Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with all good things from the Lord Kassandra and Marco each prayed to receive Jesus today so that was great. I got some good seeds planted too. I also hope you had a happy and blessed Thanksgiving with the people you love. We were on the road but Maxine our waitress trusted to receive Jesus on Wednesday night so the trip was worth it. She was a sweet, shoulder length brown haired girl with soft features, big brown eyes, kinda short wearing a white blouse and black pants. She had described herself as a Christian but had just thought God would magnanimously forgive her not knowing why He would do it. I explained the Gospel to her and the Just payment for her sins and she liked the explanations. I asked then if she believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead, she said she did. So I asked her if she would want to place her trust in that to be forgiven. She understood after a moment and said she did. I told her, her sins were forgiven, shaking her hand (when she said she believed that Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead and would trust in that). After she had thanked me for explaining the Gospel to her and left us with the receipt, I went out and got her a copy of The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet writing her name and the date and “You’re forgiven” in the front. I brought it to her outside the kitchen and she said, “Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,” in an excited voice and I gave her the book and smiled and said “Sure.”

Kassandra came from a Roman Catholic background, was a pretty, thin girl with no make-up and a winter cap on her long brown hair pouring out from underneath. She had a narrow face and was very expressive and kind. She wore sweats and a sweater with winter style red and green print across the front and a jacket on. Her friend Jenna walked up as we were doing the survey up on the 3rd floor of the BIC. She had blonde ring curls and a drop shoulder off white sweater, very pretty girl. As she walked up Kassandra said, “You should do her too.” But I was not sure she was interested as when I asked she said something like if you want me too, so figuring she would over hear it anyway having sat on the other side of me I let it go. (I apologized for excluding her later and wondered over my possible failure but Kassandra said Jenna had made her more spiritually minded, so I think she was a Christian. I gave her a book Bible Promises for You) When I asked Kassandra what she would say to God to get into Heaven she said a lot and writing as quickly as I could I basically got this, “Ooo, that’s hard, that’s a tough thing. I tried my best to be a good Christian; I’m not the best but… I tried to do enough good for Him to forgive me of my sins. I’m His daughter and I know that He sees me for who I am.” I asked her what the likelihood she would go to Heaven was and she said, “80/20 but it’s really 50/50 if I’m totally real.” She knew Jesus had sacrificed himself to pay for our sins. She listened to the Gospel as I presented it and I emphasized that we don’t go to Heaven because we are good or have tried to please God or made up for our failures somehow trying to do better but because Jesus is good and we are connected to Him. We’re adopted by the Father because Jesus has paid for our sins and can now live inside us.” She hadn’t heard the Gospel clearly explained before. (Unfortunately Jenna was on her phone and my plan for her to hear it also might not have come off well. When I asked her if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus or thought something else she said, “I would be that one,” pointing at the circle with God inside her. “Be the person trusting in Jesus to be forgiven.” When I suggested she hadn’t yet been trusting in that she said, “No,” emphatically agreeing with me. I explained there was a prayer she could pray and be forgiven and walking her through it I asked if she would want to pray it silently where only God could hear. She nodded and took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her then living “Inside Out” first asking God to change us on the inside and by the power of His Spirit doing good on the outside. I said the likelihood she would go to Heaven then was 100%. Trusting in Christ’s righteousness. I said I would keep her in my prayers each day and she said she would pray for me too. I gave her 20 Things God Can’t Do writing her name and the date and “forgiven” on the inside and “Just ask” and “By the Spirit’s power”. I wrote this in the front of the book I gave Jenna. I also gave Kassandra a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ. I told them I would see them in Heaven and I’d be there first since I was old enough to be their father and I’d show them around, they laughed and I was on my way. I walked back in a minute and apologized to Jenna for excluding her saying it seemed like she wasn’t interested. She said no problem cheerfully and had been looking through the book as I walk up so I’ll pray for both of them for the next year or so.

Marco was sitting in the BIC in the hallway on the third floor later on waiting for his girl friend, Mia, to get out of class. He had gone to the Bible Church in town when he was younger. He wasn’t a very big guy. He wore brown sweats and a blue hoodie, the hood pulled up over his head. He looked Latino but had very fair skin. Good-looking guy with sharp features a diamond shipped face. He said he wanted to be rich. When I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven he said, “Because I’ve done things that other people wouldn’t or didn’t if they were in the same situation.” I checked and he meant good things. He thought he had a 50/50 chance to get into Heaven. He listened carefully to the gospel and he knew Jesus had died for our sins. I explained the death of Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for our sins as we owed God something perfect to fix anything of His we had damaged. I explained Jesus blood cleansed us, He rose from the dead and His righteousness could be to our credit when we were adopted by God as part of the blessings of joining his family. I explained we need to receive this by faith. Pointing down the hall to the distant daylight at the end of the building I sad, “That the line down the hall as far as we could see was like eternity and this life was like [    ] long.” And I drew a gap on the page of the booklet. I said that was real riches to be in eternity with God and would last forever. I asked if he would want to be forgiven or if he thought something else. “That one,” he replied pointing at the right circle with God inside, “Be forgiven.” So I asked, “Do you believe Jesus is God, He died for your sins and rose from the dead? Do you think that’s true?” “Yeah,” he replied. I told him that if he would want to trust in that then to be forgiven for his sins so he would know he was going to Heaven there was a prayer he could pray. I explained it to him asking if it was the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied. So I said he could pray it silently where only God would hear and asked if he would want to do it. He paused a moment and said, “Yeah,” again. And he prayed to receive Jesus. I said he could keep the booklet when he’d finished and he said “Cool.” I explained the Christian life to him and living “Inside Out.” I said the likelihood he would go to Heaven now was 100%. Trusting in Christ’s righteousness. Mia walked up then as I was still talking with a girl friend but he folded his arms not looking at her as if to signal not to interrupt and kept listening to me. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front of 20 Things God Can’t Do and “Just Ask” explaining how everything God was asking us to do He would gives the power to do if we would ask. “Cool, ‘preciate it,’ he said taking the book. I offered Mia a booklet then, getting her name, saying Marco was going to Heaven and she might want to catch up. She took it with a smile. “Preciate it,” he said a second time. And I headed out.

So thanks for your prayers for the Ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance, God truly blessed. 100 students have trusted Christ this semester, which is more than ever before in that time period, all but one (who committed to Christ) prayed to receive Christ. In addition then Maxine trusted Christ at our table by the fireplace at the Giant City Lodge. I don’t know if she was a student but she is forgiven. There are three days left on campus as tomorrow I have a doctor appointment for my neck but we’ll have the Bible study tomorrow night.

In Him,

Bob