Prayer Letter – May 21, 2024

Third Watch Ministries, NFP                                                         Bob & Ellen Bollow

P. O. Box 1283                                                                                         May 21, 2024

Wheaton, IL 60187  

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.”  1 Corinthians 3:6

Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your summer has been blessed so far with good things from above. We had a good year on campus. Both semesters we had bible studies with different students and Ellen got to participate a bit. Everyone who came was a guy, so it mattered less that our most essential volunteer missed some studies. Ellen does all the behind-the-scenes things we have to do to be a NFP in the state of IL. Without her I might still have a ministry—you know out of a trailer park in Florida walking the beaches. I could possibly hope to be kind of a sunburned John the Baptist. The locust diet seems unappealing however, so I’m grateful. We had 145 students pray to receive Christ after hearing the Gospel from me on campus this year. Many more are a question mark for me, though I tell them the Gospel. They often seem to agree with it but are unresponsive in the moment. I had about 20 conversations like that this year. So to end the year, here’s a conversation with John that I had recently through social media. It encouraged me that God was at work in people I prayed for but did not know much more of, in terms of their life in Christ. I have known John over 10 years through his attendance at the college, but had not seen him in a few years.

 

John:  Dear Bob, I don’t want to force myself into making this a long-winded thing, but I recently saw a bunch of testimonials about people who had communication with God and give themselves to Christ. Many had near death experiences and saw some of the afterlife. Some visit heaven, some visit hell, some see demons, etc. This prompted me to make a ton of changes over the last month or so. I’m more aware now than I ever have been that it’s my duty to establish a fellowship with Christ. I just wanted to mention that some of the conversations we had a few years back at COD had stuck with me throughout the years. I don’t know how big or small it was to you, but your friendship always had a gentle impact on my life that I believe is at least partially responsible in orienting me towards this. You are a true friend and your kindness was a huge gift. God bless you and El.

Bob:  Thanks a lot John. I prayed for you for several years when I was seeing you regularly off and on and asked God to bless you and lead you to Himself. I’m so glad our conversations and friendship was a good thing. I’m grateful you’re getting closer to the Lord. I believe the Bible teaches if you believe Jesus is God, died for your sins and rose from the dead, you are a child of the God. Then trusting in Jesus’ work, to earn God’s righteousness for you, and His blood to cleanse you; this means God enters you and seals you with His Holy Spirit [Ephesians 1:13]. You are saved by faith and this is God’s gift. [Ephesians 2:8&9]. So you do have an obligation to draw near to God because you owe Him for creating you. He’ll save you if you tell Him you trust in Jesus and His work on the Cross by faith. And forgive all your sins. But also He will give you all the strength you need to live to please Him by the Spirit that dwells in you. Thanks so much for touching base. I’ll be praying you continue to “bear fruit.” God bless you man. I am at [gave him my cell] if you ever need pray for anything or conversation. Peace be upon you Brother.

John:  Thanks again for the kind words. I’m working on changing how I pray to better communicate with God and get some things off my chest. In the past I feel like I mostly just prayed for protection (good health, happy family, healthy dogs, etc). I’m sure God hears me well enough, but I’m trying to reflect more on the how I can better serve God. It’s been an experience trying to restructure my thinking in that way. I’m trying to reflect on my sin to experience the significance of the sacrifice. I don’t want my prayers to sound like a list of requests anymore and I think that starts by working harder to reflect on things in the bigger picture. It’s been a journey but I’m reading my Bible and doing my best to understand how my life works into everything. Like I said, I’m thankful that you were there as a friend to help “water the seed” in the way that you did. I don’t know where I would be now if you hadn’t said something like: the only thing that gives me a shot at getting into heaven is Jesus’ sacrifice. If I hadn’t heard that I would have probably continued to think that my “good deeds” would have outweighed my laundry list of sins. At the very least, I’m happy to have eventually caught on and corrected that thinking. I don’t want to warp Gods gift into something that fits into my life. Anyway, I hope things are going well. I don’t know how often you hear this kind of thing from friends, but I appreciate everything. I’ll give you a call if I need it, and if not- I might just give you a call to catch up sometime. Thanks again Bob.

Bob:  Yeah call anytime. I still walk around school and talk to students about Jesus. Many trust in Jesus right as I am talking to them and I will pray for them for at least a year. I hear something once in a great while from someone I talked to at school a bit after but running into people is pretty random. I think God has to work in people or there would be no understanding. I truly appreciate your kindness to let me know that God used what I said. It’s a blessing to me. You’re welcome..

Here are the names of the students who are new believers during the 2023-24 school year. Please pray for God to bring growth in their lives. (*means they said they would pray later)

Alijah, Jordan, Ken, Kolton, Will, Alex, Kiya, Marshall, Ashlyn, Tony, Mitch, Toni, Maia, Nick, Gabby, Brandon, Jameson, Christ, Kate, Trevont, Ian, Kyra, Davon, Vincent, Ian, Andy, Ray, Shauna, Oscar, Chris, Ella, Ryssa, Tim, Kayla, Kendall, Janayah, Juan, Mia, Abrianna, Ayleen, Daniel, Braedon, Tessa, I’sis*, Marnita, Sno, Matt, Kathline, Brenda*, Brandon, Rebeca, Bao, Diego, James, Neeha, Justin, KB, Mariah, Ben, Simona, Joseph, Darion, Michael, Jimmy, Leo, Clare*, Cristina, Maritza, Pablo, Gabriel, Alissa, Christopher, Kadin, Emerson, Lexi, Caliah, Yami, Kailey, Alex, Jonathon, DiLo, Joseph, Rosa, Fernanda, Oliver, Joe, Atiba, Christian, Zach, Isaiah, Thania, Israel, Mariana, LeDonte, Lucas, Rulan, Pearla, Griffin, Irlanda, Jarely, C.J., Gabe* Alex, Gia, Cristina, Janiyah, Myles, Fabian*, Simone, Calvin, Tilicia, Gabi, Zach, Sebastian, Lilly, Nicole, Matias, Quelle, Gabe, D’Riyah, Jomaine, Jack, V, Jacob, Anthony, Floyd, Jack, Quin, Jake, Samantha, Carlos, Anna, Olivia, Peter, Liam, Eva, Abby, Jason, Maggie, Angel, Mallory, Nick, Patrick, Sara, Haetham, Chris, Jalen, Jay, Derrick, Steph

We are grateful for another school year where God blessed the work, and your prayers & support provided the opportunity.

In Him,

Bob & Ellen

bob.thirdwatch@sbcglobal.net

www.thethirdwatch.org