Softening Hearts
Chris, who we shared with you about yesterday, told Stacie and Michelle that he would really like a Bible, so Michelle went and got one for him. She promised if he came back today, she’d have a Bible for him. He came back for it!
There was Shaina, who said “I’m debating coming…but I don’t like conversations with really conservative Christians,” but Vince and Callom conviced her to give it a try. She sat down next to Ellis, and at the end of the formal talk, he asked her “How would you describe your faith?”, and she broke into uncontrollable weeping, and said “I haven’t thought about that in a really long time.” She had to leave, but before that she looked Ellis in the eye and said “Thank you.” We have her contact information, so we will be following up with her.
We hosted a live simulcast of a debate between RZIM itinerant Nabeel Qureshi (a former Muslim scholar, and M.D.) and Muslim scholar Shabir Ally. They debated Tawhi (the oneness of God) and the Trinity (God is three in one). About six Muslim women came to watch the debate – they were from all over: Jordan, Somalia, Yemen, etc.
In the evening, we hosted dodgeball (check out the Google link for more pics: photos are uploaded here!). It was a blast. About half way through the evening, we broke into a group, and took any and all questions. Three young gentlemen came to play dodgeball. One of them was a Muslim who asked many questions, including “Why couldn’t God have helped us from ‘up there’? Why did he have to come here?” You can imagine the huge opportunity to share the Gospel, which we absolutely did. After many more questions, he had one-on-one time with some of our leaders.
We are definitely witnessing God soften the hearts of certain students here at Portland State Universtiy. What we’ve all realized is that it’d be a privilege to contribute to any part of a person coming to know the Lord, regardless if it’s just a single link in the chain. Thank you again for all your support and prayers! This is a truly impactful trip.
Blessings,
Ellis, Megan, Brian, Stacie, and Lizzie