May God bless ya this week.

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you found rest and peace in Jesus. The world is on the brink of being devastated with foolishness and even evil ideas, so we must pray.

I had a good day on campus today. Ben and Tanya each prayed to receive Jesus. Jorge said he wanted to be forgiven and was going to think about it. (He had ringlet curls coming out from under a cap and a couple days growth of teenage beard and braces for an overbite, wearing blue sweats on the third floor.) Ben and Tonya’s stories are below if you have some time to spend. Please pray they grow in their trust in Jesus blood and righteousness.

When I first got to school the parking lot was even more empty than usual, it’s so near exams and since many students are remote (online) these days. But I know God can have someone come early to class or set up somewhere they do not usually sit and lead me to them. So I prayed God would guide me and I seemed to have a nudge to go to the Mac Arts building. There were 3 students in the lounge with the Christmas tree in it.  Ben was sitting on the second floor at a counter height table looking more or less down at the tree. He had a starter beard beneath his chin line and a ball cap with a thin mustache that looked like it would eventually hold its own. He wore blue sweats and a hoodie with a small wolfs head on the chest. Oval face, looked like he had Spanish blood. He had a large pad of paper and looked to be sketching an open drawer for a class in pencil. I asked if he would do a survey and he asked, “Can I keep doing my homework?” I said sure he could just listen to me talk. But he stopped his sketching interested. He wanted to buy his parents a house. Several guys have told me that this year. I asked him what he would say to God if a bus killed him and God asked him why He should let him into Heaven. “That’s a hard question to answer,” he replied. And that’s about as far as he got. I asked if he went to church and he did each week. I asked what they might say would get you into Heaven. “Not sinning, going to Church each week and everything,” he replied. He thought he had a 50/50 chance of going to Heaven. I was trying to respect his time so I went right into the Gospel and he listened closely. He knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. So I explained that His blood cleansed him and paid his debt with God for the perfect life he did not live. The righteousness of God earned by Christ was to his credit and he could receive this by faith and be forgiven. I asked, “So you wanna be forgiven for your sins?” Yeah,” he replied.  I said there was a prayer he could pray to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done and I walked him through it.  I said he could pray it silently and know he was forgiven and going to Heaven and asked if he’d want to. “Sure,” he said. And he prayed to receive Jesus. “Merry Christmas,” I said as he finished. I quickly talked him through the Christian life living by the Spirit’s power. I gave him a Bible Study and gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front telling him I’d be praying for him. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and shook his hand saying he was forgiven. He thanked me. I explained how the mass was symbolic of the atonement. I got up to go and as I walked away I said; “Oh you know that question, ‘How likely is it you will go to Heaven when you die?’ That’s 100% if you trust in the righteousness of Jesus, because of Him.” “Nice. Thank you,” he replied. And I headed down the stairs.

Tanya was sitting in the hall on the second floor of the east building of the Science building just out of the doorway from the stairs. She looked to be near 40 had brown hair pulled back into a pony tail. She wore a grey sweat suit, had a narrow short face and when she stood was maybe 5’3”. It turned out she went to a local mega Church. When I asked her what she would say to God to be let into Heaven she said, “Because I took care of others before I took care of myself.” “There’s a Bible verse for that… consider others as more important than yourself,” I said in a paraphrase of Philippians 2:3,4. She was 100% sure she would go to Heaven when she died. She knew Jesus had died on the cross for our sins as I went through the Gospel, but listened to it all. I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus death on the cross to forgive her. She said, “I pray to Him and I know He sees my heart.” I said, “Our are hearts are not right all the time.” I asked if when she asked for forgiveness if she just thought God was magnanimous and would forgive her sins or if she was thinking she knew she’d be forgiven because Jesus had died for her.  “I never thought about it that way before,” she said. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there was a prayer she could pray and then she’d know she was forgiven trusting in Him. Thinking on that she prayed then to receive forgiveness in Jesus. Then her professor showed up and opened the door to the classroom and everyone piled in. I showed her the line about living by the Spirit’s power and wrote, “Forgiven!” on the outside of the booklet. She stood with me shook my hand saying, “Thanks.” Thank you for talking with me,” I replied. I said I’d pray for her and also gave her Bible Promises for You. “I needed to talk to you today,” she said as she walked away. “Yes,” I replied “Thanks very much.” “Thank you,” she said again and walked into her classroom.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance. God truly blessed as He is so faithful to do.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Kiara  prayed to receive Jesus today and Joaquin who I talked to a while back said talking through the Gospel had turned his life back to his roots and he’d decided to pray to receive Jesus as well and thanked me. Rose approached me saying that my talking to her had made a dramatic difference in her life and thanked me several times. I know something clicked for her and she has trusted in Jesus and not her works as before. So I had a good day though most people I talked to I had talked to before. Thanks for your prayers today if you had a chance. Please pray these might grow in their faith. Their stories are below if you’ve time.

Kiara (rhymes with tiara) was sitting down as her class was cancelled and did not have much time to talk as she’d already called for a ride. She was wearing a blue hoodie, with braid extensions poking out on either side of her face. She wore blue sweats with a white six inch slash half way across each leg that looked like they might be reflective. She was pretty solid looking and had dark complexion, a squared off chin and European nose. You could say kind of an African American image of Sandra Bullock in facial characteristics. .She wore no makeup. When I asked her what she would say to God to be let into Heaven she said, “What would I say… I guess I’d say…” In then end she just didn’t know she said it had been a long time ago that she had regularly gone to church with her grandma but she thought she’d have “a high chance” of going to Heaven, I guessed, “80%?” “85% she replied.” When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world she remembered, “He sacrificed Himself.” I went through the Gospel but her ride came so I quickly read the verses to finish about salvation by faith and receiving Jesus and I quickly read through the prayer and said, “So you could pray that some time to be forgiven, or did you pray it just now?” She said she had so I quickly gave her a copy of Bible Promises for You and wrote her name in the front and “forgiven and you could see the gratitude on her face. “Hopefully I’ll see you around,” she said and she ran out the doors.

Joaquin was sitting on the bridge over the SSC lounge on the third floor. He wore a black hoodie zipped up under a black jacket. He had straight brown hair parted in the middle and down past his chin. Kind of short. He looked a lot like the Jewish hypochondriac comedian Richard Lewis, in the face. So it was my day for meeting celebrity doppelgangers. I asked him if he wanted to do a student survey. “Actually I’ve done that with you before a while back.” “Oh sorry man what’s your name?” I asked. He said it was Joaquin and then asked me mine. I remembered the spelling and him a bit then. “Thanks for talking with me that really helped,” he went on. “I’m getting back into the root of my faith.” Did you pray that prayer in the booklet? I asked.  “I actually did, I usually don’t do things like that but I did.” He replied. I asked if I had given him a book besides the booklet and I hadn’t so I gave him Bible Promises for You and I wrote “forgiven!” in the front and he said, “Oh thanks,” for the note I think. So I said I would add him to my prayers and said merry Christmas and we said goodbye.

Rose had passed me in the hall walking with a guy earlier in the day. She looks Native American, with long brown hair and a slightly wider nose at the bridge then straight, pretty. I thought before they could cast her as Pocahontas in a movie. She then ran up to me later as I turned a corner and began thanking me for talking with her and saying it had made such a big difference and she was really so grateful. I said that was great. She has a really soft spoken sweet disposition and was a lot more energized than when we’d talked before. Then, when I left her she said she thought it was great that I was walking around talking to people. I’d already given her a book. I said I’d been praying for her. I had thought she’d come to believe on Christ when we talked, though I could tell she hadn’t really understood the Gospel before. She had a said in answer to asking why He should let her into Heaven, “I’m not sure what to say… I’ve given my life to you and I’ve had a positive impact.” So I’m grateful that now after thinking about being saved by the blood and righteousness of Christ it has brought a change in her heart. She confessed Christ as I left her the first time saying she believed the first time we talked. “Thank you that really clarified things,” she said then so I think it had done more, it had brought her to faith. So I will continue to pray she grows in the knowledge of God.

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

In Him,

Bob