Hey Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed.  I had a great day on campus and God blessed the work of evangelism.  James, Ydalme (E dal me) and Crystal all prayed to receive Christ.

James was sitting on the stairs in the PE building coming up from the parking lot.  He said he’d answer some questions.  He had an interesting afro, which was in individual tufts of hair that each looked like a Hersey’s semi-sweet chocolate chip for a cookie with a point.  He had full features and a bit of facial hair.  He wore a blue fleece pullover and black sweats with tight ankles and black athletic shoes.  He was tall, slim and athletically built. In answering what he would say to God to be let into Heaven he said, “I care for a lot of people around me and I put others before myself.”  He went to church and he knew Christ had died for the sins of the world, but he hadn’t put it all together for him, as you might assume by that response.  He thought he had a 75% chance of going to Heaven.  He listened to the Gospel and I asked if he was a person who trusted Christ for His work on the Cross so God was living inside him or if he thought he was a good guy and went to church so God would forgive him because he was good.  He smiled a big grin of realization and said, “Probably that.” So I offered him the chance to pray to receive Christ, talking him through the prayer to be forgiven and he amiably said, “I’ll do it.”  He did pray then, and kept the booklet with some of the verses I had quoted him.  I explained the Christian life as one lived “inside out.”  “We don’t first do good things that will make us good men and then gain God’s favor, but we ask God to transform us on the inside and we become good men by His power. And then through the Holy Spirit we do good things.”  I gave him a Bible study and the book 20 Things God Can’t Do. He thanked me for my prayers I promised and I headed out.

Ydalmy was a pretty girl from a Mexican heritage, but hadn’t been back there since she was a small child though she wanted to go.  She was sitting in the last NW lounge on the 1st floor of the BIC that you pass headed to the Cafeteria.  She had braces on her teeth and wavy/curly hair down past her shoulders.  She was nice, wearing a green waste jacket and skinny jeans cuffed at her ankles above white tennis shoes.  She was slight in build and not tall at all. She went to a Catholic Church but felt guilty for not attending lately as she got busy at school. She thought she’d have a 70% chance to go to Heaven.  When I asked her what she would say to God to be let into Heaven, she said, “”Ah that’s hard mmm… I feel like I’ve been a good person.  I’ve never done anyone wrong or like major [bad deed].”  “You are robbing any banks on the side?” I quipped. She smiled at that and said, “No”.  She listened to the Gospel and took it seriously. She knew Jesus had died for the sins of the world, but really was not trusting in Him and His sacrifice either.  She wanted to be forgiven and so I similarly asked her if, when she prayed for forgiveness, she had been hoping that she was religious and good enough to be forgiven or trusting in Jesus. “Yeah, good enough” she said smiling meekly. She seemed genuinely surprised at the Gospel and that she was forgiven.  So I walked her through the prayer to receive Christ and she prayed as I looked down to give her privacy.   I talked her through the life in Christ as lived through the power of the Holy Spirit too, living “inside out.”  I suggested she could use the time of remembrance in the mass to think of it symbolically and to be thankful that she was forgiven because Jesus had died for her.  I had just enough time to give her a Bible study and the book 20 Things God Can’t Do. Then she had to run to class.  I told her I would pray for her and she was happy for it and said, “Thanks for that” and ran off.

Crystal was sitting on the little lounge area outside the cafeteria.  She was long and athletic in build with her long straight hair pulled back behind her pretty face. She had leggings on that stopped mid-calf with stripes down the sides and a sweatshirt on. She had Latino coloring like Ydalmy.  I asked her what she would say to God to get into Heaven. “Because I’m a good person?” she ventured.  She attended Catholic Church as well.  As I went through the Gospel, I was sitting at her feet and she periodically looked up trying to think through each point.  She wanted to be forgiven, and agreed she’d been hoping she was good enough to get into Heaven and hadn’t been trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of her sins.  I explained to her what each part of the prayer meant, saying she could pray quietly in her heart like I wasn’t there and she did.  I gave her a remembrance view of the mass as well, saying she could use it to be thankful she was forgiven by Jesus dying for her.  I gave her the book Bible Promises for You and a Bible study to read through. She thanked me and she ran to get her ride.

All the kids who trusted Christ today didn’t say much in reaction, I think they genuinely trusted and prayed so I will keep them in my prayers, praying for them to grow closer to the Lord.  Thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for evangelism today if you had a chance.  God blessed and brought 3 students to Himself.

In Him,

Bob