Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed walking with the Lord in the light of His word. I had a good day on campus and Anzhelo (angelo from Bulgaria) prayed to receive Jesus and Jack confessed Christ. Their stories are below if you have some time. Please pray they grow in faith.

Anzhelo was sitting in the cafeteria with a pizza in front of him. He said he was born in Bulgaria. His parents used google translate on his name for an English spelling, (a Bulgarian equivalent of Angelo) and thus the unique spelling. He was very slight in build and short. He had the classic Clark Kent hair swept up and a cleft chin, slightly pocked face. He looked like the stereotype of a dockworker but was far too small to fit the bill. He had on sky blue t-shirt with darker lettering I never made out and ringed sleeves. I never saw his pants. He said he was from an Orthodox Church background but had not been regularly attending Church as he used too. He only knew Bulgarian people in the Church, which spoke Bulgarian and he was bilingual.  I asked him what he would say to God if he died and was asked, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” “Not too sure,” he replied. “ ‘Cause like I can’t really say ‘this is why’. At the same time you’re your own cover of your own book and you read into it. I’m biased of my own self.” I asked what the likelihood was he would get into Heaven. Again he said, “Not too sure… Under 50%. [But] If I get my act together, if I ask for forgiveness well enough, just get it together, than 50%.” I explained that God wanted to know and live inside him but had to first take away his sins. I asked how God did that and he knew that Jesus had died for him. I went on to explain the cleansing power of Christ’s blood and that in it was life, so that it paid God back for the life we had in some measure ruined by our sins. We owed God a perfect life and Jesus completed a payment to God for what we owed Him. I explained Jesus earned the righteousness of God, which was to our credit when God adopted us. “So you don’t go to Heaven because you’re good but because Jesus is good and you’re connected to Him.” I said all God had done was ours when we receive Jesus by faith. Explaining our efforts to be good notwithstanding we could not be perfect. I asked if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins trusting in Jesus then He would live inside him and give him strength and take him to Heaven when he died. Or did he think something else, explaining a bit of Islam’s god and the Buddha. “The first one,” he replied. So I said if he wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer he could pray. I talked him through it and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. He said it did so I asked if he would want to pray it silently and he said, “Yeah.” He took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. He had a Bulgarian Bible at home and access to an English one on his phone. I explained the likelihood he would not go to Heaven was 100% trusting in the blood and righteousness of God in Christ to save him. I explained that everything in the Christian Life was “By the Spirit’s power”. Christianity was inside out not outside in, we ask God to transform us on the inside, He makes us good men and then we do good things by His power on the outside. I gave him Bible Promises for You writing his name the date and “forgiven!” on the inside. I also gave him a Bible Study and The Case for Christ Answer Booklet telling him there was some good stuff about Easter inside. He thanked me. I told him I would pray for him through the Spring and one year after each day. “It was really nice to meet you,” I said. “Really nice to meet you too,” he replied “Thank you.” And I headed out.

I bumped into Jack in the southeast corner lounge on the BIC on the second floor. He had on a washed-out red hoodie and grey sweats.  He had a mop of curly, sandy hair and rosy cheeks and freckles. He had a handshake like a wrestler and a medium build. He said he already was in a one-on-one Bible study and I asked, “with who?” and he said the guy’s name. I didn’t know the guy. He could not answer the question of why God should let him into Heaven. I asked if he wanted to hear the Bible verses that answered the question but he somehow thought I’d asked if he had a Bible and showed me the app on his phone. I explained a bit more offering him a booklet. He was open so I began explaining it at the beginning I asked way through what Jesus had done to remove his sins. “He forgives you?” I explained that he did and then showed him how. In the end he said he would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done. I showed him the prayer then and he was like “OK.” He took the booklet and I said, “If I asked you now to you believe Jesus is God died for your sins and rose from the dead would you say you did?” He nodded. “And do you put your trust in that to be forgiven?” He nodded again so I said, “Would you say I do?” “I do,” he said. So then I said, “Well the Bible says if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, meaning He’s God and believe in your heart He rose from the dead, meaning He had to die for your sins to rise again, you’ll be saved.” I said he had said it to me he just needed to say it to God. He asked me about the Church that meets on campus and I said I had not heard anything bad about it but I said he should just be on the alert with anyone who was saying you had to come to their Church or were trying to control his life. His life as a Christian was between him and God. “Thank you,” he said. “Thanks for the talk.”  “Thanks for your time,” I replied. And I headed out.

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

In Him,
Bob