Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today as mine was and the Lord’s Grace was near. I had a great day on the beach in spite of the headache I seemed to have that clouded me up once or twice. 11 people prayed with me to receive Jesus as their savior today, Jaylon, Griffin Anthony, Bryce, Lucus, Landon, Tai, Dacota, Regan, Chris and John.

Jaylon was walking down the sand with three guys who looked like High School athletes. They were carrying a big speaker. They didn’t have time for a survey. Two white guys two black guys. Jaylon who had 5-6 inch braids (a lot of black guys have here) coming out from under an oversized grey ball cap turned backwards. He wore a slight triangular mustache. The biggest guy with them, a very fit black guy said they were too busy to spare the 7 minutes to talk so one of the white guys who had said yes apologized then saying “sorry”. But they agreed to answer the question: “So you are walking down the road and you get hit by a bus, so you’re dead and you stand before God and he says why should I let you into heaven?” One said, “Jesus died for me”. Another agreed saying, “Yeah I got saved,” the big dude said something similar but Jaylon said, “I haven’t been saved.”  So I asked, “You guys got some time for your friend to hear?” They agreed turning the speaker down and Jaylon listened to the Gospel. I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins as I finished and he said “Yes.” So I showed him the prayer he could pray explaining it and he silently began to pray to receive Jesus. His nearest friend said as he was praying, “I didn’t know you weren’t saved.” So I put my finger over my lips so he’d know Jaylon was praying. And he got quiet and Jaylon finished and said, “Amen”. I gave him the book, Bible Promises for You, writing his name and mine in the front with “Just Ask” having explained walking by the Spirit’s power. They had a sling bagpack to carry it in. and I told him I would pray for him. And they happily made their way further down the beach.

Griffin was sitting on a woven straw beach mat with a friend who turned out to be a Christian but was up and down on his phone.  He looked like a stereotype of a farm kid, but I don’t know if he was, fair skin and short light hair under a cap. He answered the question, “’Cause, saved, go to church, study the Bible.” He was 100% sure he would go to Heaven so I asked him how God took away his sins with Jesus. He did not know so I began to go through the Gospel with him and finishing I asked, “Well it seems like you hadn’t put all this together before?” He agreed. I said if he wanted to be forgiven trusting in Jesus there was a prayer he could pray and I went through it with him. “I won’t remember that,” he said, he’d been laying flat with his tan Carhartt ball cap tilted against the sun so he could just see under it. I said that he could pray it now and he agreed and I held the booklet while he prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him Bible Promises for You, and wrote his name and “Just Ask” in the front. I gave his friend one too and they were appreciative and I told him I’d pray for him and moved on.

I came across 6 guys from Indiana. Anthony, Bryce, Lucus, Lando, Tai, and Dacota were all sitting together on separate towels, though when I walked up Anthony was initially standing and agreed to do a survey and everyone but the 7^th guy took the survey. He was a Christian and showed up a bit into it. I invited him but he declined he just listened and never gave me his name but later said he was the only one there that regularly went to church. Anthony was one of 3 good looking black guys, 2 with some elaborate tattoo work, 3-4 inch braids, Tai had fairer skin but seemed part African American, rings of curls coming down from under a hat and had ink across his chest surrounding a large cross not filed in. Dacota was wearing a t-shirt, braids and a cap on, was a bit shorter when I ran into them later all were tall as me or better. Lando was a thin white guy straight dark hair parted on the side. Lucas had short hair, brush cut and was the wit saying things as we all talked, bit bigger. Bryce was shorter and a bit round, white dude stick straight brown hair.  When I asked them what they would say to God if asked why He should let them into Heaven they each answered. Anthony said “Because I never doubted God”. Bryce said, “I always been believing.” Lucas said, “I treated everyone equal.” Lando said, “I always looked out for others and treated them equally.” Tai said, “I ain’t never let you down.” And Dacota said, “You’ve always been there for me.” Lucas said he had a 25% chance of going to Heaven but everyone else was reasonably sure. Lando and Anthony were 100%, Tai and Dacota were at 80%, Bryce at 90%. I explained the gospel to them. Lando and Lucas said they liked one of the examples and they all tuned in, God was at work. I asked them if they would like to be forgiven for their sins. Each agreed they would. I explained they all got the answer to the question wrong but that if they’d like to be forgiven there was a prayer they could pray and I explained it to them. They all wanted to pray to receive Jesus and they each did as I gave them each a booklet I said lets pray now and everyone bowed their head with me and prayed silently. I explained walking by the Spirit’s power and offered them books. Most took The Case for Christianity Answer Booklet but Dacota and I believe Bryce took a copy of Bible Promises for You. I put their name and mine and “Just Ask” in the front of every book. I told them I would pray for them each day for a year and would see them in Heaven. They were all very grateful. I bumped into them later waiting to get on jet skis and they were all really happy, Tai saying he felt different and Lando saying he felt refreshed. I had a bad headache so I might have dropped the ball when they said I should tell a couple with two small children what I had told them, that they were standing in line with. I had butted in I felt to say hi so I said they should tell them and Lucas said he had it down. So I felt dismissed and said something like, “Great listen to this man then.” And I headed off down the beach.

I bumped into three students, Regan, Chris and John who had to be in the last year of High School. They were from Alabama and told me there were a lot of shootings of people their age they knew near them and they were glad to be gone for a while. Regan said she knew of 4 people who had been shot dead changing it from 3 when Chris talked about a guy they knew of that shot his cousin. They were good looking kids, Regan was a petite, pretty girl with brown long hair and long elaborately painted nails, large hoop earrings and an interesting branch tattoo on the inside of her left forearm. Chris, her boyfriend had straight brown hair. More flat to his head and a sleeve he was working on with a cross in the foreground like a grave marker with two stakes tied together. He had a deer and a woodland scene and said he had just had it touched up and so had to keep it covered after showing me. He had some interesting wide calligraphy on the other forearm. John was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt and had a mop of curly hair to his jaw line and a hat on his head. Slightly larger features than Chris. When I asked them what they would say to God Regan said, “I tried my best, that’s what I would say.” Chris said, “I did my hardest in my personal opinion.” John said, ‘I knew He was real, [though] people always doubted Him.” I asked how likely it was they would get into Heaven, “10% is low, 100% for sure, 50/50 you got a shot,” I said. Regan said, “I hope more than 50%, I hope I got a shot.” Chris said, “I’ve done wrong, haven’t been such a good person. But I’m trying my hardest to be that person in God’s eyes…” “Try to make Him proud.” Regan finished for him and he seemed to agree. Chris said, “70%”.I went through the Gospel with them then explaining everything, His blood and righteousness, that he rose from the dead and God was just and got paid for the sins of their lives. Seeing they could not pay He paid Himself on the cross. They had been to Church before. After asking them if they would want to be forgiven for their sins they all agreed they would and so I explained the prayer to them I handed Chris the booklet I had written in and one then to Regan and John, saying they could pray quietly and each of them prayed to receive Jesus. I offered them books, to John first but he said he was not much of a reader but then I explained the verses in Bible Promises for You and Regan said, “I want that one.” Chris did too. So I write their names and mine in the front with “Just Ask” having explained that everything God was asking them to do God would give them the power to do by His Spirit. I told them I would pray for them each night one of the Prayers of Paul and thanked them for talking with me and said I would probably not see them again but I would see them in Heaven. Regan thanked me John nodded and Chris said, “’Preciate it.”  I went to the end of a stretch of beach for 15 minutes and realized I was shot. I headed back along the water’s edge where I passed them again and waved, then past them a bit I doubled back and asked John if he would want one of the promise books. I said it wasn’t much to read just verses. I realized I had not then doubled back to ask him after the others had wanted one. “I’ll take a book, yeah,” he said so I pulled one out and wrote his name and mine and “Just Ask.” Said good bye to them again and headed off.

So thanks for your prayers for evangelism today. God truly blessed. 30 people have prayed to receive Jesus while I have been here, which is what I had asked for when I left and been asking for while here. So hopefully tomorrow will be a continued blessing, more than I had asked for.

In Him,

Bob