Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your first day of the week has been blessed, short weeks are a blessing from the Lord for sure. I had a good day on campus and JP who I gave a book to 2 years ago & Michelle & Abby each prayed with me to receive Jesus today. Ahtzirie [at zur e] a girl from a Mexican heritage committed to Christ. She had light brown hair with highlights, thicker eye brows and a full very pretty face and fair skin. She wore a form fitting brown t-shirt and Jeans and was out on the waterfall patio. She said she wanted to pray later but believed Jesus was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. She said she did when I asked that she put her trust in that to be forgiven. The stories of the other 3 are below if you want to take the time. Please pray they grow in their faith.

JP was sitting up on the third floor of the BIC in the south side hall where I’d not walked yet this year. He was a slightly built guy with black plastic semi-rectangular glasses. He had a bit of an accent and when I asked him where his family was from, saying mine was from Sweden, he said Brazil. He wore a small mustache and a goatee and wore black narrow leg pants and a gold shirt. He said I had given him a book 2 years ago when I walked up, he’d liked it and found it interesting. I had not remembered meeting him. I knew I had not been praying for anyone before named JP from past years so I assumed he had not heard the Gospel. I asked what he thought would get him into heaven and he basically said, being good. He had a list that included kindness and being humanistic. I said Christianity was like a blood transfusion, God wanted to transfuse His life into you, live inside you with his Holy Spirit. He had been raised Catholic and seemed to know Jesus had been crucified but as I explained the Blood of Jesus as a way to pay God for the life we owned God, having damaged Gods stuff he said, “This is a different perspective,” and listed more as I explained the Righteousness of God Christ had earned. I said that he inherited these blessings, the sacrifice for his sins, the blood that cleansed him and the righteousness of God to his credit when God adopted him. I explained salvation by receiving Jesus through faith. When I asked he said he’d want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done. I said then there was a prayer he could pray and asked if it expressed the desire of his heart. “Yeah,” he replied and I said he could pray it silently and I wouldn’t hear but God would and he said, “Yeah sure,” and he prayed to receive Jesus. He took The Case for Christ Answer Booklet and I wrote his name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. I explained living the Christian life was By the Spirit’s Power.” He said he had 10 more minutes so I explained a Bible study to him on the Deity of Christ. He thanked me and thought he might be able to come to the Bible Study next week. I told him I would keep him in my prayers and said “Nice to meet you again.” “Yes,” he said, “Be safe.” And he headed off.

Michelle was sitting waiting for her girlfriend to get out of class; it turned out they tried different churches together and were looking for one. She had an oval face and brown hair past her shoulders. She wore a V-neck long sleeve shirt and jean shorts on and was small. She was a Latina. I asked her what she would say to God if she died and were asked why He should let her into Heaven. “Because I have faith in Him, I know He’s there for me,” she replied. She was 100% sure she was going to Heaven. When I asked her what Jesus had done to take away her sins, “He forgives you,” she guessed. I said that He made a payment to God and began to explain the atonement. “OK,” she said with understanding. I explained the righteousness of Christ to her credit and adoption. I sensed I was running low on time as she was looking over her shoulder from the direction her friend would come not wanting to miss her. So I skipped the recap and just said Jesus rose from the dead. I explained he needed to receive Jesus, to believe He was God had died for her sins and rose from the dead. I asked if she would want to be forgiven trusting in what Jesus had done showing her the 2 circles. “A life devoted to Christ,” she read from under the circle with Christ living in her. So I said if she wanted to be forgiven there was a prayer she could pray and I talked her through it asking if it was the desire of her heart. “Um hum,” she replied. I said she could pray it silently if she’d want to, “Yeah she said with enthusiasm. She took the booklet then and prayed to receive Jesus. She did not have a Bible but said she’d been wanting to get one so I gave her one and wrote her name and the date and “forgiven” in the front. She took it happily as her friend walked up and with a “Thank you, you have a good one,” from her and “You too,” from me we were done. I told her I would be praying for her and they were off. I realized I had not handed her the booklet but left it at my feet in getting out the Bible so I fast walked after her and her friend Denise a pretty short Latina with long wavy brown hair. I gave them both Bible Promise books and gave Michelle the booklet. They thanked me and headed off down the hall.

I came out of the PE lounge but saw no one. In thought about where to go standing at the eastern end of the patio that runs the south side of the BIC. I saw on person sitting at a table down the line and thought they might to a survey. The bright blonde hair stood out in the sun on the back of Abby’s head. She said she’d do a survey. She was wearing grey sweats with small white stars on them and a black spaghetti string shirt and killing time waiting for a friend. Her face looked a bit like the actress who played “Barbie” in the move I only saw the ad for [so like Margot Robbie] except younger and a titch more pretty. She was friendly and said she wanted to travel the world. I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven and she said, “I’m trying to become a better person and I’d deserve it.” She thought she had a 95% of going to Heaven. I asked if she ever went to Church. She’d gone to Catholic school from K through 8^th grade and had just been thinking lately she’d like to go back to Church. I began going through the Gospel with her. I said God wanted to live inside her but first had to take away her sins. I asked what Jesus had done to do that and she knew Jesus had died to take away the sins of the world. I explained the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from sin and be a payment for our sins. It was really how God gets paid. I said, “Say you borrow your friend’s car. And you dent the fender. Then you gotta take it to a body shop and they pop out the dent and you give it back to your friend and everything is cool So when you borrow someone’s stuff you gotta give it back to them how you got it. Well everything belongs to God. So if I hurt you or hurt me, or hurt the world in some way, I owe God something perfect back. But if I’m messing around in the parking lot and I roll over your foot, I don’t have an extra spare perfect foot to give to God. So I owe God but I can’t pay. But God loves me so He becomes a perfect man and His life and blood are worth an infinite amount. So when He pours out his blood it pays God back for all the imperfect things I’ve done, that I owe God something perfect for. So the real reason God forgives you is He got paid.” She smiled at that thought. “But He had to pay Himself,” I added. “Got ya,” She replied.  I explained salvation by faith, receiving Christ and trusting in what Jesus had done. “So would you want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus then he can live inside you and give you strength, or do you think something else?” I explained Islam and the Buddha and asked again if she’d want to be forgiven trusting in Jesus. “No I would be forgiven, I’d be interested…” She replied. So I said then there was a prayer she could pray and talked her thorough it asking if it was the desire of her heart. She nodded it was so I said she could pray it silently and she did. She did not have a Bible and couldn’t wait for me to get one so I gave her just a New Testament writing her name and the date and forgiven in the front. I also gave her Bible Promises for You and a Bible Study. I told her I would pray for her and explained that living the Christian life was by the Spirit’s power. “Thank you very much,” she said as I got up to go. I said she was welcome and she said, “You have a good rest of your day.” I said thanks and 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