Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you had a good week serving the Lord in your heart with thankfulness. I had a good week on campus and 10 students trusted in Christ that I know of though I am hopeful any that there are others who will one day believe. Adam and Rita prayed to receive Jesus on Thursday. Their stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow in their faith.

Rita was sitting alone at a table. She was in the lounge that is halfway down the hall of the East wing of the Health and Science buildings on the 2^nd floor. She was a pink long-sleeved T-shirt and had a pretty full face, looked a bit heavyset. She was Latina. Her Grandfather was a pastor in Mexico when he was alive though she said she would not say she was as religious as him. She had long dark brown straight hair past her shoulders. I asked her what she thought she would say to God to get into Heaven. “He knows when you’ve done enough,” she said. “He brings all the obstacles; He has a plan.” I asked her what the likelihood was she would get into Heaven. “Very likely,” she replied, “I work in a nursing home in a dementia unit.” She said the patients would affirm her and in not so many words she kind of thought they could see she was being good to them and so was good. “I’ve always been good though.” The world is pretty corrupt. So you could see how a religious girl who wasn’t doing a lot of what others in her age bracket would, could see the contrast to her own life. She’d recently been in a car crash and the family would be short a car. At the crash she was sitting down and a bird had landed in a nearby bush and her grandfather had loved Cardinals and she felt like God was reminding her of him and telling her He had a plan. As I went through the Gospel and asked her what Jesus had done to take away the sins of the world. She knew Jesus had died. I told her Jesus said, “You are to be perfect as your Heavenly father is perfect.” We owe God for the things we wrecked of His, owed Him something perfect back. We are not perfect so Jesus perfect blood is the payment for her sin. The cleansing blood of Christ allows God to live inside her. Then in explaining the righteousness of God, that Jesus had earned for her and provided, I said she was clothed with Jesus. She would not go to Heaven because she was good but because Jesus was good and she was connected to Him by faith. Then God adopts her. I explained how her good stuff could not fix her bad stuff but God can work all things together for good because he controls the future. I then asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done or thought something else. And said again, “So would you want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus?” “Yeah,” she replied. So I said that if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and talking her through it I asked if it was the desire of her heart. “I was just thinking something like that,” she replied. So I said she could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear her but God would hear and she’d know she was forgiven. “Wanna do that?” I asked. “Yeah,” she said again and she took the booklet and prayed to receive Jesus. I told her when she was finished that the likelihood she would go to Heaven now trusting in the Christ’s blood and righteousness to save her was 100%. I explained living he Christian life “By the Spirit’s power.” Being transformed. I gave her a copy of Bible Promises for You writing her name and the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave her The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and a Bible Study she liked. She was at another campus (COD has a couple remote ones) on Wednesday but said if it got cancelled she’d try to make a Bible study. I told her I would pray a Bible Verse for her each day from now through Spring and one year after asking God to bless her. I got up to go. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll see you in Heaven,” I replied. “She smiled, “Ha OK, have a nice day. Thank you,” she said again and I headed out.

I came across Adam sitting on the patio on the south side of the BIC. There’s a little shade from the back wall of the computing center and he was sitting in it at a picnic table. He had kind of a “Wreck-it Ralph” face, clean shaven with blondish brown shaggy hair, blue grey eyes that stood out in the brightness of the outdoors. He was wearing black cargo shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with palm trees on it, big dude. He said he had 20 minutes to kill before some kind of guidance counselor appointment (possibly). He didn’t have any books, was a real mild-mannered guy. He said his mom and he had gone to church when he was younger but he said that had “dropped off” and he “never really understood it”. He said he wanted to buy a house someday and it seems like several students have that this year, I think it is symbolic of something they see slipping away from them in culture. I asked him what he would say to God to get into Heaven. He thought for a minute with a “Hmm what would I say…” “I always try to help others around me, care about others. I always believed in God.” He thought the likelihood he would go to Heaven was 70%. I began to go through the Gospel with Him and he knew Jesus had died to take away our sins. I began to explain the Gospel to him and he followed everything as I explained the blood and righteousness of Christ. I said all God had done for him could be his by faith and that his good deeds could not fix his bad deeds.  I asked if he would want to be forgiven for his sins or thought something else and looking at the caption under the circle with Jesus on the throne of his life he paraphrased it saying, “Living life trusting in God.” I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and read it through explaining it saying, “It says here, ‘Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?’ So would you say it does?” “Yeah,” he replied. I said he could pray it silently and he nodded. Handing him the booklet I said, “Just pretend I’m not here.” “OK,” he replied and he prayed to receive Jesus. I began to go through the Christian life with him and when I asked he said if he had a Bible he said if he did he did not know where it was, so I gave him one explaining all the study helps. I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven!” in the front. I gave him a Bible Study too and Bible Promises for You and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet. I told him the likelihood he would now go to Heaven was 100%, trusting in the blood and Righteousness of Jesus. Something I began saying to students this year is “So when you think about it, I’m old, so I’ve sinned way more than you. Each year I sin and God forgives me but it piles up over a life but if this wall fell on us and we both died right now we would both go to Heaven. Because Jesus blood is worth an infinite amount and His righteousness is worth an infinite amount so we’ll both get in—even though you deserve it more than me, Jesus paid the way.” He thanked me and shook my hand and I said I would pray a Bible Verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. “I’ll see you in Heaven. I’m old so I’ll get there first. Look me up I’ll show you where the cool places are.” “All right,” he said with a big smile and I headed off.

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

In Him,

Bob