I was recently looking over our ministry prayer letters from the past few years and was reminded of the incredible work God has allowed us to be a part of since coming to Toledo in 2015. One of my favorite stories happened around this time last year, and thinking about the story still makes me smile...so I thought I'd pull it out and share it with you! Originally written in the fall of 2017 (all names have been changed for privacy): "What do you know about the Holy Spirit?" The question that began all of my discipleship times as we spent time learning about what it looks like to live day-by-day walking in the power of the Spirit. Most of my students had a vague idea of who the Spirit is, but were still unsure about His role and how He impacts our everyday life. I asked this same question to Danielle (a student I met my first year on campus) as we enjoyed the cool fall air while sitting at a picnic table near the dorms. It was unusual for us to be meeting on that day. Normally we met earlier in the week, but this particular week we changed our meeting time and place to work around her class schedule. Before she could answer my question, a young man walked up to our picnic table and confidently sat down: “Hi! I’m Josh. You must be the people I'm supposed to meet with today.” "Hmm, well, who are you looking for?" I replied. He smiled and said, "The Pagan and Wiccan Club, of course.” Rest assured, I don't usually take my students to the Pagan and Wiccan Club for discipleship. But seeing this as an opportunity from the Holy Spirit, I shared with Josh that although we weren’t with the Pagan Wiccan Club, we would still love to hear more about his spiritual background. He agreed to take a spiritual survey, and I pulled out my Perspective Cards (a spiritual card game I like to use to initiate spiritual conversations on campus). Josh grew up going to church, but recently turned his back on God in response to legalistic pressures from his family. When asked about his beliefs, he selected cards sharing he now believes in many gods, humanity is mostly good, Jesus was a spiritual leader (but not God), and that spiritual truth can be found only from within himself. After he shared about his spiritual perspectives, I asked him if I could share about mine. Danielle and I shared with Josh that I know and believe there is only one God, living for Him is where I find true meaning in life, humanity is broken, Jesus is our Creator and Savior, and the Bible is my source of spiritual truth. As I was sharing, a young woman approached our table and sat down with us. "You guys must be with the Pagan and Wiccan Club. I’m Chelsea.” It turns out the Pagan/Wiccan Club meets every Friday at the table Danielle and I ventured to for discipleship that day. While they normally meet at 5, Josh and Chelsea mixed up the time and showed up nearly an hour early...which gave us an entire hour to share the Gospel and have deep conversations with them and their beliefs. Both were open and willing to share their thoughts and ask tough questions about Christianity. While neither accepted Christ in that moment, the seed of the Gospel was planted, and we are continuing to pray that they will turn from the false gods they worship to the one true God. In Christ,
Jake, Jackie, and Elaina
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