Hey Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope your day was blessed and you got a glimpse of the eclipse–it was kinda cool if ya had the glasses. I had a good day on campus, encouraging some Christians and redirecting some Roman Catholics. The best of the day was that two black students, Dante and Alex, each prayed with me to receive Christ.

Dante was sitting on a box-bench under the stairs in the PE building. He played football, and as we talked other players were filing in for the team meetings in the room across from us. He had some soft facial hair [lip and chin] and a ball cap on and was wearing athletic clothes. He was a good looking guy, kind face. It turned out he had some familiarity with the Gospel but had not trusted in Christ. He told me he went to a bible study lead by one of the coaches. He wanted to own his own business. When I asked him what he would say to God if asked why He should let him into Heaven he said, “Because I do all the right things. I don’t kill or steal or destroy. I praise and obey.” He was sure he would go to Heaven. I began to teach him the Gospel and he was very attentive, even as the time crunch came for his meeting. So I asked him if he wanted to be forgiven for his sins and he said he did. I asked him, “So when you asked for forgiveness in the past, were you thinking you were good and went to church and stuff, so God would forgive you because you were good enough?” He nodded. “Or that you knew God would forgive you because you were trusting in Jesus?’ “That I was good enough,” he replied. So I explained he need to trust in Christ for forgiveness and walked him through the prayer. Dante silently prayed to receive Jesus. He did not want to go to another bible study, because he was attending one. But I gave him a printed one on the Deity of Christ and the book 20 Things God Can’t Do, where which I put his name and the date in the front. I explained the life of walking in the Spirit and told him I would pray for him the next year. He thanked me and headed into the meeting.

I spent some time in the art building, planting a seed with Max. He was a childhood Presbyterian (now lapsed) who had miraculously survived a car wreck in the last year or so and had thought there might be a God. He took The Case for A Creator to read. I also bumped into Samuel, a guy I knew from 5 years ago. We prayed together over some stuff and he prayed for me on campus and took off.

I went outside to check out the eclipse and the overcast allowed me to look at it at first without protective glasses. I headed down the walk and found Alex at the back of the building. I asked her to do a survey. “Sure. I have seen you around a lot, last year,” she replied. Her hair was short on the sides and curly only on top. She had black-framed, rectangular glasses and shorts and a tan-knit sleeveless blouse with a jean jacket over it. She was tall, about 5’9″, with a square chin, long legs, artsy, attractive looking. She was sitting up on the stone post at the stair top overlooking the Art building’s outside concert venue. I sat beside her, down a bit on the wall. She had the answer to the question right as to what she would say to get into Heaven. “Because I gave myself to you, no I (brought?) bring you into my life as my Lord and Savior.” Though she only thought she had an 80% chance of going to Heaven, saying “I have some things to work on.” I often help kids with their assurance. So I thought she was saved, but there is more than one way to be a savior. A fireman can save you from a burning building but not from your sin. I began to go through the booklet with her as I always do, figuring I could encourage her to share it with someone else. When I got to the part where I say ‘God has to take away your sin to make you His type, like a blood transfusion where He places Himself and His life inside you’ I asked, “So what is the big thing Jesus does to take away your sin?” She had no idea. So I said “Well it works like this” and taught her about the sacrifice of Christ’s perfect life as God and man. How His blood and cleansed her from sin and His righteousness was imputed to her, which she thought was good. When I finished the Gospel I said, “So it seems like you had never put together all the pieces about how Jesus was your Savior before, right?” She nodded affirmingly. Then I walked her through the prayer and people were gathering around us watching the eclipse. She read it through on her own and asked, “So I pray this out loud?” ‘No silently,” I said. “It is just between you and God.” And she silently prayed to receive Christ. She took a Bible study and 20 Things God Can’t Do. I wrote ‘By the Spirit’s power’ (having explained that to her) and the date and her name in the front. Then we shared my protective glasses a bit and passed them to some others and looked up at the sun, all but disappeared in the sky behind the moon. She thanked me and headed off to class.

So thanks for your prayers for the ministry and for Evangelism today if you had a chance. The Lord truly blessed.

In Him,

Bob