Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Hey hope ya had a great day walking with the Lord.  I had a really productive day on campus talking with the peeps.  Rilwan (Re-wan) and Tom prayed to receive Christ and Taylor committed to trust in the work of Christ to make her right with God and take away her sin.

Rilwan and Tom were sitting on a couple of bench boxes under the stairs in the PE building.  Both were dressed to head outside.  Tom had both his hoods over his head and Rilwan had a black and red stocking cap on, both bundled tight in coats.  Tom had some high-end red sneakers on and Rilwan had some nice workout shoes.  They were both African American.  Rilwan had wider features and a big smile.  Tom’s face was sharper with a bit of facial hair and he was more soft spoken.  Rilwan said he’d answer some questions first and Tom piggy backed onto the conversation.  When I asked them why God should let them into Heaven Rilwan thought and then kind of exclaimed, “I’ve sinned a lot.”  Then answering he said, “I deserve a second chance.”  Tom thought and just said “I don’t know.”  Neither thought they had a very good chance to go to Heaven, 40% and 50%, but Tom went to church every Sunday and Rilwan did once in a while.  They listened to the Gospel through the noise going by us to the doors.  With a bit of prompting, Rilwan remembered Jesus had died for sin but Tom couldn’t remember how his sin might be taken away.  Neither were trusting in Jesus and what He had done for them, but both said they wanted to be forgiven for their sins.  I told them they could pray if they wanted to believe, walking them through the prayer and both said they would.  I gave each of them a book to use following the prayer I had walked them through and each prayed.  I explained that if they had truly trusted in Christ and what He had done they could be 100% sure they were going to Heaven.  I wanted to make sure they understood and they got it.  I gave them Bible Studies and gave Rilwan a copy of Playing With Purpose on testimonies of NBA players (he said he’d wanted to meet one) and he opened it right away to look through it.  I gave Tom More than a Carpenter so I hope God can use that in them and begin to speak to them through the teaching at their churches by His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Taylor was playing around on her phone but said she would answer some questions.  She was sitting in the MAC arts building, had on yoga pants and boots, a purple shirt and a jacket.  Dark sandy hair and fair skin, hazel eyes and sharper features.  She said her dad and her had decided they should get back to church for Lent, so I guess that put her of a mind to answer some questions with me.  When I asked her what she would say to God for Him to let her into Heaven she said, “Went to Catholic school my whole life, been religious.  I never got my confirmation but I think You should still let me in.”  As I went through the Gospel with her she said little things in agreement and also things like, “Oh I see,” kind of realizing what things meant.  She said she wanted to be forgiven but said “Well, I’ll do this later, I can keep this right?” when I showed her the prayer.  But said she agreed with it, and she said it in a way I felt she would pray alone.  So asked her, “Do you believe Jesus is God and died for your sins and rose from the dead?” She said, “Yes.”  “And do you trust in His sacrifice to make you right with God?” She said, “Yes” again.  So I said “The Scripture says if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart you will be saved.  Sbased on your confession, I can tell you your sins are forgiven.”  I talked to her about the work of the Holy Spirit to give her the power to live the Christian life.  She already had a symbolic view of the mass so I encouraged her, next time she went to church, to use the time to be thankful and have joy knowing because Jesus had died for her she was forgiven.  She really liked that idea. I gave her a Bible study and More than a Carpenter to read.  She also gave me her email and I sent her some stuff tonight.  I took her hand to shake it and squeezed it saying, “Thanks for talking with me.  Have a blessed Lent.”  And she thanked me saying, “This was great.”

Friday I lost track of time to write what happened and the weekend flew by, but Marcus, a Filipino guy, committed his life to Christ sitting in the Cafeteria against the windows.  He had a mop of slicked, stick-straight hair on top, with the sides of his head shaved and glasses, full lips and wider nose.  When I asked him what he would say to God if asked “Why should I let you into Heaven he said, “What could I have done to be a better person in life?”  He thought he’d have about a 70% chance to get into Heaven.  He listened attentively to the Gospel and was glad to know he could be forgiven for his sins and said he would like to be.  I asked him, “When you pray for forgiveness, because something goes sideways, are you thinking you are good and go to Church and stuff and God is forgiving so He will forgive you?  Or have you been thinking Jesus died for me so I know I will be forgiven?”  “I never really thought about it,” he said.  So I told him that was what he needed to trust in, and I walked him through the prayer as well and asked him similarly if he believed.  He said he did and trusted in Christ.  Then his ride he had been watching out the window for came and he hurriedly had to pick up his stuff.  I gave him More than a Carpenter to read too and a quick heads up through a bible study.  He said he would pray on his own as I talked him through the work of the Holy Spirit, and thinking of the mass as a time to be thankful and remember he was forgiven, which he really liked.  All too quickly, but I had to let him go.  He was visibly happy and thanked me and ran for the door.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance.  God was with me and helped me.

In Him,

Bob Bollow

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