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