Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed with the peace only God can provide in what seems like a fracturing world. I had a good day on campus and Cristina and Maritza each prayed to receive Christ. Please pray they grow. Yesterday I did pastoral counseling with some students. I knew and one I met Allison who had kind of lost her faith which had been more in her church than in Christ. The Church was screwing some things up (that they could be sued for frankly) and the fallout was affecting her family. Strawberry blonde hair waiting for the pool to open, milk-white rimmed glasses.  I’ll be praying for her to trust in Jesus as she was not sure she ever had and her answers to get into Heaven were good works stuff. Another girl Lauren today with ringlets of hair and a Puerto Rican look was into nearly everything, flat earth, aliens and Gaza, yet quoting Holocaust victims, missing their point. There’s a lot out there right now. Thanks for your prayers.

I felt a nudge to go to the 3^rd floor and knew to turn left as I went out of the elevator and saw Cristina sitting in a lounge that looks out on one of the atriums on my left as I went down the hall. She was a lovely girl with dark brown wavy hair, almond shaped eyes. She had on a maroon pullover hoodie with one of the IL colleges on it and grey sweats. She had a heart shaped mouth when it pursed to help her think and a sharp jaw line, was slight. I sat to her left.  I asked her to do a student survey and she agreed. She said she wanted to go to Greece but wasn’t Greek. I said I thought it would be cool to see the ruins and it was warm there. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and He asked: “Why should I let you into Heaven?” She said, “Because I’ve always had faith in Him, and I’ve always trusted Him.” She thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. She went to church but could not remember the name of it. She listened attentively to the Gospel and took it all in. When I asked what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world she said, “He died on the cross.” Summing up everything I’d said about the atonement and resurrection I read the verse in Rom. 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” She gave out a nearly imperceptible, “Hmm”. As if something had registered. I finished telling her salvation was by faith. I asked if she’d want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus, so He could live inside her and guide her life, or thought something else. She gestured with a pinky touching the circle with Christ inside with a long nail. I said that there was a prayer she could pray then and read it through for her. I asked “Does this prayer express the desire of your heart. “Hm hum,” she said. I said she could pray it silently, “I wouldn’t hear you but God would hear and you’d know you were forgiven, wanna to it?” She nodded twice and I gave her the booklet and she prayed to receive Jesus. When she’d finished I when back to the survey card and said of the likelihood she would go to Heaven, “This is 100%, if you’re trusting in the righteousness of Jesus His righteousness is worth an infinite amount.” I said that though I was old and had sinned more that if we both died Jesus’ blood would cover us both. I went through the Christian life and she said her family had a Bible to read. I told her of the fruit of the Spirit and explained that by the Spirit’s power she could live “Inside > Out” first transformed on the inside and then doing good things on the outside, “everything in Christianity is Just ask”. I gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave her a Bible Study on the Deity of Christ and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day from now until Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. “Thank you,” she said as I got up to go. Thanks so much for your time,” I replied. “Of course,” she said and I headed off down the hall.

It wasn’t too far down I came across Maritza sitting in the hallway. She was very pretty as well and had a cross around her neck. Her brown hair was up in a random bun. She wore a zip up black hoodie on and black sweats. Her skin was very fair and she had a couple of beauty mark freckles. Kind of a button nose, and narrow face, slight build. Her shoes looked like slip-on slippers a lot of students wear showing painted toenails. (I later saw a guy in some in the parking lot.) She said she had 20 minutes before class and some time. She seemed family oriented and wanted to have kids. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven. She said, “I’d say I think—I know was a good person. I’m grateful for everything I have.” She was certain she would go to Heaven, 100% but she never went to Church though she had recently been to a wedding where she had. I began to go through the Gospel with her. I said God wanted to live inside her, “It’s like you’re the Energizer Bunny and God is the batteries, you keep going and going and when you die it’s like you don’t die ‘cause God’s inside.” That got a closed mouth smile in response but she was very serious, concentrating as I went through the Gospel with her. I asked what the thing was that Jesus had done to take away her sin so she could be one with God. She didn’t know. So I said, “Well this is how it works.” I began to tell her that Jesus lived a perfect life she could not live and poured out His blood that cleansed her and was a payment for her sin. I explained it was fair for God to forgive her sins as there was a payment for them. He rose from the Dead. I explained that if she believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the Dead that would mean she had faith in Jesus and she was saved by faith. I asked if she would want to be forgiven for her sins trusting in what Jesus had done to be forgiven. She said she did. I said there was then a prayer she could pray and I asked if was the desire of her heart.  “Yeah,” she said. I asked if she would want to pray silently to be forgiven and she nodded and took the booklet and said, “Thank you so much.” She prayed to receive Christ then and looking at the booklet she said, “Can I keep this?” I said she could. I took it to explain the Christian life to her. She said 2 girls had asked her to do a Bible Study. I said to be careful and that there were cults on campus and that if they wanted her to join their Church that she should be wary. I said she could email me if she had any questions and told her about our Bible study and another one on a different day campus. She did not have a Bible so I gave her one explaining the contents, the study helps and maps and such. I could tell she really liked the Bible. I wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I gave her Bible Promises for You and she said, “I always wanted a book with Bible verses in it.” The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible study. I said the likelihood she would go to Heaven now was 100% trusting in the righteousness of God to be her righteousness. I told her I would pray a Bible verse for her each day until spring and one year after asking God to bless her. I got up to go she said “Thank you,” again 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