Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope you had a good day in the “Grand Solar Minimum” {less heat coming from the sun for a few years from solar flares}that we all know in Chicago by experience makes things cold faster than CO2 can warm them.  I had a good day on campus and Rojae [Ro Jay] Anna, Jada All prayed to receive Jesus. 

Rojae was sitting in a small section of a lounge just down the hall to the east of where we have Bible Study and up a floor in the BIC building. He had straight jaw line and a beard beneath his chin and a Michael Jordan minimal mustache. His hair was shaved short on the sides and he had a rough afro on top full classic African American features, he wore a jacket and light blue skinny jeans with torn open knees. Good looking kid. He was slight in build and had moved to the states with his father leaving his mom in Jamaica. He was a manager at a movie theatre said he wanted to buy her a house. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “I wouldn’t say anything I’d just let Him judge me.” He thought he had a 70% chance of going to Heaven. He was raised Catholic. He listened closely to the Gospel however tuning right in to hear how the blood of Christ cleansed him and I explained the Justice of God (when He did not seem to follow).  It then made sense that Jesus was the perfect substitute for all the things we had done to damage others and the world. We clicked and he liked the examples I used and the stories I told him. I asked if he would want to be forgiven or thought something else and he said, “I would want to be forgiven, I’ve done a lot of stuff.” So I explained that if he wanted to trust in what Jesus had done there was a prayer he could pray and talking him through it. I asked if it was the desire of his heart. “A little bit,” he replied. So I asked if there was something that didn’t work for him and he said, “There’s more I would say.” So I said that he could pray it silently in his heart so only God would hear and add the part he wanted to say as well, would he want to do it. He nodded then saying “Yeah, thank you.” And he prayed to receive Christ. I explained the Christian life to him living by God’s power and the strength of His Holy Spirit. I explained that he was now rich in the things God offered him and that was more important than what he could gain in this life. I gave him a Bible as he only had a pocket Bible at his apartment. I showed him the Where to Turn section and the Messianic Passages. And I wrote his name and the Date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave him a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do and a Bible Study and explained the Christian life by the Spirit’s Power. I got his email to send him some stuff. He was grateful and we talked about life a bit and I headed off. 

Jada was up on the same floor in the hall in a line of chairs. She had a cute oval face, (shriek’s wife had similar features if she had a nicer smile) was plump and had her hair in some crisscross braid across the top of her head gathered into two balls of afro like round Mickey Mouse ears. Seems to be popular to wear your hair this way as I have seen several girls with it on campus this year. She had gone to Church a lot in the south before moving up here two years ago and had not settled at a church really. But she’d recently been home and was keeping up with the people who lead her youth group and had lunched with them. She wore blue jeans and a camo coat that zipped up the front and red horizontal stripped, form fitted top. When I asked her what she would say to get into Heaven she said, “I really don’t know, I never thought about that.” Then thinking a bit more said, “Yeah I don’t know.” She was sure she was going to Heaven though, 100%. I began to go through the Gospel with her and she knew Jesus had died to take away her sins. She listens to the imputed righteousness of Christ that His blood had cleansed her and he lived the perfect life we could not. She took it all in attentively and in the end when I asked her if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else she said, “I would want to be forgiven.” “Well, it doesn’t seem like you had a chance to put all this together before to place your trust in it right? She agreed nodding so I said if she’d like to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. And after talking her through it I asked if it was the desire of her heart. She nodded again and I said she could pray it silently so God would hear “Wanna do it?” I asked. “Um hum,” she replied and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. She thanked me and I gave her a copy of 20 Things God Can’t Do writing her name and the date and forgiven in the front. I also explained to her the Christian life and as I had with Rojae I wrote, “Just ask” and “By the Spirit’s Power” in the front explaining how God offered through His Holy Spirit all the strength she would need to live the Christian life. She thanked me again and I gave her a Bible Study and said I would keep her in my prayers until spring of 2021. I said that trusting now in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. She thanked me again and I headed off.

Anna was in a little adjunct lounge off a connecting hallway on the same floor. They had windowed it in floor to ceiling last year for no good reason I could detect except that they have too much money for such things. She had long brown hair and a cute face, kind of the Annette Funicello look, cute kid. She had big eyes, long eye lashes and rectangle glasses and was a bit round, had black jeans shredded at the knees and a black shirt. I sat at her feet indian style. I met her as she was rubbing moisturizing location up and down her arms and I was reminded it was prematurely winter outside. She was really friendly and saying she was Catholic said she’d do a survey. When I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said, “Because I’ve lived a healthy life physically and spiritually. I’ve done harm but not with the purpose of trying to cause harm [to anyone] and I’ve enjoyed life.” She thought she had about a 75% chance of going to Heaven saying, “I’m no saint but I’m not a bogus person.” When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world so God could live inside her she said, “I don’t know.” I said it would probably come back to her and she had an explanation of remembering, “Oh!” when I began to talk about how Jesus had lived a perfect life for her, I think seeing the diagram of the cross. But then she tuned in and kept listening not clarifying at all. I explained how Jesus had died providing a perfect payment for her sins. His blood had cleansed her as was symbolically represented in the Mass. As I finished I asked if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else. “Be forgiven,” she said.  “Well it seems like you never had a chance to put all this together before?” She very expressively shook her head no making a face like “Not at all.” So I said there was a prayer she could pray and after explaining it I said she could pray it silently. She nodded saying, “Yeah,” when I asked if she’d like to and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I also wrote’ “By the Spirit’s Power” and “Just Ask” in the front explaining the Christian life to her. I told her I would pray for her and gave her a Bible Study. She was happy and said, “Thank you.” Thanks for talking with me,” I said in return. “Have a good day,” she said as I left the lounge. “You’re welcome,” I threw in 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