Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed today with Joy and Peace in Believing. I had a good day on campus, seeing some students from last semester that I knew and who had trusted Christ or heard the Gospel. Esther and Nikki each prayed to receive Jesus today. Please pray they are blessed and if you have time for their stories, they are below.

 Esther was sitting along the hallway that runs to the bookstore. She had soft classic African American features. A warm round friendly face. She described herself as shy and she was pretty quiet, not saying much as I went through the Gospel with her. She had a dark parka on with a fur-look strip on the hood. Her hair ran into thin braids down past her shoulders. She had a bright red shirt on and blue cotton sweats. When I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked her why He should let her into Heaven, she thought for a moment and said, “I’m a child of God. I followed your commandments.” She thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven when she died, saying she went to Church every Sunday and Wednesday. She leaned in over her back-pack, interested, as I went through the Bible verses of the Gospel. She knew when I asked what Jesus had done to take away her sins that He had died for her sins. When I finished explaining how His blood and righteousness had saved her, I offered her the two circles in the booklet, suggesting she could be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done for her. Asking, “Or do you think something else?” “I would definitely want to be forgiven for my sins,” she said emphatically. Her response to the “What would you say to God Question” had sounded like she was hoping she was good enough to go to Heaven. So I said if she had never had a chance to ask God to forgive her, trusting in what Jesus had done for her on the Cross, there was a prayer she could pray. I walked her through the prayer and said, “It says here ‘Is this prayer the desire of your heart?’ Would you say it was?” “Yeah,” she said and nodded. I said if she wanted to then she, “could pray it right now and know she was forgiven.” I wouldn’t hear but God would hear her and forgive her. She took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. When she finished I explained the Christian life living “Inside out” where she could ask God to transform her. I told her now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be her righteousness, the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. She thanked me and I gave her the book Bible Promises for You. I gave her a Bible study on the deity of Christ. I told her I would pray for God to bless her each day. I told her where and when we had Bible study saying she could drop by. She was really nice. As I got up to leave I said, “It was so nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too,” she replied. “God bless you,” I said and she said, “You too.”

Nikki was sitting in the cafeteria at the counter looking outside eating lunch. I passed her and talked with Tyler sitting at a far table who had prayed to receive Jesus last semester and invited him to the Bible Study. She was done eating as I came back her way and said she would do a student survey. She had a child-like voice and might have been one of the special learning students on campus. But she tracked with everything I said and was unescorted. She wore an off-white parka and black pants. Her hair was blondish and got brighter blonde as it got longer, a few inches past her part to past her shoulders and she had on bright red nail polish. She said she hoped to become an ultrasound technician. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven and she said, “That’s a hard one…” Then thinking a bit she said, “Because I care a lot for people. I always did the right thing.” She said she went to Church every Sunday at a Catholic Church in Naperville. She thought she had a 75% chance of going to Heaven. She listened closely to the Gospel. She knew Jesus had died for her. As I finished I asked her too if she would want to be forgiven, trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. She said she would want to be forgiven. I said if she had never asked God to forgive her before, trusting in what Jesus had done for her, there was a prayer she could pray. After I explained it, I asked if it was the desire of her heart. “Um hum, “ she affirmed and so I asked, would she “like to pray the prayer right now and know she was forgiven?” “Yeah,” she said and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus, crossing herself as she finished. I explained to her then asking for God’s help in everything, living “inside out” where God could transform her on the inside. I said now it was 100% that she was going to Heaven. I asked if she would like a book with Bible verses in it and she said she would so I gave her Bible Promises for You and put her name and the date and “Forgiven!” on the inside. She thanked me and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob