Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things. I had a good day on campus and felt the Lord’s leading and wisdom helping me. Fernando, Dona and Mariana each prayed with me to receive Jesus and Brian sitting in the cafeteria (a Latino guy, hair short, shaved sides straight mop of hair on top, had the blue collar look to him, mustache and smattering of beard) said he would pray tonight. Khamani committed to Christ. (Black guy with a rough afro short on sides has a chin beard and a mustache and a BLM shirt on, we talked a lot about Justice and God’s forgiveness and the imperfect world. Open minded guy rugged good looks, he took 100 Prophecies Christ fulfilled pamphlet and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet). Hopefully they pray later. I think it more likely Brian will as he said he would pray tonight. And I got a good seed planted with Robert who took The Case for Christ Answer Booklet also and a Bible Study on Jesus claims to be God. He was a soccer player in the PE, good looking guy with a mop of curly hair on top, looked Latino. So that’s the overview the stories of those who came to Christ are below if you have time. Thanks so much for your prayers.

Fernando was wearing a NY Mets shirt and was sitting across from the adult learning offices as you head west toward the cafeteria. He had light brown jeans on and a chin beard, oval face, Latino. When I asked him what he would say to God (if asked, Why should I let you into Heaven?) he said, “I felt like I lived life in the right way.” He was friendly and said he went to Catholic church, though less since Covid. He thought he had a 65% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with him and he couldn’t remember what Jesus had done to take away our sin. But he was engaged and resonated with the Gospel verses. At the end I asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in Christ where God would live inside him or thought something else. He hesitated for a moment and then grinned a bit and put his finger on the circle with Christ inside. I said, “Well if you’d like there’s a prayer you could pray.” And I talked him through it asking if it was the desire of his heart, “Yeah he said.” I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear but God would, “Wanna do it?” I asked. “I think so,” he said affirmingly. And he prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him a study Bible and showed him the 99 essential doctrines page and the devotionals and stuff and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. He took a Bible Promise Book and a Bible study and I gave him a copy of The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him that now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. “It was cool to meet ya,” I said shaking his hand. “You as well,” he said with a big smile and I headed out. He later walked past me in the hall talking to Mariana and said hi.

Dona was sitting in the hallway at one of the counter height tables (if headed to the bookstore from the SSC) in front of her computer and some books. She was pretty, slight, with a small sharp nose and long dark hair past her shoulders parted down the middle. She wore a blouse, jacket and jeans. I asked her what she would say to God (if asked, Why should I let you into Heaven?) and she thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know.” Then thought more and said, “I’m a good girl? Maybe.” She thought she had a 60% chance of going to Heaven. She’d been to church as a small child. I went through the Gospel with her and she listened patiently and believed. I asked if she wanted to be forgiven or thought something else and she just said, “Forgiven.” I asked if she believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead and if she believed the story was true. “Well I don’t know much about it but yeah”. So I said if she’d like to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talking her through it I said she could pray it silently. She said she’d read it as I explained it and I said, “Amen?” “Amen,” she replied. I explained living by the Spirit’s power as I always do and asking for God’s help in everything. She did not want anything else to read. “This is enough,” she said of the booklet I had written notes and verses in with the prayer in it. From what she’d said she did not excel at school and so I don’t think reading anything would be the way she’ll prefer to learn in life. I said the likelihood she’d go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness and said I’d be praying for her and then said, “Nice to meet ya,” and she said “You too.” And I headed off.

Mariana was sitting in the hallway in a row of chairs on the 1^st floor of the BIC near the corner where the tunnel goes into the Mac Arts Building. She was pretty with a warm smile with just a tiny part visible in her front teeth you couldn’t get a credit card into. She wore a white sweatshirt with black printing on it and leggings. When I asked her what she’d say to God (if asked, Why should I let you into Heaven?) she really struggled for an answer. I asked if she went to church and she said she did and asked what she thought they would say. She thought for a moment and said, “Be kind to people.” So I asked if she thought she might say something like that. She agreed and said, “I helped people out.” She thought she had a 60% chance of going to heaven. I began to go through the gospel with her saying God wanted to know her and that meant He would live inside her with His Holy Spirit but first he had to take away her sin. “What’s the big thing that Jesus does to take away your sin?” I asked. “He was crucified,” she said. “Right,” I said and I explained how the blood of Jesus cleansed her from all sin and she could inherit the righteousness of Christ. When I had finished explaining salvation by faith I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus and she said she would so I said, “I seems like you knew a lot of this stuff but hadn’t put it all together before so you could trust in it,” and she agreed that was true. So I said that if she’d like to trust in Jesus there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it asking if it was the desire of her heart and she said, “Yeah.” So I said she could pray it silently and she prayed then to receive Jesus.  I told her now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I also explained living by the Spirit’s power and gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front and she said, “Perfect.” I said I’d see her in Heaven. “God bless your day,” I said getting up to go. “Thank you,” she replied, “You too.”

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a good day walking with the Lord. It was warm here and I talked to some kids outside and God brought fruit to the work. Kevin, Riq and Shane, each prayed with me to receive Jesus. Omar was a big 5×5 guy with a beard and a shaved upper lip, a curly mop of hair. He believed that trusting in Christ saved you eventually as we talked (after I had gone through the Gospel) and taking the booklet said he was going to mark the page with the prayer. He also took a Bible study on the Deity of Christ and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I am hopeful he will fully place his trust in Christ and I’ll bump into him again to find that out but I’ll be praying for him. He had a “Muslim father and a Roman Catholic Christian mother”. The other stories are below if you wish to read more. Thanks for your prayers today.

Kevin was sitting in the hallway as you turn the corner on the ground floor of the BIC into the Student services area. He was slight in build wore light grey shorts and a dark blue shirt. He had a couple earrings in each ear, straight dark hair. A good looking Latino guy with square features and a sharp nose. When I asked him one thing he wanted to do before he died he said he wanted “to give his kid a life he didn’t have.” That’s a slightly different spin on “Have a family” response. If a guy tells me that and he isn’t a Christian I cannot remember a time they have not then prayed with me to receive Jesus. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” he said, “I would say… That’s a good question,” he said thinking. “I left a pretty good impact on people I left [behind], talked to. I didn’t have any negative impact on those I left, if I was let into Heaven.” He thought he had a 70% chance of getting into Heaven when he died, and went to a Catholic Church. I began to go through the Gospel with him. I explained God would have to take away his sins to live inside him and asked what Jesus had done to talk away his sins. “You pray?” he tried as an answer. I said that was true that you needed to pray to ask God for forgiveness. “Forgiveness” he said, agreeing he had to be forgiven. I explained Jesus lived the perfect life we could not. Then as a payment for sin his blood cleansed us dying on the cross. I said that symbolically the mass was His body broken for us and His blood cleansing us quoting 1John 1:7 and he agreed with that. I explained receiving Christ by faith and asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins with God inside him or thought something else. “Forgiven,” he replied. I said there was a prayer he could pray and walked him through it asking if he’d like to pray to receive forgiveness. “Yeah,” he said a bit softer than he’d been speaking and he prayed to receive Jesus. He did not have a Bible so I gave him a study Bible with devotionals in it, 99 essential Doctrines and cross references and maps and such, writing his name and the date and “Forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave him a Bible promise book and a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ. I shook his hand as we got up to go having told him I would keep him in my prayers. “I’ll see ya in Heaven and you can tell me how it went with the kid and stuff,” I said. “Thank you,” he said seriously looking me in the eye. “I appreciate everything, thank you.” “You’re welcome,” I replied and we headed off.

He said everyone called him Riq which was short for short for “Enriqo”. He had a square jaw and a chin beard and small pencil width mustache. He was wearing a white ball cap turned backward and jeans and a white t-shirt. We sat on the half wall outside the cafeteria where he was waiting for his ride.  I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven and he said, “I would say… I would probably be like, I’ve always trusted you, believed in you, prayed and you did me well in life, things like that,” he replied. I asked him the likelihood he would go to Heaven and he said, “I’m not a bad person, at least 90%. I love God.” I began to explain the Gospel to him and that God had to take away his sin to live inside him. And he said, “Yeah how does he do that, you pray?” So I explained the Gospel to him and that Jesus death was a payment for sin, explaining that when we damage someone’s stuff like denting their car we owe them something perfect in return. Everything belongs to God so when we hurt ourselves or others we owe Him something perfect but we can’t pay. So God has to pay Himself and Jesus lives a perfect life and his blood pays for our sins on the cross. “There’s my Dad,” he said then his ride rolling up. So I just said, “If you’ve never had a chance to trust in what Jesus did for you on the cross to be forgiven there’s a prayer you could pray and you would know 100% you are forgiven for your sins.” I talked him through the prayer then explaining it and said if he wanted to he could pray the prayer before heading off to his ride. He took the booklet then nodding and prayed to receive Jesus. When he’d prayed I quickly explained living by the Spirit’s power and gave him a Bible Promise Book writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. He was happy about that and headed off for his ride.

Shane was sitting outside on the other side of school on a bench along the sidewalk with his back to the Mac Arts building and the BIC building to his left. He wore metal-rimed rectangular glasses and had short hair and a round head. He had tan shorts on and a black t-shirt with some print on it. He was friendly, looked like a pretty average Latino guy. He went to Catholic Church. When I asked him something he wanted to do before he died he said, “Start a family.” When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he didn’t think God would ask so I asked him what he thought got someone into Heaven asking what they’d say at Church. “As long as you’ve accepted Him in your heart and believed in Him, accepted Him in your life, that’s why you would get in—He lets you in.”  He thought he had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. I went through the Gospel with him and he knew Jesus had died to take away his sins. I said “I know a lot of this was probably familiar to you but do you think you have ever actually asked God to forgive you trusting in what Jesus had done for you on the cross or did you just know the story?” He thought for a while and came to a realization saying, “I don’t think I have ever asked Him.” So I said, “If you’d like to be forgiven there’s a prayer you can pray.” I walked him thorough the prayer. I said he could pray it now and know he was forgiven. “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear you and you’d know you were forgiven.” “Silently?” he asked. “Because I was reading it along with you in my head.“
“Sure.  Amen,” I said and he stopped and took the booklet and said, “Can I keep this?” “Sure,” I said and then he paused and silently prayed to receive the Lord saying, “Amen” when he’d finished. I explained the Christian life living “inside out” and gave him a Bible Study and a Bible writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I showed him the “Where to turn” section and references in back maps and stuff. It was a bit different Bible than the other I’d had I my pack and given to Kevin. I gave him a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and a Bible Promise Book too. He was grateful. I explained now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. “Nice to meet you,” I said as he got up to go.” “Nice to meet you too Bob.” He said and headed into the building.

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’ve had a blessed weekend. I got a little side tracked but I had a good last day on campus Friday. I went through the Gospel with Chris while we stood in the hallway. He had given me a kind greeting after being dismissive earlier in the year, about 3 weeks ago. I was just friendly and since he had been pretty solid he did not want to hear anything, I was just friendly back. But I thought if I saw him again and he was friendly I’d ask him about his faith. I did and he said recently he had been moving closer to God. So I went through the Gospel with him since he said he only had a minute. He said he’d want to be forgiven, so I asked if he believed Jesus was God, had died for his sins and rose from the Dead. “Do you think that’s a true story?” He thought for a second and said he thought it was. I showed him the prayer than quickly walking him through it asking if he had prayed that kind of thing telling God he would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus. He said something about how he’d been moving in that direction and so I said maybe this was a prayer he could pray later and quickly explained living inside out. I gave him the book Bible Promises for You. “Praise God,” he said like he was quoting someone. And I said maybe I’d see him next semester and he hurried off down the hall. I think will trust in the Lord.

I bumped into Nancy, who had prayed earlier in the semester to receive the Lord and thanked me again for the books. She said she’d been reading them and told me she really appreciated it. Talked to and helped out a Muslim friend with a class that had screwed him over and a special needs guy who needed $3 for a bag of chips. So a few last blessings. One of the former students who transferred to SIU is coming over for dinner tonight. So we’ll do some ministry this summer when it pops up: with students and with the Biker Club where I am a Minister.

Thanks so much for your help and prayers this year!

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today. I had a good day on campus. I found out Aaliyah prayed to receive Jesus after I talked to her on Tuesday. I had a long talk I wish I could have tape recorded of Andrew a Believer. I went through the Gospel with him last semester. He was asking me every question under the sun for over an hour. I gave him “Why Trust the Bible” and “100 Prophecies of Jesus” Rose publications. I also gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and some directions for what to look for online. I explained the cannon to him, the Trinity and gave him a Bible Study on the deity of Christ and many other things and gave him my contact information.  He’s blonde easy going guy, a real thinker. Aaliyah’s story is below if you have some time. Please pray she grows in her faith.

Today Aaliyah had changed her hair as the black girls I encounter are want to do. Now she had long braids past her elbows hanging freely down, Tuesday she had stacked and woven the braids up behind her head in an interesting bunching (you can tell I have no knowledge of hair styles). She’s a pretty girl with full features, a sweet kind face. I had not recognized her as she was looking down as I approached her in the hall on the first floor under the police Station (it’s on the second above) also her hair threw me off. I asked her to do a student survey. “I already did that,” she said brightly,” I said I was sorry I did not recognize her and asked her name. “Aaliyah,” she replied. “With two A’s,” I asked, and she said yes and that we had talked on Tuesday. I said I had prayed for her. “I read through the booklet,” she said. I had gone through the version I use of it adding things as I go but there was a part on faith in the back she must have read along with the parts I skipped. “Did you pray the prayer in the back, “Yes!” she said happily. “Oh great,” I said and checked (to remind myself) the materials I had given her and said, something like that’s great you are sure now of everything. She agreed and I headed off. When I first encountered her she was in the second floor of the PE lounge against the wall of what is the swimming area on a couch. I asked her what she would say to God if He asked, “why should I let you into Heaven?” “I would say, ‘I’ve done what you’ve asked. I’ve fulfilled the will of God. I’ve fulfilled my purpose here on Earth.’” She was 100% sure she would go to Heaven. She had not understood the Gospel before as well as I explained it to her but with a bit of a prompt she remembered Jesus had died for her. As I finished going through the Gospel I knew she had not trusted in Christ for forgiveness but was very active and connected to her Church. I suggested she could trust in what Jesus had done for her on the cross and be forgiven and she replied something along the lines that Jesus was her entire life. So I walked her through the prayer anyway saying this was a way she could share her faith and gave her Bible Promises for You and a Bible Study and explained living “Inside out” like I would have had she trusted in Christ. She was polite and thanked me. I hope she would pray later. Later that day I saw her in the big Student Services Lounge in a row of stuffed chairs talking to another student. As I walked past her and gave a little wave and she acknowledged me a little stiffly and I hoped she was under conviction. But today she was bright and cheerful and forgiven. It was kind of God to run me into her again so I would know to continue to pray for her through the next year.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance, God blessed me today. I also got a seed planted with an older black guy LT who had a bit of grey on the sides out from under a watchman’s cap and a hear and there beard. He took the booklet and was thinking.

Blessings,

Bob

5/11/22

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from above. I had a good day on campus and Aries (pronounced like the Greek god of war Ares) prayed to receive Jesus. Please pray she grows in her faith. She went to church. I had spent an hour talking with my friend Milly who prayed with me to receive Jesus this year. She is a 75 year old black woman and told me of a healing dream she had and an encounter with Angels. She should write a book.

Aries was sitting in the cafeteria at a table in front of a couple quarter round pizza ends. Her mask was down as we started though she pulled it up part way through. She had a cute small face and her hair was pulled up and back with a hair band, ending in kind of a loose teased fountain, African American. She wore black-rimmed glasses and had on a grey t-shirt with a print of something on it I could not make out as it was too hidden beneath the table edge. She had a nose and mouth like Rihanna.  She described herself as an “early Bird” saying she woke up automatically when her grandma used to wake her. I said that’s a nice memory when you get up and she agreed. When I asked her what she would say to God if asked why He should let her into Heaven she snapped off with, “I’m really good at UNO.” But then said, “I could help people in there. Be helpful.” “So let me in I’ll be of help?” I asked and she agreed. She thought she had about an 80% chance of going to Heaven. I told her God needed to take away her sin so He could live inside her and asked what Jesus had done to take away her sin.” “Died,” she replied. So I began to go through the Gospel with her, I was sitting across the table from her but all the verses and words I write in the booklet to explain the Gospel that it does not say were already written in it. Earlier there was a guy I’d talked to who I did not give it to. That worked out for me to be able to just point at words instead of putting it flat and writing. But she put her mask up early on so I could not see if she was responding very well. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in Jesus or thought something else and she said, “Forgiven.” So I said if she’d like to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I explained it and read the line, “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?” She nodded and so I said she could pray it silently asking if she’d want to and know she was forgiven. She nodded again and took the booklet and bowed her head elbows on the table and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her by the Fruit of the Spirit and living “inside out.” I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave her a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be God also. I told her I would pray for her for the next year. ‘Thanks for talking with me,” I said getting up to go. “-enjoyed it,” she replied seeming to smile under the mask. “I’ll see ya in Heaven,” I said. “See ya then,” she said cheerfully. And I headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and your heart is resting on the power of God to save. I had a good day on campus and Chris and Kaylee prayed to receive Jesus today so that was great. Please pray they grow in their faith and walk in the comfort of the Lord. Their stories are below if you have some time to spend.

Chris was sitting in some back to back chairs that look like they should have restaurant tables between or in front of them. The school once had then elsewhere. They are now across the door way from the security desk ten steps from the door to the patio at the top of the man made waterfall outside. Chris is a short Latino guy, clean shaven round face he was wearing soccer shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. He was friendly. It turned out he hadn’t been to church a lot of late his family all now works so many hours that when they have time off  and it isn’t a holiday they spend it together. When I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked why He should let him into Heaven he said, “I guess I would say like, hmm… He chose that this is the right time for me to go. I trust His word He probably did it for a good reason.” He was in some way answering the question why he had died but it seemed he was going to trust God for whatever outcome he got. He thought he had a 50/50 shot of getting into Heaven. I sat across from him leaning forward as we talked into the space where a table would have been. He leaned forward interested as I went through the Gospel with him. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins he said, “Forgives you?” guessing. I said that it was true God forgives you and the reason He does is because He got paid. I went on to explain, in words I often use, the sacrifice of Christ and His blood and righteousness. He tuned right in to all of it and when I asked him if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else he said, “Probably be forgiven,” processing everything. I did not seem to have thought through any of it before. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He nodded so I said he could pray it silently and only God would hear asking if he’d want to do that. “Sure,” he replied. And then he prayed to receive Jesus. I told him when he’d finished he could keep the booklet and explained living “inside out” asking God first to transform us so that we could be good people filled with the Spirit to do Good things. I told him then that now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. He thanked me and I gave him the book Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and forgiven. And I gave him a Bible study on ways Jesus claims to be God by doing what only God could do in the Old Testament. “Thank you,” he said again reaching out to shake my hand. “Yeah cool,” I said maybe this will help you understand a little more what is going on at Church. “Yeah maybe,” he replied. And I headed out.

Kaylee was sitting up against the counter in the cafeteria. She had skinny jeans on with some decorative blue trim up the outside seams and a black t-shirt on. She had straight brown hair to her shoulders and blue rimmed near round glasses. She had a square jaw, friendly smile, petite.  She had grown up in the Macedonia Orthodox Church and said she’d like to go to Macedonia and see where her Grandmother had grown up. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “I think I helped a lot of people.” She thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. I began to go through the Gospel with her and asked her if she knew what Jesus had done to take away her sins, “Do you remember maybe from Church,” I asked. ‘Well they didn’t speak English,” she said saying she didn’t understand what was said at church. So I went on to explain the Gospel to her and she followed along closely and seemed to enjoy having it explained to her. As I finished I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. “Forgiven,” she said simply. I said that if she wanted to be forgiven she could. I explained the prayer to her asking if she’d want to pray to receive forgiveness. “Sure,” she said and she prayed to receive Jesus. I explained to her a relationship in Christ where she could ask for the fruit of the Spirit and have power to live. I said Christianity was “Inside out not outside in. Other religions you do good things and the deity is pleased and sends you to Heaven or the Universe is pleased and you don’t come back as a cow or something. But in Christianity you ask God to transform you and then you become a good person who does good things. It says in James 4 you do not have because you do not ask, so just ask.” I told her God would give her the power to do anything he was asking her to do and give her as much success as would help her in life to not come to harm. I slid the booklet to her on the counter and she said, “Thank you.” “Sure,” I replied. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside and a Bible study. And I told her if she trusts in the righteousness of God to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. “See ya in Heaven,” I said getting up to go. “I’m older I’ll probably get there first and I’ll show ya all the cool places to go.” I grinned at her and said, “See ya later.” Thank you,” she replied sincerely. “You’re welcome,” I said 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

5/9/22

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things resting in the knowledge that He loves you. Hannah and Cam prayed with me to receive Jesus today and I had some good conversations. I spoke with a Muslim, Ahmed where I kept pressing that God was Just and Loving and the idea that God get’s paid and so His forgiveness is the foundation of our country’s laws, restitution and payment for damages. I also told him about a friend from Lebanon who had a vision of Jesus who told him to, “Pray to Me alone.” He’d been trying to press the point asking why would God want to become a man. We ended talking politics we agreed on. Please pray for Hannah and Cam to be blessed in their faith. Their stories are below if you have time you wish to spend on them.

 Hannah was sitting on the second floor as you walk out of the SRC building and come to the edge of the Student Services Center on the second floor. There are just the two chairs there, she described herself as an introvert and the spot fit. I sat on the table between them. She is a petite kid and had kind of a tom boy look going with a ball cap and stick straight brown hair pouring out to her shoulders. She wore a grey sweatshirt with some print across it and jeans, had red rimmed nearly round glasses, cute kid. She said she had been raised in a Lutheran Church. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “I try to treat everybody with kindness. I don’t know if that’s enough… I’m torn. Kindness is a basic thing; to actually go beyond and deserve it is actually different.” She had an insight most people lack, if Heaven was a reward and goodness is basically expected as a norm, you’d have to do something exceptional to earn it? I asked her how likely it was she would get into Heaven and she said, “There’s a pretty good chance, I wouldn’t be able to quantify it though.” She remembered Jesus had died to take away our sins when I asked her and followed the Gospel, the blood and righteousness of Christ to pay for her sins. I asked her if she would want to be forgiven for her sins or thought something else and she said she’d want to be forgiven. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it and asked if it was the desire of her heart. She nodded and I said, “You could pray it silently now if you want. I wouldn‘t hear but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven, wanna do it?” “Ah, yeah,” she replied and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life, living “inside out” and telling her of the fruit of the Spirit which she had memorized and recited saying she’d learned it in a song as a child. She did not want a book. I gave her a Bible study she thought she’d be interested in. I told her now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I told her I would keep her in my prayers for the next year. “I don’t know if I’ll see ya again but I’ll see you in Heaven. Thanks for talking with me.” “Thank you Bob.” She replied. And we each headed off in different directions.

Cam was sitting in the hallway on the first floor of the BIC near the tunnel to the MAC Arts building. He was 15 minutes early for class around the corner. He had a grey sweatshirt on that said “FOOTBALL” and was a pretty big guy, though not as tall as me when we stood. He wore grey sweat pants. His mustache had come in light and ended at his mouth but he had a thick beard and an oval face, looked like the proverbial Longshoreman. His ball cap was turned backwards. He said he had gone to church some as a kid. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Because I asked for his forgiveness almost every night.” He knew Jesus had died to take away his sins saying he had gone to 12 years of Catholic School. I asked him the likelihood he would get into Heaven and he said, “It’s up to Him.” And then thinking about it he said, “80%”.  As I went through the Gospel he agreed with it affirming the work of Jesus. I explained that the real reason God forgiven him is He got paid, using the illustration of borrowing a friend’s car and denting it and having to pay to make it perfect again. “Everything belongs to God,” I explained so, “if you hurt somebody or hurt yourself or the world in some way you owe God something perfect back.” I went on to say that because we were not perfect we could not pay. But God loves us so He became a man and when He pours out His perfect blood it pays God back for all the imperfect things we have done that we owe God something perfect for. Basically what I had told Ahmed earlier in the day. “So the reason God forgives you is He got paid,” I said again. “He is just, but he had to pay Himself.” “I never thought about it that way before,” he replied. I went on to tell him about the righteousness of God that Christ earned by perfectly fulfilling the Law and that it was to our credit. I asked him if he would want to be forgiven for his sins. He said he would, expressing again that he was from a catholic background so it was in keeping with that. (I had talked to a Roman Catholic guy, Frank, earlier in the day that had said, “I believe Jesus died for us all and in His resurrection. As long as you believe and you are His servant you’ll have a place in Heaven.”) Some Catholics I talk to express a basic evangelical faith. As I had gone through the other verses he had said things like “For sure,’ and “Absolutely” so I was not sure if he would say he had been asking God for forgiveness trusting in what Christ had done. “Can I take this with me?” he asked. He had a class in a couple minutes. I said that if he had not had a chance to ay to God that he was trusting in what Jesus had done to forgive him there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it. He said he tried to think of what he had done that was against what God wanted then he asked for forgiveness for those things. “But are you asking for forgiveness trusting in what Jesus had done?” I asked. Saying that was what the prayer was for if he would want to pray it. He said he had actually prayed it as I went through it with him, suggesting he just did that when he read prayers, he prayed them. So I said, “OK.” I showed him the last line then explaining the Christian life living “Inside out” and said if he now trusted in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. He had to run to class and so I gave him Bible Promises for You quickly writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. He took it, it seemed with gratitude and headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you’ve had a good day walking with Jesus. I had a good day on campus and Liz and Raymond prayed with me to receive Jesus Thursday. Please pray they grow in their faith. Their stories are below if you have time today.

Liz was sitting with her back against an indent in the wall for benches on the 2^nd floor of the BIC. She has an oval (nearly round) sweet face, Latina in appearance. Her long brown hair was up in a bun. She had on a blue hooded sweatshirt and black leggings. She was a kind friendly young woman. She said her family had people from 2 faith traditions in it and she hadn’t gone either way. I think she may have meant Catholic and some other Christian tradition. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “I definitely believe in God.” So I asked if she would say that, “I definitely believed in you.” And she said “Yeah.” She thought she had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. I began to explain the Gospel to her and assumed she did not know anything as she said she had not been to Church at all. She took it all in and was engaged. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in Jesus or if she thought something else and she said, “Be forgiven from God.” “Do you believe Jesus is God, died for your sins and rose from the dead? Do you think that is a true story?” “Yes,” she replied. I said if she’d like to be forgiven there is a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it and ask if it was the desire of her heart. “Yeah,” she replied. I said if she wanted she could pray it silently right then, I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” She nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior. I explained living “inside out” asking for the transforming power of the Spirit to change her and give her strength. She was majoring in Psych and said she did a lot of reading so I gave her the hard back copy of The Case for Christianity Answer Book. I gave her Bible Promises for You and put her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I also gave her a Bible study and told her that now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I told her I would pray for her for the next year and she thanked me. “Thanks for taking time to talk with me,” I said getting up to leave. “Thank you.” She said with gratitude. And I headed out.

At the very end of the day I found Raymond sitting up against the outside glass wall of the lounge on the SE corner of the BIC building. It has vending machines and a glass wall on the hallway and another that runs parallel to the lockers making up the wall going in. There’s no way to walk through with nonchalance, you have to walk in and walk out which always feels awkward if no one will talk to me. More than 90% of the people I ask each day say no. But He said he’d do it. He had black rimmed glasses and a conservative mop of dark hair that looked recently windblown. There was a day or two growth of beard on him and his skin was darker, Latino, warm smile. He had kind of the everyman look, square features. He had on a light grey hoodie and dark sweats. When I asked him what he would say to God if asked why He should let him into Heaven he said, “Because even though I’ve made poor choices in life I’ve always had good intentions.” He thought he had a 65% chance of getting into heaven. Usually a C in community college. He said he had gone to Catholic Church 12 years and then had gone to a Community Church. He was an engaging friendly guy and tracked with everything and I got him to grin a few times. He knew Jesus had died for our sins when I asked him what He had done to take them away. I explained the Gospel to him, the sacrifice for his sins the blood that cleansed him and the Righteousness of God that surrounds those who believe by faith.  I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else and he said nothing for a while that seemed like one of the longer pauses I’ve gotten in response then said solidly, “I would like to be forgiven for my sins.” I said, “Well if you’d like to be forgiven there’s a prayer you can pray.” I talked him through it reading the question after, “Is this prayer the desire of your heart?” He nodded and I said he could pray it silently. He took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I took it back and explained the fruit of the Spirit for the asking and living “inside out” and trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be his righteousness the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I told him I would pray for him for the next year until spring. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and a Bible study. “I’ll see you in Heaven,” I said getting up to go. “Alright,” he said shaking my hand gratefully and said “You too.”

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism Thursday if you had a chance. God truly blessed. 149 people have prayed to receive Jesus this year doing evangelism. I hope next week to find a few more as the semester ends.

In Him,

Bob

Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed being filled with the fruit of the Spirit. I had a good day on campus and Arturo prayed with me to receive Jesus sitting in the Lounge connected to Starbucks. Please pray God draws him closer to Himself. His story is below if you have time.

 Arturo was sitting against the half glass wall in the lounge beside Starbucks. He was not busy with anything so I asked him if he’d do a student survey as I cut through the lounge. He said OK. He looked Latino, an oval, near round, face with shortish hair cut parted on the left swept to the right. He wore a grey sweatshirt and jeans. We sat in couch-like chairs with a small coffee table between us. He said he wanted to have a family when I asked him one thing he would like to do before he died. That statement, in my experience on campus, is a tell that a guy is a Christian already or will pray to receive Jesus. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. “Hmm. Alight…” he began thinking. “I’m not a perfect person but I always try to be good. I think getting into Heaven is not about being perfect but trying to be.” I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins and he said, “Sacrifice.” “Right, He died for you.” I replied. He said he went to Church every Sunday. I began to explain the Blood of Christ and the Righteousness He alone could earn that could be ours by faith. He listened carefully to the Gospel as I explained that he would not go to Heaven because he was good but because Jesus was good and he was connected to him by faith. I told him God adopted us and made us his children and gave us the blessings of His family, “The sacrifice for our sins, the blood that cleanses us and the righteousness of God that surrounds us. So it’s like you got someplace to go, Heaven, and something to wear when you get there, the Righteousness of God.” I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus of if he thought something else. He said he would want to be forgiven.  I said if he had never told God he wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there was a prayer he could pray and I talked through it asking if it was the desire of his heart to which he replied something like, “Yeah basically.” I said he could pray it right then silently and I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. I asked if he wanna to it and he gave like barely audible “Yeah,” and began to pray as I held the booklet out towards him. When he finished he said “OK.” I explained living “inside out” by the Spirit’s power and handed him the booklet. “Thank you,” he said taking it. 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 and The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and He thanked me again. I got up to go saying, “Thanks for talking with me.” “No problem thanks for talking with me actually,” he replied. “No problem,” I said and headed out.

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

In Him,

Bob

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you have had a good weekend so far walking with the Lord. I had an inactive day on campus. I chatted with a few students I knew who had come to Christ but yesterday was like a Saturday. There didn’t seem to be 20 students in the entire school building complex, which is quite large. It took a bit of time to discover what was evident by how few cars were in the parking lot. But just as I was about to head home I took one last tour through the cafeteria and found David who prayed to receive Jesus. I’d be grateful for your prayers for him his story is below if you have time.

 David had a scruffy short, dark red beard along his jaw line and onto his neck where it gave out randomly. His mustache was close to blonde ending at his mouth. His hair matched his beard. Looked like a regular guy, friendly. When I asked him if he wanted to do a survey about what he thought about God and stuff and he hesitated so I said, “The main question is you’re walking down the road and you get hit by a bus, so you’re dead. You stand before God and He asks, ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’ What would you say? So you got any interest in what the Bible says is the answer to that question?” He said, “Well I am religious… so.” So I sat down and got his name and go to the main question and he said, “”’Cause I believe in God. He gives us all a Chance to Believe.” He thought the likelihood he would get into heaven was 100%. I began to go through the gospel with him and he knew Jesus had been a sacrifice for sins. He enjoyed the explanation of the Blood and Righteousness of Christ and said something like “Oh, OK,” as I explained it. He wanted to be forgiven when I asked in finishing. I asked if he had asked God for forgiveness trusting in what Jesus had done. He said he had kept the Ten Commandments and believed in God. He did not think he had asked God for forgiveness based on what Christ had done and so decided he’d pray to ask God for forgiveness based on Jesus. When he’d finished I found out he did not have a Bible. He was grateful to have one and I showed him the “Where to Turn” section in the back putting the ribbon marker there and the place where Messianic passages were listed. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I explained living “Inside out” by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Fruit of the Spirit. I told him God would give him the power to do anything He was asking him to do and give him as much success as he needed to stay on the right track in life. “It says in James 4 you do not have ‘cause you do not ask so ‘Just ask’.” I told him, “The parents you have now want you to be able to get out on your own and maybe be able to help them when you are old but God wants you to depend on Him all through life. Even the oldest people in the Bible God calls His children.” I reminded him the symbolism of the Mass was the Blood and Body of Christ and said it could remind him Jesus had died for him and so he was forgiven so when he took it he could just say, “Thanks You.” I gave him The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet and told him Strobel was a good source for answers to any questions about Christianity. He reached out and shook my hand and said, “Thanks Bob.” I said, “Yeah cool,” and said I would keep him in my prayers for the next year. I bumped into him a bit later as he was leaving and gave him a Bible Study on the deity of Christ. He thanked me and headed out to his ride.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism Friday if you had a chance. I only had an opportunity to go through the Gospel with one student but they trusted Christ.

In Him,

Bob