Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your weekend has been blessed do far looking to the reward of eternal life. I had a good day yesterday on campus, Dailen prayed with me to receive Christ. Mark in the PE lounge said he would pray later when alone. He had brown hair swept to the side and looked a bit like Robert Urich, with a mustache only 5 o’clock shadow. He’d come into the conversation trusting in his works. I had a good week on campus as 6 students prayed to receive Jesus: Keith, Matthew, Julia, Jessica & Panos, also prayed. Dailen’s story is below if you have the time. Please pray these students grow in their faith.

Dailen was sitting at a counter height table in the hallway outside the entrance to the bookstore. The braids out of his afro came poking out from under a nylon cap and he had sharp features. He was African American and medium in build about like me. He had on a white hoodie with a beige splash design all over it and white sweats. He had a thin mustache and a goatee under his chin. He said he wanted to take care of his mom and pay her back, so I think he was from a one parent family. I asked him what he would say if he was hit by a bus and died, then stood before God and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” He mused with an, “I would say… that’s a good question.” Then he decided, “He should let me in because during my time I walked in His name. I tried to do everything I could to walk in His name.” He thought he had a 70% chance of getting into Heaven and he’d been to Church. I began to go through the Gospel with him saying knowing God was that He lived inside him by the Holy Spirit. I said he had to match God and be cleansed. The problem was everyone sinned. So God had to take away his sins to transfuse His life inside into and live inside him. I asked what Jesus had done to take away his sins. He struggled over the idea a bit and then said, “You tell me.” So I said God forgives him because he got paid and explained the atonement. God became a man. The Blood of Christ cleansed him and paid God back for what we had damaged in His world. I explained the righteousness of God and that he could be saved grace through faith. I finished explaining that his good stuff would not fix his bad stuff and asked if he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done, then God would live in him and give him the strength he needed in life, or did he think something else giving him the cliff notes version of Islam’s god and the Buddha. Then I said again, “So would you want to be forgiven?” “I think I would,” he said in an affirmative tone. I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray and I talked him through it and asked if it was the desire of his heart. He said it was and so I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear him but God would hear and he’d know he was forgiven. “Wanna do it?” I asked. “I will,” he said and took the booklet and prayed to receive Christ after I said, “Just pretend I’m not here.” I said he could keep the booklet and explained the Christian life living inside out by the Spirit’s Power. He had a Bible so I gave him Bible Promises for You and wrote his name and the date and forgiven in the front. I gave it to him and he said, “Thank you.” I explained, now trusting in the blood and righteousness of Jesus, both worth and infinite amount, he could be sure his sins were paid for and he was forgiven. I told him I, being old, had sinned way more than him. But we’d both be let in. I told him I would pray a Bible verse for him each day from now until Spring and one year after. “I might not be able to picture your face too well by this time next year but I’ll still be praying for ya.” He smiled at that. I got up to go and said, “See you in heaven you can tell me how it all went down and what you did for your mom.” “For sure,” he replied. I headed off around the bend to sit on the floor in a way that stretched my sciatica and helped my stitches.

So Thanks for your prayers for the ministry last week and evangelism Thursday if you had a chance, God truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob