Lessons through Evangelism

3 days ago.. I started what is called the "IT Project" here in Pasadena. Already it's been incredible...the people, the campus we're staying, the classes we've been taking, and the fellowship. I'm really looking forward to the coming months. 

Also, I now understand why it's called "Intensive Training." even these past days have been like, as one person described it, “drinking out of a fire hose.” And it really has been, but I know it’s only going to get more intense! We haven’t even begun the Perspectives class yet, but there have been other training lectures over inductive Bible studies and evangelism. 

WCIU-beautiful little campus I'm staying at right
across from the US Center for World Missions.

Already, I can see a lot of similarities between my training in Cadre and the training here. I have no doubt it's going to help a lot with balancing everything that's going to be thrown at me these next 2 months.

Friday night and Saturday morning we had a class over evangelism and learning the “bridge” method of sharing our faith. It’s not like any other method I’ve used to share the gospel, but it was awesome to learn a new way of doing it! 

2 of my awesome roomies,
Kolbie &Jessalyn!

So then Saturday afternoon, we got to go out and actually practice sharing the gospel, cold turkey. It was awesome! We sent a group out to the pier, the beach, and then to 3rd St Promenade, where I was. It was so busy there! People were shopping, eating, and there were performers in the streets everywhere you went! Mass chaos. However, God showed me a ton about Himself and His heart for the lost that day… I want to share with you 4 stories of the people me and my partner, Emily, met that afternoon and the things I learned through each of them…

Jolene - A girl around my age. She was the first person I went up and talked to. Nothing was awkward about it. She was on a lunch break, very sweet to talk to. I told her that I had an illustration that pretty summed up the Bible in one verse, and then asked if I could share it with her and get her thoughts. She agreed and I jumped right in, breaking down Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As I went through and drew my bridge illustration for her, I made sure to ask a ton of questions. When I asked her how she would define “SIN” she said, “you’re really putting me on the spot!”As we moved on, she kept tracking with me so I went further, knowing that God was moving in her heart. When I came to “the gift of God is eternal life”, I held out my pen to her and said “If I were to give you this the pen as a free gift…at what point does the pen become yours?” she just starred and I could tell it had stumped her. “When you give it to me…” she said. I replied “You have the choice. You can totally reject it..or you can take and accept it.”  She hesitated…then reached out slowly and took the pen. Bingo. Relating it back to the bridge illustration, I noticed that things really began to click with her now. She said, “wow.. you’re really making me think about things I’d never thought of before.” She admitted to hearing about all this before but never in that way… not where it was personal. She was right there...right on the edge of life and death. So I asked her, “What’s keeping you from making that decision?” “…I guess all the distractions of life…and stress,” she said. And this is where I could relate, because that was my story! I got to share a little of my testimony with her before she had to leave. We exchanged numbers and emails. And I left, teary eyed, feeling very confident that she would continue thinking about this and seeking answers. God was moving in her heart as He was in mine. It was the most encouraging thing I’ve ever experienced. And for some reason different than any other time I’ve shared. Because maybe this time, it wasn’t about me.. It was about Him.. It was about Jolene.

The three other ladies we talked to all had different stories of their own. Brontae was a 19 yr old soccer player from Canada over here with her team. She had never heard the gospel message laid out like that until then! I couldn’t believe it. Towards the end, she told us,“My life is soccer right now and that’s what I’m pursuing, but maybe later on, I’ll have time for God and stuff.” So we talked with her about the fact that we don’t know when we’ll die and stand before God.” But even though she agreed and saw how clear and simple it was, for whatever reason, she wasn’t ready. However, she did say that she knew one of her team mates read the Bible and did a devotional every morning and that she was inspired by that. So  we told her to ask her team mate about things if she wasn't sure. So potentially we could have been just another seed planted in her life.So we left her with a track and our numbers.
One thing that surprised me about her and about Jolene was that fact that people are so much more eager to hear the gospel, than we think that they are. Most people want to talk about spiritual matters. While we were sharing with Brontae, her phone kept ringing and I expected her to answer it at any minute. Instead she turned it off, stuck it in her packet, and kept listening as if nothing had happened. So cool.

Linda was an older sweet lady who went on and on about her 5 hip surgeries… Every time I’d bring it back to the gospel she always found a way to go back to talking about her family or her bad hip. Once I knew we were going in circles, we prayed for her and for healing and went on. Some people can be the most genuine, yet most stubborn audience. All i could do afterwards was laugh.

The 4^th woman we talked to was a middle aged woman. She was waiting for her husband. Her name was Becka. She almost immediately did not want to hear what we had to say. “If you’re going to talk about Jesus stuff, I’m going to tell you now, I’m not interested.” We went ahead anyway and only got half way in before she said “I can already tell you where you’re going with this and how Jesus saves.” Almost a slap in the face.  But then she went on to say how Christians had come there before and told her she was going to Hell for shopping and buying consumer goods. Emily and I didn’t really know what to say to her after that, except that we were sorry they did that, but that we didn’t share their views at all. Her husband came back and she left abruptly. I left that one feeling very frustrated, not at her, but at people who say things like that…people who claim to follow Jesus and then act so oppositely of how Jesus would act. and if I'm being honest with myself, I've done the very same thing. But Jesus would never condemn, and everything He did was done out of love. If we could all master that skill, then there would be a lot less hurting people in this world.

That about sums up, probably, the most impactful day of my summer thus far. And it’s only just begun! I’ve really loved it here. Being surrounded by like-minded students, my age, who all have a passion for God, the nations, and just wanting to pursue after those things is so refreshing! I’m expecting God to do great things with these next  2 months. 
It’s still so crazy to me that I’m sitting here in California. There is no reason I should be here, except for God’s grace. He wanted me here, He got me here, and miraculously provided the means, so I know He’s got great things in store and I can’t wait!