Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you had the peace of God that surpasses understanding guarding your heart. I had a good day on campus and Erick and Jocelyn each prayed to receive Jesus today. Spencer said he’d like to think about it but he wanted to be forgiven. He had just started getting into faith again watching his pastor primarily on line. He didn’t go to a good church though. He was in the MAC.  A big guy with a blonde mop of hair and a pink t-shirt on he had 2 backpacks one was sun flowers so sort of strange for a dude. Thanks for your prayers, please pray they grow in their faith and Spencer prays. Their stories are below if you have the time to read more.  The Jewish Shemitah 50 year cycle (7 years times 7 plus one year) is over this week. I believe since their days begin at sunset it hits sunset in Jerusalem on Friday. So at about 20 minutes to 11 AM Friday Chicago time the 23rd/ 24^th of September begins the last day of the cycle. We’ll see if those saying it will bring the collapse of the economy are correct. It is a time to set the captives free but that’s my gig every day.  Thanks for your help.

Erick was sitting in the cafeteria at a table and was willing to do a survey. He had a thick mane of shaggy dark hair and it framed his face as if blown back and went down past his collar. He went to a church west of me that has a large Latino community near it. Though he looked like an American Indian in features sitting there as I walked up. He wore a dark T-shirt and jeans, was clean shaven and had a broader nose, good looking guy. A click bigger than me in stature. He had a sun medallion about the size of a half dollar on a necklace. Nice guy though he looked kind of tough before he spoke. Turned out he road an Indian Motorcycle and he showed me a picture of his bike. When I asked him what he would say to God he said, “What would I say… hmm, that’s a good question.” then thinking a bit, “I go to Church. I know it’s not about good deeds. I have faith in you, put you first.” He paused again and with and I don’t know tone said, “I’d been a good person… that’s such a hard question.” He thought he’d have an 80% chance of going to Heaven.  So I asked if I could have a bit more of his time to explain what the Bible said was how he would go to Heaven and he said sure. So I began to go through the Gospel with Him. I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sin, “He forgives you?” he said. I said that was true but the real reason God forgives you is He got paid. I began to explain the perfect life of Christ to him and then as I said he was killed, drawing a stick figure on the cross, he remembered the crucifixion then. I explained the blood cleansing him and the righteousness of God to his credit and then salvation by faith that Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the Dead. I read “As many as received him…” saying, “So it’s kind of like a Rorschach test, the first thing out of your pie when I ask you why should God let you into Heaven should be, Because Jesus died for me. “  Then it’s not by works. And he pointed out he had at least got that part right. I agreed. So I asked if he’d want to be forgiven and God would live inside him and he said he did. I said it seemed like he hadn’t put all this together really before so he could place his trust in Christ and he agreed. So I said he could pray a prayer and I read it through for him asking if it was the desire of his heart and he said, “Yeah.” I said he could pray it silently so only God would hear and he said, “Got ya.” And he took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave him a Bible study. He thanked me each time for each and thanked me again as I got up to go told me to be careful on my bike saying, “Thank you. You be safe out there.” “It’s not about being safe it’s about going to Heaven,” I said, smiling and he laughed and said, “Ok have a good one.”  And I said, “You too. “ He was happy.

I found Jocelyn a while later she was sitting along the wall in the sofa chairs that line the big student services lounge. She was willing to do a survey. She had a very pretty face. Her hair was dyed blonde after about 7 inches, or it had grown out that much. She wore no make-up, had shorts on and a nylon long sleeve black nylon shirt. She had a mole on one cheek that made her look a bit more classically pretty. She described herself as, “determined, passionate and happy.” When I asked her one thing she wanted to do before she died she said, “Swim with the sharks.” As we talked later it seemed like maybe she had done that already.  I asked her what she would say to God if asked Why should I let you into Heaven?  “That’s a hard question,” she replied. “I feel like there’s no way [to make] an excuse—way to justify entering into Heaven. I tried to find the purpose He intended for me throughout life. That’s all you can really do.” She thought she had a 60-40 chance of going to Heaven and said when I asked if she’d gone to church much as a kid, “I was raised in the Church.”  I began to go through the Gospel with her and when I asked what Jesus had done to take away her sins she just said, “He forgives you?” I said it was true He forgives you but “the real reason God does this is He got paid” and I explained to her the blood and righteousness of Christ. She tracked well with me and so I asked her as I finished the Gospel if she would want to be forgiven for her sins.  She said, “Well yeah.” in the way you say you would like to see elephants fly.  So I said there was a prayer she could pray if she wanted to be forgiven and I talked her through it and like she didn’t see it coming, that she could really be forgiven, she just said, “Oh wow.” She stared and the booklet then and her eyes welled up with tears and they began to roll down her face in tiny trickles she would wipe away with her fingers. I said, “God will forgive everything you have ever done and even make it into good.”  I said. Then saying she could pray it silently and God would hear and forgive her. She stared at the booklet and I watched her brown eyes go back and forth praying, reading the prayer in silence, as I held the booklet. When they stopped I waited a moment and said, “Amen?” “Amen,” she said.  “It’s just been hard lately. I’ve done some things.” She said.  I said now she could begin again God says He will remove her sins as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more. “It seems like if God could not forget, if he forgot my sins there would be nothing left of me,” I said. I explained God remembers the good He makes out of our lives not the sin we’ve done. And that is what he thinks about her. We talked a bit and I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I told her if she would want to meet Ellen and I could meet her at school if she’d like and I gave her my phone number and said she could send me a text if she wanted me to pray for her about anything. I said another girl Savannah had texted me about 7 times asking me to pray for her. But I would pray for her each day from now through the Spring and one year after asking God to bless her and when she got to Heaven since I was old I would certainly be there first, I’d show her around. She liked that idea. I gave her a Bible Study. I said, “Here let me pray for you”. And I took off my hat and put my fingertips on her shoulder and prayed for her. I told her the likelihood now she was going to Heaven was 100%. She had a Bible and asked if she had any more questions.  She couldn’t think of any so I said, “OK cool to meet you.” “You too,” she replied and I 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