Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you’ve had a great day filled up to the fullness of God, walking with Him in Newness of life. I had a good day on campus and 2 girls prayed, Madison and Odalys and one girl from last year Ellie said she had prayed since we’d spoken (I had been praying for her). Finally, Jess confessed Christ after hearing the Gospel and said she wanted to pray later in her own private space. So a great birthday, thanks so much for your prayers. Their stories are below if you have time please pray each of these girls grow in faith.

Ellie was sitting in the cafeteria. She has stick straight blonde hair, the roots out a bit and was wearing Jeans and a t-shirt. She’s pretty squared facial features. I recognized her and said, “Haven’t we talked before?” She said we had and as I began to say her name she finished it for me. She said, “Actually I have been reading my Bible a lot lately.” She had said before she had begun to read her Grandmothers Bible so I assume it was the same one. I said that was great and I asked if I had given her a booklet. She said she still had it. So I asked if she ever had prayed the prayer in it. “Actually I have.” I asked how she was doing she said she was trying to get to church but said her “mom is a lesbian and does not really encourage it”. I said, “Oh that’s hard”, and she agreed it was. I said I had been praying for her and now would pray a Bible verse for her each day until Spring and one year after. She was grateful and I gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet which she really liked and wrote her name and “forgiven!” in the front and explained she could find Strobel on line as she was interested in his story. She thanked me and was on her way.

As Ellie walked away I went over to ask a few people and finally Madison said she would do a survey. She too had been reading the Bible more frequently of late. Her mom died a year ago and she felt drawn closer to God since. She had a wide sweet looking oval face, a pointed nose, she was a cute kid with reddish brown hair parted down the middle straight just past her shoulders. She wore light blue jeans and a light brown sweatshirt and had a small silver cross around her neck. I asked her what she would say to God if asked “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “I’m a good person.” She replied. She had originally gone to a Lutheran church with her grandmother. She thought the likelihood she would go to Heaven was 100%. I began to go through the Gospel with her and when I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins she said, “Crucified?” “Right,” I said and I explained that Jesus was God and His blood being worth an infinite amount both cleansed her of sin and was a payment for sin. When I said “The real reason God forgives you is God got paid.” She laughed lightly and I said, “Really just as a fiction story if you stood before God and Satan walked up and said, “you can’t let her in,” God could say, “nope I paid for her”. So God is Just to forgive you because there was a payment. She peppered me with questions as I went through, she asked what the difference was between the Old Testament and the New Testament. I said that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit does not live inside people yet because Jesus had not died yet, they weren’t cleansed by his blood and sacrifice. In the New Testament God can live inside her and I explained there were prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled so you would know who he was when He came. I explained the Trinity also and explained how Jesus appeared as the Angel of Jehovah in the Old Testament. She agreed as I went through the Gospel interjecting a, “Yes,” here and there. I explained the righteousness of Christ and salvation by faith. I finally asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus and not hoping she was good enough. “Yes,” she said. So I asked if she had ever asked to be forgiven for her sins, “Yes,” she put in. “What I mean is have you asked God to forgive you telling Him you were trusting in what Jesus had done?” “No not like that,” she replied. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I talked her through it and said “It says here, ‘Does this prayer express the desire of you heart?” “Yes,” she said again. I asked if she’d like to pray it silently right now I would not hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven, “Wanna do that?” “Yeah,” she replied and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life to her by the Spirit’s Power and gave her Bible Promises for You and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave her The Case for Christ Answer  Booklet and a Bible study. She thought she would come to a Bible Study next week. I told her I would pray for her every day from now until Spring and one year after. We agreed she would see me in Heaven and I told her to have a good semester. “Thank you, you too,” she replied and I headed out.

Odalys [Oh Dallas] was sitting on the ground floor of the east most science building in the hall. She did not have too much time. She had a ball cap on and long brown hair past her shoulders. She had on pink hued “Granny Style” glasses. She wore Jeans and a white t-shirt white tennis shoes and ankle socks. Her name was new to me but is a common enough Spanish name on the web, though she was using the English pronunciation. She was fair skinned Latina and didn’t wear any make-up, looked like a young business woman.  She was kind and it seemed like she had aging parents who she felt like she wanted to spend more time with, “take them to the beach”. She had been to church when she was young and knew Jesus had been crucified for her sins when I asked what He had done to take away her sins. I asked her one thing she would want to do before she died and she said, “Spend time with my family, experience more and be present with them.” I asked what she would say to God and she said, “That’s a very good question. I feel like I’ve been there for everyone, I’ve tried to be selfless.  Religiously I’m not very close to God. When I get in a serious situation that’s when I ask God for help.” I said I thought many people were that way and God wanted us to ask for help all the time even for help on a test. I went through the Gospel with her. She knew Jesus had died for her. I explained the cleansing blood and Christ’s payment for her sins and righteousness. I asked if she would want to be forgiven or thought something else. “The first option,” she relied. I asked if she would want to be forgiven there was a prayer and talked her through it “Yeah,” she said when I asked if it was the desire of her heart. Asking if she’d like to pray it she said, “That’s fine,” and did then pray to receive Jesus. I explained the Christian life y the Spirit’s power and told her I would be praying for her. I quickly gave her Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave her Strobel’s book and she had to run saying, “I will keep in touch with you I have your email, Thank you.” “Have a good day, God bless you,” I replied and she hurried off. I felt like I took too much time as she had to rush. That’s not uncommon.

Jess was laid back against the windows her elbow up on a motorcycle helmet in the science lounge, looked tall. Pretty, she had strawberry blonde hair in two thick long braids up onto the top of her head and freckles, a diamond shaped face. She wore leggings and a tan long sleeved shirt with thumbholes. She said the helmet was her boyfriend’s. She said he was a religious guy and they had deep conversations at times. She used to go to a Mega Church in Naperville but it seemed to have been a while. There was an ink line tattoo on her ankle and she wore running shoes. When I asked her what why she should get into Heaven what she would say to God, “To see my Grandpa,” was the reply.  She thought she had a 90% chance of going to Heaven. I said, “That was a sweet answer, to see your Grandpa, but what is it you think gets someone into Heaven?” “Be kind, helping anybody be open to anybody,” she said. Agreeing with me that had boundaries. As I began to go through the Gospel with her she did not know what Jesus had done to take away her sins. I began to explain the Gospel and the Cross the Blood and righteousness of God. “This is blowing open my brain,” she said. I explained then that this was hers by faith—if she believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. Not that she just knew the story but that that’s what she placed her trust in as a woman to be forgiven and go to Heaven. She nodded. I explained her good stuff would not fix her bad stuff. “Say you had a boyfriend before this one you thought he was cool but then you found out he was cheating on you and stealing your stuff.”  She nodded with a smirk indicating that guy was in her rear-view mirror. “So you cut him loose.” She nodded that had happened. “He comes around in a week and says I know I did you wrong I was even stealing your stuff and selling it for drugs but I just want you to know I’m gonna be nice to my next 3 girlfriends.” She scoffed and I said “You’d be like whatever, because you can’t do good stuff over there to fix your bad stuff here.” She agreed. But I said God could turn bad things into good things because He controls the future.” I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done where He then could live inside her and give her strength. She said she would. I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray. I went through it with her asking if it was the desire of her heart. She said it was. I said she could pray it silently and she said she really likes to pray in her own space. “If I can keep this?” I said she could and there was more in it about faith and explained the Spirit’s power. I said, “So let me ask you, do you now believe Jesus is God He died for your sins and rose from the dead?” “Yes,” she said. “And do you trust now in that to be forgiven and go to Heaven. “Yes,” she replied. “Well the Bible says if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart he rose from the Dead after dying for your sins you will be saved.” She liked that. ‘You still have to say it to God of course,” I put in. I gave her a book and reached out with my left hand as I got up to go, it was nice to meet you, I’ll see you in Heaven. She squeezed my hand with her right. “Nice to meet you too. And I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob