Third Watch Ministries, NFP Bob & Ellen Bollow
P.O. Box 1283 December 2025
Wheaton, IL 60187
“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:3
Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We hope you have had a festive Holiday Yuletide time as we wind round through the Holidays. Our tree stood unadorned for over a week in its stand but it’s all lit up and ornamented now. We got the star up on the chimney right before the first snow, which would’ve kept me off the roof. Then lots of shoveling that temporally knocked out what I would consider a pain-free back. God put me back together enough to make it through at school. But now the rain between the cold snaps makes me wonder why we didn’t just throw the vehicles into 4-wheel drive and call it winter wonderland.
A lot of life seems like labor in vain. It would not be hard to convince me that letting my driveway turn into a sheet of ice might end up with my sliding into my house while backing down the driveway. The dog walkers want my sidewalk cleared. And hey I like dogs. But some days I will walk around campus and no one comes to Christ and I have said ‘Have a good day’ or ‘God bless you’ to a dozen people who will not talk to me. But then someone, who was not sure they were going to Heaven, hears the Gospel and says then that they believe they were trusting in Jesus and are encouraged. Maybe these kinds of students fall into the category of Christians whose Churches are not regularly preaching the blood and righteousness of Christ. They were at one time saved by faith possibly, but all their church preaches is love and good works. They have come to believe they could not possibly be good enough to go to Heaven, which of course is true. These students often bump into me later and greet me like I am a good friend and say ‘God bless you.’ God gave them assurance of their faith when they talked to me.
I don’t know how many of the students I talk to fall into that group. But more than half of those I talk to believe they are Christians. I went through the Gospel with 218 students that I have a survey card for this semester. (Frankly all by itself that feels like a lot of work and I’m kinda tired.) Afterward, 85 of these prayed to receive Christ and 3 or 4 of those told me later they had prayed, though they had not when I was with them. A few more said they would pray later and I’ve yet to bump into them to find out if they did. Sometimes a student has false doctrine and I will offer them something to read. A few times they were agnostic after a childhood in the Church but took a book. A few were Muslims. Some are struggling with lies from their classrooms. Some have just seen me talking to others or walking around and want to find out what it is I have to say. I know that they might have seen me on a day I felt like nothing very positive happened. A few years back a girl said to me, “This is the third time you’ve asked me [to do a student survey]. OK fine I’ll do it.” That girl prayed to receive Jesus. A lot of things cannot be known about the labor of our lives or work for the Lord. I have had students tell me, “You sound like my grandmother.” And then after hearing the Gospel they pray to receive Christ and I know God is answering their grandmother’s prayers.
Oswald Chambers once wrote about how the Christian’s life is the source of a stream of living water [John 7:38] and they cannot know what it will nourish on the banks further downstream. Thanks for being willing to be that source for our ministry. We have a small Bible study going and Ellen still volunteers her time to run our books and keep us afloat in many ways. We are a tiny ministry, a “drop in the bucket” of God’s great plans. But “if a drop in the bucket is all I can be, at least what drops in the bucket is me.” Thanks so much for being willing to help us through your gifts and prayers to get to the bucket. We are really so very grateful for your giving us the opportunity to do something for the Lord and His kingdom.
These are the students who have prayed to receive Jesus this semester. An * means they said they would pray later.
RJ, Wendy, Jimmy, Jesse (Jesús), Jocelyn, Andrea, Kaleb, Gio, Lexi, JP, Michelle, Abby, Kylie, Tali, Brady, Matthew, Joey, Laly, Manuel, Johan, Lu, Alexa, Vell, Cooper, Leah, John, Tae, Ben, Marquese, Shawn, Emily, Jaylin, Tate, Teinua, Kaden, Jahmi, Luke, Prodigy, Antonio, Victoria, Daisha, Hubert, Lynette, Thalia [ta lee a], Damian, Jacki, Dayra, Q, Cynthia, Judith, Daniel, Chris, Dylan, Emmanuel, Zeke, Jamesha, Alex, Vincent, Jessica, Danny, Mimi, Naomi, Zianna, Khalel, Vinny, Eldon, Josh, Tyler, Chris, Tessa, Bobbi, Maryellen*, Londyn, Ethan, Justina [Hustina], John, London, Jack, Griffin, Kris, Natalie*, Ashley, Ohanny, Jasa, Braiam, Aaron, Connor*, Jesús, Clarissa*
May God bless you with a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, filled with His light and life, that all you do will prosper. Psalm 1:3
In Him,
Bob & Ellen