Here is a final summary report regarding the Peoria gospel trip in Peoria, Normal, and Champaign, IL. We are all so appreciative and thankful to the saints who have been praying for us and for this trip and for all of the sweet coordination from beginning to end. Everything was prepared so that we just entered into their labor. There was a real three fold cord of labor among the trainees, students, and community saints during this time.

In Peoria, there was a young man who prayed to receive the Lord earlier this week at our table at the university, and he came to spend time with the saints for Friday’s home meeting, met with a local saint to read the Bible, and came for dinner with all the saints and trainees on Saturday. The local saints have met him before, but his attitude was completely different after his salvation: he was very warm, open, and receptive of the saints. We’re so thankful for our new brother and we pray for his continued growth in the life.

Three trainees met a middle-aged man while door knocking on Saturday. Once he found out they were Christian, he invited them all in right away and opened to them. Despite all of the human suffering he has experienced, he said that he really wanted to know who Jesus was and to have faith, but he also said that he didn’t know how. He was very open to receive the trainee’s enjoyment of the Lord, and responded by saying through their speaking there was “a way to get out”. A local saint was able to meet up with him again the same day and, he was moved to tears when they read the tract, “Lost and Found”.

In Champaign, a contact that we met Thursday has still been open to meeting with us, and the reports from Champaign have been encouraging! She went to a home meeting the day after, went to the Lord’s Day meeting, and she found that all of her questions about the church were answered by the saints’ prophesying on the local ground of the church. She came again last Lord’s Day as well. In another situation, two trainees came up to a young person who was sitting alone, and found out that he was from one of the other churches. We had been trying to contact him in the fall semester, but he was not responding. It seems that the Lord knew he was now ready. He has been a regular in the meetings since then. We pray that these two, among other contacts we labor on would be remaining fruit. Last Monday, the students spent time during their student coordination considering which students can follow-up with each person we had contacted while we were there. We pray that out of the 25 new contacts the Lord gave us and the 118 conversations we had, the Lord will give us at least five remaining fruit.

In Normal, there have been two young men who the saints have been in contact with again. One of them came to a home meeting after the saints met him. We met the second man at the table and he immediately wanted to volunteer for Bibles for America; the saints met up with him again Saturday morning. There was also another sophomore who had been reading a Normal Christian Life and leading Bible studies before he met us. We were encouraged that there are people like this out there. Two of our students and one gained last semester are all now the core group of their weekly Bible studies; this sister from last semester is also bearing the burden of the Bible study. Right now there are six who are consistently in Bible studies, appointments or home meetings. The saints are looking to the Lord for at least two more out of the roughly 60 total contacts to remain for them to labor on.

The saints in Normal had prayed for eight new ones to remain from GTCA. The saints are looking to the Lord for at least two more out of the roughly 60 total contacts to remain for them to labor on.

The saints in Champaign prayed for five remaining fruit out of the 25 contacts who left their contact information, and they believe they will gain those five as the students begin to take care of these ones.

Prayer burden:

• Pray that out of the 30+ warm contacts there would be five remaining fruit.
• Pray that there would be one couple that would migrate to Peoria.
• Pray that there would be a lampstand in Peoria by the end of the year.