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Hello everyone,

After a formidable rainstorm drenched the city last night, we woke up to blue skies and a warm wind from the east. A victorious sun shone down on us and warmed us as we stepped once more on to the campus of Simon Fraser University. As it pursued a steady course towards its zenith, I was reminded of Proverbs 4:18, “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining brighter till the full light of day.” My hope for the day was that our work would follow a similar course.

I partnered with Morgan again. We are something of a dynamic duo: she speaks well to certain personality types (the ones I have a hard time with) and vice versa. I like to make the initial introduction and then let her ask a series of open-ended questions about God’s place in their lives. So we said a short prayer and set off.

I tried something new today. After each conversation I made a few short notes about it. These notes reveal the sheer variety of people we got to talk to over the course of the day. They reveal the unsuccessful conversations and difficult characters as well as the successful ones. They are an accurate chronicle of our adventures. For that reason, I’ve decided to copy them into this email so that you all can understand more clearly what evangelism looks like up here:

  • Two girls at a picnic table: We told them we’d like to ask a few questions. First question: if God could do any miracle in your life right now, what would that be? First girl’s response: her parents had different faiths, one Christian, one Jewish, so at home they never talk about God. In her view, that’s a theme in Vancouver: the main common ground in Vancouver is “I wish this rain would stop.” Other girl said “be done with school.” Then first girl said “we’re not the demographic you’re interested in, since faith isn’t really important to us.”

  • Wilson: Studies physics. He and his family don’t believe in any religion because it can’t be proven. There is not enough evidence. We talked about an analogy. Imagine if you have a girlfriend and you aren’t sure whether or not she is cheating on you. You can believe she is, believe she isn’t, or refuse to believe one way or another. But each of those three beliefs is going to change the dynamic of the relationship. It turns out that having faith in her will make the relationship the strongest. This is a simple example of a case where there is not enough evidence and you have to make a decision based on faith. What do you think? He said it was an interesting idea, and that someday if he was struggling in life he would try going to church.

  • Eema (lunchroom): Very softspoken. I think she was Sikh. After a brief chat we asked if we could pray for her, and what for. She asked us to pray for her family’s wellbeing.

  • Lily: Sitting outside at a table. She is a gamer. We asked her the ten questions on the Spiritual Pulse survey. She gave short, simple answers. Her parents are Christian but she is indifferent. At the end, I told her I was getting this sense that she was a dreamer. Is that the case? She said yes. We chatted about what she liked to dream about and gaming came up again. She said she is slightly famous on the internet. She is going to be on a panel about diversity and equity in gaming this weekend. We prayed that her panel event would go well.

  • Gavin: Very open and happy to talk with us. On a scale of 1-5 “does God exist” he gave us a 2.5 which is exactly halfway between the two poles. His family is not religious. I shared some of the gospel with him. He said he was open to it but does not have the time right now. We got his email for the ENC campus club we are starting.

  • Paneet: She was sitting outside in the sun. Morgan led this using the Spiritual Pulse survey. She is Sikh and so are her parents. She likes her religion but says she isn’t super serious about it. With a smile, she said that she will sometimes bargain with God, saying that if you give me this, then I’ll do that for you. We told her about Jesus and how he tried to build a bridge between us and God. Then we prayed for her (she asked for us to pray that her midterms and finals would go well).

  • Harkia: Spiritual Pulse survey. She was very candid, this was a good conversation. She is Sikh but it was clear that she had done some reflection on her faith. She told us about aspects of her faith that she really loves and also aspects of her faith that she’s skeptical of. She had a sense of humor and a quick smile. After the survey, I shared the heart of the gospel with her: I explained to her how the character of God is relational but he is near impossible to approach because we are sinful and he is perfect, and thus is a fearsome judge. But Jesus entered this world and died as a substitute for us in order to pay for our sins, thus building a bridge between us and God. She said that it’s refreshing to hear this message and that it’s very different from the way the media characterizes Christians. We got her email.

  • Shiori: She studies computer science. Very shy, believes in God, but not sure about much of the details. Very shy. We did the Spiritual Pulse survey again. I shared some of the gospel, focusing on the relational nature of God and how we become brothers and sisters with one another through him. She brightened faintly at this and told me she thought that was “very nice.” We got her email.

  • Sharon: Her mom passed away a few years ago. If God could work any miracle, it would be to bring her mom back. Islam as part of her culture and a bond that connected her with her mother. Didn’t have time to take her survey but told us she respected us because it’s hard to talk to strangers about God.

  • Guy eating a burrito: I asked if he had a few seconds to answer a question or two. “Depends what it’s about.” “We are from the Every Nation Chur—” “I’m not interested”

  • Hayden: Long haired guy dressed in cool clothes. Mother was Catholic and father was not present in his life. He was mostly atheist but slightly open to the idea of God. “I just live my life and do what makes me happy.” I shared some of my story, explaining that God wasn’t important to me for a long time and then explaining how that changed. He was quiet. We thanked him for his time and headed out.

Looking back over these notes, one thing that surprises me is that none of the twelve people we spoke with was even nominally Christian. In light of that fact, it’s surprising that eleven of the twelve people were open to having a conversation about their religious beliefs. Several of the people we spoke to were quite open to our message. This gives me hope that some of them will be reached by the ENC campus ministry that’s being set up at SFU. At the very least, today these twelve people got to meet two real, live Christians who are perhaps a bit different from the caricatures they have seen in media and pop culture.

Well. It’s been a long day and I’m dog tired! Mark just got back to the room and we’re both headed to bed. Tomorrow we are headed to the University of British Columbia campus. A much larger school, a different demographic, a new set of challenges and rewards. I appreciate the prayers and messages I’ve been receiving from all of you. Very encouraging.

Much love from Canada -

Sincerely,

Sam