Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope life was filled with peace and joy for you today. I had a good day on campus. Kevin prayed with me to receive Jesus and Ethan let me know he’d prayed to receive Jesus today, I’d gone through the Gospel with him earlier. Melvin had an every man face and Clark Kent hair. Latino guy with a 5 o’clock shadow rivaling Richard Nixon said he would pray later. Their stories are below, please pray they grow and Melvin prays to receive Jesus.

Melvin flagged me down saying he had a question for me, but saying he really had to study for a test and did not have much time. He’d probably heard me asking people to do a survey about God, I’d not met him to my knowledge. Kids kind of know who I am after a bit of the semester rolls by assuming I’m the college pastor I think.. He was sitting on the corner of the 1^st floor hall in a T-shirt and sweats studying, just west of the cafeteria. I kneeled at his side and asked what was up. He said he had been struggling with some anxiety over his faith. He’d had dreams he was falling into Hell. He’d talked to his priest (being Roman Catholic) who’d said, “Jesus took all the pain on Him so you do not need to be anxious.” I asked what he thought got him into Heaven and he basically said, “being a good person”. So I went through the gospel with him quickly explaining that His goodness would not get him into Heaven but Jesus dying for him and rising from the dead could. I also explained Jesus righteousness to his credit, said he was saved by faith in what Jesus had done. I explained this was represented in the Mass where the wine was symbolic of Jesus blood and wafer of his body. He said he’d want to be forgiven so I said that if he wanted to trust in Christ there was a prayer he could pray and talked him through it. He affirmed, when I asked, that it was the desire of his heart. I said he could pray it silently. He felt pressed for time and said, “Can I take this with me?” I said, “Sure”. He thought he would pray later when he was alone.  I gave him Bible Promises for You showing him some verses to read for comfort and headed off.

Nathan was sitting in a lounge beside the finance accounts window. He had straight dishwater blond hair parted in the middle in kind of a Bobby Sherman shag cut. He wore a large silver cross around his neck, smooth features, white guy.  I had first encountered him in some seating that’s in a circle outside the Cafeteria. He had church group he attended and was not interested in a survey but was unsure what to say to God to get into Heaven when I asked. He said I could show him some verses. I quickly went through the Gospel with him. “Something to thing about?” I asked. He agreed and I left him the booklet showing him the prayer. It seemed he intonated he might pray later. When I came across him today he had done so. I said I would be praying for him and he said he had a promise book and so I headed out. He didn’t want to talk today either so I headed off.

Kevin was sitting at a counter height table in the hallway that winds down to the Bookstore. He had a small face with a small block chin and a parted in the middle mustache. His hair was stick straight and also parted down the middle and he looked to me like he could be cast as a scientist in a science fiction movie. He wore aviator style glasses and wore a polyester zip up running jacket. There was a large gold colored cross around his neck. He did not have a lot to say and when I asked him one thing he’d like to do before he died he thought for a moment and admitted he had “no big plans”. I asked what he thought he might say to God if he died to get into Heaven and he said, “Ah…I don’t know, I’m not sure.” I asked what he thought it was that got someone into Heaven and he said, “Living life and having a meaning.” He thought he had an 80% chance of going to Heaven. He listened patiently to the Gospel. He said he had been to Catholic Church periodically. When I asked him what Jesus had done to take away his sins he knew He had died. I explained how the blood of Jesus cleansed him so God could live inside him and paid God for what we owed Him for not living perfectly in the world. I also explained the righteousness of Christ that he would inherit when God adopted him. I said this was the symbolism in the Mass where Jesus blood is symbolized in the wine and the wafer symbolized His body broken and when he took it it was reminding him Jesus had died to pay for his sins and he could just say “Thank You.”  I said this was his by faith and asked him if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done so God could live inside him or did he think something else. “No I would want that first one,” he replied pointing at the circle. So I said, “Well if you wanted to be forgiven there is a prayer you could pray.” I talked the prayer through with him and said, “It says here, ‘does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’ Would you say that it does?”  He thought it did so I said he could pray it silently and I would not hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. He agreed and I said, “Just pretend I’m not here.” “Ha, alright,” he replied smiling and prayed to receive Jesus. When he finished I explained that now trusting in the righteousness of Jesus to be to his credit and His blood of infinite worth the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 100%. I told him I would pray a Bible Verse for him each day asking God to bless him from now until Spring and one year after.  I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet  and a Bible study explaining it to him which he seemed to like. “Sorry I took so long,” I said in getting up to go, he was not very responsive on the surface. But he replied, “Thank you so much.” “God bless you,” I said and shook his hand which he held out like a Karate chop, I shook it as best I could and headed off.

I also talked with Kenny today who had a mop of blondish hair and blue eyes, good looking guy who described himself as athletic. He had a long sleeve t-shirt with  “Iron Sharpens Iron” printed on the back. He went to a Bible Study with his Girlfriend. He did not know the Gospel at all however he thought he might pray later saying when I asked, “Do you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the dead?” “I would like to believe that,” he replied so I gave him The Case for Christ Answer Booklet saying it might help him with his faith.

Areej from Pakistan on a student visa heard the Gospel too, She was living with her brother and sister-in-law and hoped to stay in America. She had no head covering on and I asked her what she thought about that having said she was a Muslim. She said she thought when she was ready to show her devotion to God she would wear one probably.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance God truly blessed the work.

In Him,

Bob