One life we have recently seen changed at Cal State Los Angeles is a student named Ivan.  Last Spring, Joseph and another student (Caleb) went out on campus to share their faith with fellow students.   During that time they met Ivan.  Ivan was an International student from Taiwan.  As Joseph and Caleb began to talk with him they learned his story and were able to share the gospel with him!  Ivan was very interested and asked many questions.  Following their conversation Caleb continued to meet with Ivan as a friend .  Through their friendship Caleb was able to continue to share about the Lord with Ivan.  Last month Ivan returned to Taiwan and we learned through Caleb that he has become a Christian!

We praise God that Ivan is now a believer back in his own country and thank God for students like Caleb, who are committed to sharing the gospel to fellow students.  God is at work in the hearts of students! 

“In November I moved into my apartment complex and began to look for who God would lead me to. It was my neighbor, Rubi, who is a single mom raising two teenagers. I began to make friends with her as I knew she needed Jesus, just like we all need Jesus. At first she was not to open, but with love, laughter and shared experiences we became friends. I began a women’s group in my home a few months back and invited her. She came once, then said she was busy with her kids functions. I assured her we would be here in case her schedule opened up.

Last week she texted me before group and asked if she could join us. Of course I answered…we missed you. Then I invited her to church for Easter. She accepted the invite, her kids were going to be with their dad and she would be home. I told her she could ride with me. As soon as the worship music began my beautiful neighbor Rubi began crying…I put my arm around her and comforted her. She listened to the whole message but did not stand up to say that she wanted to receive Jesus. Hmmm….so as we got into the car I asked her how she liked the message. She said she loved it, and she was so glad she came. I then asked her if she had received Jesus into her life ever before. She said no, but today I did and I felt his presence!

She said she is excited to return next week and bring her kids…I am truly blessed to see my neighbor know Jesus! We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. Your neighbor might be the grocery store clerk or the mail lady. Today look for your neighbor, so they could know the Love of Jesus as you do!”

~ Jessica

 We wanted to share a highlight of a former student! How the Lord is continuing to move in her life and through her to reach people for Christ, even after college. 

“Are we doing things that require faith?  If God doesn’t come through then will we fail or are we just doing things that we can manage on our own?” Joseph challenged the students involved in our ministry at   CSULA.   Through this challenge the students and staff prayed and asked God to help them reach out on the campus of Cal State LA. 

Uncovered was brought to life.  Hosting a two day outreach focusing on the Reason for God.  The Lord opened the doors for us to rent a large room at CSULA, finances from a partnering church to provide dinner for the students who attended each night and two wonderful speakers with the knowledge and heart to challenge students in their belief systems and share the gospel with them.

Thank you for your prayers for this outreach.  Though it did not bring the amount of students we were praying for we are trusting that the Lord used it in the hearts of those who were present.  We were hoping for more, but we did see 45 students come to the outreach.  John, who is a non-believer and continues to attend all our events, attended as his biggest question is “Does God even exist?”  After the outreach Joseph talked to him about what he thought of the talks and John shared that he really connected with the 10 questions Gordy shared before he himself believed in Jesus. He  also is seeking answers to those questions. Joseph was also able to share the gospel with Oscar, who came and is searching and desiring to learn if God is real.  Oscar  is reading the Bible we gave him and Oscar and John are both attending our Bible studies and men’s time.  Pray for them as they continue to seek the Lord.

The two main speakers: Andy Wrasman sharing on Are All Religions True?  Is Truth Relative?  and Gordon Cucullu sharing on the Existence of God.

Alex, a biophysics major and 5th year graduating senior from UCLA, is one of the students that will be missed greatly when he graduates this year.  Alex became a believer in 2012 through another student, Justin, in the ministry we have at UCLA.  Alex has grown greatly in his faith and desire to follow Jesus with his life.  He loves worship, singing, beat box and brings joy and fun to the students at UCLA!  About a month ago Alex had an desire to reach out on the UCLA campus in a tangible way to the fraternities.  He shared his testimony at our weekly meeting and challenged students to put God’s love into action.  He wanted to show God’s love to the fraternities and He encouraged all of the students to participate in this act of service and to realize that these non-believers may never have encountered students who love Jesus before and it would be an opportunity to witness to them.  

We broke into teams and handed out cookies/water; asked to clean the fraternities and  prayed for the students.  The outreach began at midnight and went until about 3am—as the campus came alive with students going out for the night.

It was an encouraging time to see the students involved in the ministry reach out to their fellow classmates, pray for them and gain a deeper heart to see those around them come to know Jesus.  The Lord granted many surprised reactions from those we connected with—appreciating the love being shown to them.

We love to see students, like Alex, have a passion for Jesus and a desire to FINISH WELL their years on the college campus in the ministry God has called them to with those around him.

 UCLA students gathered to pray and ended the night praising God. All were super tired !

MADE

TO BE KNOWN; TO MAKE HIM KNOWN

                   YOU ARE GOD’S HANDIWORK – MADE TO BE LOVED BY HIM                               & TO SHOW HIS LOVE TO OTHERS

This January 17-20th is our annual winter conference for students throughout the U.S.  There are over 400 students registered so far and we are excited to see all that the Lord has in store for the students!

Please Pray for:

• Many non-believers that come.  Students always bring their friends and it is excited to see non-believers come to learn more about the Lord.  Pray that many would come and begin a new relationship with Jesus!
• For the hearts of the students who will be there.  That they would be open to learning more about the Lord, have hearts to listen, and would grow in their relationship with Jesus.
• Logistics of running the conference. Worship times, speakers, seminars, Hotel rooms, food, meeting rooms, etc…  – all would run smoothly!
• Day of Outreach – one day the students go out into the community and share Jesus while serving others.
• Our Family.  We all have the blessing to be able to serve together at the conference. That we would stay healthy and Pray for the kids as they connect with the students.
•  Pray for Joseph as he is co-teaching a seminar on “Movement Launching” (how to do ministry on campus).
• Pray for Michelle as she is co-leading the Women’s Time for the women students.  “Healthy Relationships,” is the topic.