Sunday (2/2/20)

The Lord’s Table meeting included the saints from Fort Lauderdale and a couple of brothers visiting from Vancouver, Canada. It was also exciting to see one of the new ones who came to the home meeting on Friday night come to the Lord’s Table. He met a sister at a local Walgreens earlier this week and prayed to meet with believers outside of religion. After having a wonderful time Friday night, he was invited to join the Lord’s Table meeting at the meeting place in Apopka, Florida. The meeting hall happened to be located only 5 minutes from his house. Praise the Lord for His perfect arrangement!

The new one who came to the Lord’s table introduced himself and said he had been enjoying it so much and is thankful to be with the Body of Christ. He stayed for the love feast that followed. Afterwards, the trainees spent some time bonding as a team exploring Orlando. We arrived at Gainesville at night and spent some time with students and local saints.

Prayer Burdens:

• Pray for this new brother to continue enjoying the Lord with the Body.

Saturday (2/1/20)

The church in Orlando had a barbecue at Turkey Lake with two new ones and six from the church in Fort Lauderdale. There were around 70 people at this gathering. The trainees enjoyed spending time with the local saints and visiting ones, and played games, played ultimate frisbee, and enjoyed barbecue. The weather was cold and cloudy, but the saints were able to enjoy this time of fellowship and fun.

Prayer Burdens:

• For the continued labor on the young people and for their growth in life.
• Rest for the local saints who served during the week with Bibles for America, who spent hours planning, cooking, driving, and tabling.

Friday (1/31/20)

The trainees joined some community saints at the meeting hall to personally contact the students we met this week. We had nearly 300 contacts from the week! We also wrote detailed notes for each contact for the church in Orlando to use for future follow up.

Six new ones came to the home meeting that night. We enjoyed singing for nearly an hour and read the “Lost and Found” tract. One student shared, with tears in her eyes, that she’s felt lonely in Orlando and is happy to have a family in the church now. Another new one shared that he had been praying to meet believers outside of religion who love the Lord and is happy to find the church! Praise the Lord!

Prayer Burdens:

• The Lord would bless the upcoming follow up of the very open students and that the church would gain some remaining fruit

Below are the report and statistics of the gospel trip in Orlando, Florida from Thursday (1/30/20) through Sunday (2/2/20).

Thursday (1/30/20)

As a team, we drove to Kissimmee, which is about an hour drive from Orlando, to blend with the saints and table at Valencia South-Osceola. About 10 local saints from Kissimmee and Orlando joined our morning coordination and helped distribute Bibles, hold up signs, and speak with the students. Unexpectedly, a student we met on Monday at Seminole State decided to join our coordination and help the team with our Bible distribution. The turn-out was very positive with students coming to the table the entire time. Three students prayed to receive the Lord, with one being a Muslim who was interested in hearing about Jesus in the Bible. During our time there we brought a ukulele and guitar to sing. Many students were attracted by the singing and approached us voluntarily.

Statistics:

• Tracts: 66
• Bibles: 95
• Basic Elements of the Christian Life: 81
• Contacts: 91
• Came to Home Meeting: 1
• Received the Lord: 3

Prayer Burdens:

• Two out of the 12 trainees on our team have been sick for the past few days and have been unable to participate in the schedule. Pray that the Lord would grant them a quick recovery to be able to have them back with us.
• Forty to sixty saints in Kissimmee are currently meeting in a home on the Lord’s Day as the south district of the church in Orlando. The church in Orlando meeting hall is about an hour away, so they are burdened that the Lord would continue to move and provide a way for them to have a local meeting hall as the church in Kissimmee.
• Valencia South-Osceola campus is very open to the gospel and the Recovery Version. Pray for consistent follow-up with these students and that they could be connected to the local saints.

Wednesday (1/29/20)

We began the day with coordination and prayer. Three trainees and two local saints went to Seminole State Oviedo campus to table. Very few students saw us at the table we were assigned and we were across from the Jehovah’s Witness group. The influx of students increased after 12pm when class got out, and more people stopped by the table and some seekers received Bibles. One faculty member was impressed and expressed interest in wanting a Christian club on campus!

The other trainees and local saints tabled again at UCF right outside of the student center. The location was excellent, being right outside the main door. Many students stopped by the table and some showed interest in coming to Friday night’s college meeting. Another table was set up in the free speech zone and received some traction from students. The table by the UCF student center ran out of Bibles!

The trainees enjoyed dinners at their hospitalities and got together for the prayer meeting. Some went to the Spanish speaking prayer meeting. All prayed for the recent contacts.

Statistics:

Tracts: 51
Bibles: 66
Basic Elements of the Christian Life: 47
Prayed/Called on the Lord: 1
Contacts: 90

Prayer Burdens:

• The nearly 200 contacts we’ve received would get the proper follow-up and prayer
• The Lord would continue to bless our prayer and coordination as we enjoy oneness in Spirit!

Tuesday (1/28/20)

We had coordination and prayer, and then split up six trainees to go to the UCF main campus, and the other six to go to Valencia East. At UCF, we tabled in a free speech zone, which happened to be across from a preacher on a microphone. To avoid students thinking we were associated, we moved the table down the walkway and had a few students walk by. Another table was set up at UCF along a busier walkway and received more interest. Three students prayed to receive the Lord!

We set up one table at Valencia East. There were several students who were interested in coming to dinners and home meetings to get connected with the local saints. We had another home meeting at night and two new ones from Valencia College came. We enjoyed a potluck style dinner, sang hymns, and read verses in John 6 correlating to the tract, “Is Jesus in Your Boat?”

Statistics:

• Tracts: 37
• Bibles: 69
• Basic Elements of the Christian Life: 23
• Prayed/Called on the Lord: 3
• Contacts: 61
• Came to Home Meeting: 2

Prayer Burdens:

• The two new ones, Laura and Trenee, would come to another home meeting and deepen connections with local saints. Trenee seemed especially open and warm and Laura conversed with the trainees.
• Follow-up contact with the three who were saved and prayed to receive the Lord at UCF.

Sunday (1/26/20)

We arrived in Orlando Saturday night, and joined 40 saints for a home meeting and dinner. Around 100 saints from Orlando and Kissimmee met for the Lord’s table the next morning at the meeting hall in Apopka. We enjoyed a love feast and had prayer and coordination for the upcoming week. That night, we went to a brother’s house for a BBQ for the YP. We played games, sang, and the trainees shared brief testimonies about attending the FTTA. It was a wonderful and sweet time of fellowship!

Monday (1/27/20)

Around 10 community saints joined the 12 trainees for prayer and coordination in the morning. Saints from Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, and Athens also joined us! We went to two Seminole State campuses, six trainees to each: Lake Mary and Altamonte. At the Lake Mary campus, we reconnected with two girls from the Republic of Congo with whom the saints in Orlando have had regular fellowship for over a year. Several students expressed interest in having a Christian club on campus in the near future. At the Altamonte campus, 10 students were open to joining for our Friday meeting this week.

Two new ones joined the home meeting at night and enjoyed the potluck style dinner and singing. One of the new ones suggested we all pray together and read a portion out of Acts 2. Altogether, there were almost 50 people, comprised of trainees, local and visiting saints, and new ones.

Statistics:

• Tracts: 59
• Bibles: 58
• Basic Elements of the Christian Life: 30
• Contacts: 47
• Came to Home Meeting: 2

Prayer Burdens:

• The Lord would restore the two from the Congo back to normal fellowship with us
• Mark, the new one who came to the home meeting, would continue enjoying the
• meetings and begin having appointments with a brother.

These past two days were so eventful, so we apologize if this email is on the longer side. On Day 2, we tabled at UCF & distributed 106 Bibles in four hours! The students on that campus were very hungry for a study Bible & almost all of the six trainees were engaged with the students at the same time! Many were believers who had been meaning to get a study Bible and we encouraged them to read it alongside their current Bible and to get into the footnotes. There was also a number of them who were eager to have a Bible study, so they were contacted (along with the ones from the previous day) inviting them to the Thursday night Bible study.

On Day 3, we tabled at Valencia South (Kissimmee) and within one hour of tabling we ran out of Bibles! It was by far the busiest campus. Local saints joined us by inviting students to the BfA table and all the trainees were engaged with multiple students one after another nonstop. After we ran out of Bibles (73), we passed out BfA cards that showed them how to order it online and got contact information for those who we wanted to personally give a Bible to next week so they would not have to wait 4-6 weeks for a Bible to ship to them.

Thursday evening, four new contacts came and all shared at the Bible study! They really enjoyed the sweet loving atmosphere with those who were actively pursuing Christ & shared their feelings of encouragement since some had been falling away from the Lord. They really felt at home & expressed this sentiment.

Our major prayer burden continues to be regarding the follow-up, that the Lord will have the remaining fruit He desires from this year’s contacts.

The highlight of the days was really seeing how hungry Orlando’s students are, being with the local saints, and “fishing” with them because we share the same burden of gaining remaining fruit on the many local college campuses.

Attached is a photo of the trainees tabling at UCF, and 2 photos of the Bible study.

Today we had a successful day BfA tabling at Seminole State College & Valencia-East College. There were many open students who wanted a Bible & we got the contact information of 66 people total! We passed out 22 & 36 Bibles on each respective campus. We plan on following up with the contacts the day of, or at the latest the day after, in order to solidify a contact with them while the connection is still fresh in their minds.

One of our major prayer burdens is that we will have a positive response from as many contacts as the Lord desires. Also, that they can really be connected with the saints (because there isn’t a club at the schools) at the weekly Bible studies/appointments without any students falling through the cracks due to lack of communication.

A highlight of the day was the home meeting at the home of a family who has been meeting with the saints for 1 year, but are so open & love the Lord with an incredible amount. It was very sweet hearing their testimony & being burdened for their Christian pursuit. Another great highlight was appreciating the portions of one another while tabling, particularly the appropriate boldness of one another where we may personally lack in bringing someone to the table, or asking them to pray to receive the Lord, etc.

Attached are two photos of each subteam on the campus. Much grace & prayer for the Lord to continue going before us!

The Lord has really blessed our time of blending with the saints in Orlando and fruit bearing in the campuses. The spreading of the truth reached many students!

The sisters had two appointments today and both appointments were great! One of the students Karina was so happy to meet us and encouraged to see that there were other Christians around her to pursue the Lord with. She even shared how she enjoyed the Bible with the footnotes especially on Romans 8. K said that the footnotes helped her to understand her favorite chapter in the Bible.

We went to Valencia South Campus and while we were still setting up our table, students started showing up. They were coming one after the other! Among the local saints, there were also six saints who came to join us from out of town. Even though we were many tabling, the hands were not enough because the students were coming from everywhere. We were so excited to see that the students and staff from the campus were so interested in receiving the Bible. 95 Bibles were distributed and 88 tracts were also distributed!

We ran out of Bibles! Our last day on campus was a time of enjoyment and thanksgiving. Two new students TJ and Summer, whom we already had an appointment came to the college age meeting. They were so open and even shared during the meeting. The local saints were rejoicing for such a blessing of having the students over. The saints are entering genuinely into the gospel life serving and caring for the new ones.

Prayer burdens:

• That the saints continue to rise up in the church in Orlando to continue the follow up
• That the local saints continue to shepherd and care for the new ones.
• That the students and local saints would be released from their schedules and have the time to come together to eat the word together.
• That the local saints would be strengthened in their inner man, in order to carry out the burden in the campuses.

We were really encouraged to testify the oneness of the Body even when we are functioning in different ways.

One trainee with a local sister had two appointments at Valencia College. During the first appointment, the student met with one trainee and one local sister. It was the first time that this local sister met a student for a one-on-one Bible study. She was so watered that she even said, “My dream came true!” She shared with us her burden for the students. She’s been wanting to go and labor on the campuses, but she did not know how. Now she is looking forward to follow up with the student.

Some of us in the team, including local saints, focused on the following-up of over 100 students contacted in the BfA table on all four campuses (Valencia East, Valencia south, Seminole and University of Central Florida). In our endeavors, we were able to schedule two more appointments for this week. May the Lord continue to gain His sons of peace in these campuses!

Meanwhile, four local brothers went to Valencia East College for Bible distribution. Among the local saints, there were also two brothers who came to join us from out of town. A total of 19 students received a Bible.

We ended our day blending and having sweet fellowship with local saints at a home meeting. Praise the Lord! He is moving in the church in Orlando. The saints are entering into the burden and actively functioning.

Prayer burdens:

• That the students contacted would attend to the meeting on Thursday
• That more saints would be burdened for the gospel
• That the fellowship and coordination time would be for the building up of the body in one accord
• That all the students contacted who received a Bible would open it and be supplied through the word

Today, we went to Seminole State. We distributed 34 Bibles and tracts. We also had two follow-up appointments on campus with four contacts from last week’s Bible distribution.

In the first appointment, we had two students. They met with one trainee and one local sister. They were very opened. At the beginning they thought that we were teachers and were going to teach them something. We told them that we are not teachers and that we all learn from each others’ experiences of the Lord Jesus. They were very happy to hear that and that they were able to share as well. They asked many questions about who we are. They would like to have a second appointment and get into the books of Exodus and Acts. We thank the Lord that they were successfully connected with one of the local saints.

In the second appointment, we also had two students. T, who was contacted last week at the table, also brought her friend. They met with two trainees. T is not a Christian but she is an open minded person. However, her roommate, S, is a Christian and even had a study Bible. T shared how her mom is a believer. She is very open and would like to come to the college age meeting. This will be a good opportunity to connect them with the local saints.

Also, there was a couple and their daughter from Iran visiting the school. The father was the only one who spoke English. He was very open. At the end, one of the sisters was able to led him to pray and receive the Lord. Praise the Lord!

One of our highlights today was to see the saints with us at the table. There were three new saints who have not been with us at the table for the past week. That was very encouraging. Through this gospel trip the Lord is stirring up the spirit of the saints to rise up and function here in Orlando.

The saints in Orlando have been laboring with us fervently during this week. They have a huge burden for the campuses, and we are so encouraged by their pattern. As we continue to pray the Lord has been answering our prayers by bringing seeking ones to our BfA table.

This morning after our time of enjoying the Lord together and coordination, we headed to Valencia South campus. Although we could not approach the students freely, the Lord persevered and brought many to our BfA table.

There was a student sitting around, and we asked him to take a picture for our team. We took the opportunity and offered him a free Bible. He was so open, that we had a Bible study with him on the spot. Right away, a team member and a local saint joined the student and had a Bible study with him next to our BfA table. They read Acts 6 with some footnotes, and eventually, the brothers led the student to pray to receive the Lord! Praise the Lord! We are looking forward for our next follow-up appointment with him.

At night we had a college-age meeting, and we had around 23 local saints. We had dinner together and shared about our experiences this past week. None of the students we contacted were available to go, but we were able to blend and get to know the local saints better. We had the opportunity to share with them about the burden for their campuses along with an update of the tabling at different campuses this week.

We were very encouraged to see that the local college age students are open and burdened for their campuses and willing to join us in the follow up work right away. The Lord is leading us to pray more for the students contacted and for the local saints to rise up in order to bless the locality with remaining fruit.

Prayer Burdens:

• For the follow-up with the students, that we would have appointments and they would come to the meetings (dinner on Friday 02/02 and Barbecue on Saturday 02/03)
• For the local saints to rise up and continue to carry on the laboring on the campuses
• For the fellowship, coordination and leading of the Lord at all times, for this is the first time in 4 years since the saints in Orlando have not had any campus work activities.

January 30 was our second day on campus. This time we went to Valencia East College, but we had no table there. When we got there they said we could stay at the free speech area, which was like an island surrounded by the streets where the cars pass to drop people off. People don’t walk in this area, so we put our own table by faith and we also made a sign saying ‘‘free study Bibles’’ once we were not allowed to reach out to people. By the Lord’s mercy some students came to the table and received a copy of the Recovery Version. Two of us went to pass out tracts in a different area and 41 were distributed in total. One of those who received a tract also received a Bible and another one was interested in having an appointment. Twelve students received a copy of the New Testament Recovery Version and gave their contact information. After that we had a rich home meeting with saints in Kassimmi.

On January 31 we went to UCF, one of the top largest campus in the US. Many students approached our table to receive a copy of the Recovery Version. Three of us went to distribute tracks at the free speech area and 513 tracts were distributed! After tabling for three hours, 55 received Bibles and most of them gave their contact information for further contact. Later at night we had a rich prayer meeting with the local saints.

Prayer burdens:

• The release of the students to come to the college meeting on Thursday
• That the students would be open to have appointments and one on one Bible studies
• For the saints to ride up to be involved and encouraged with the appointments

Praise the Lord for the church in Orlando! This weekend starting from Jan. 27, we began our gospel trip by attending to a local saint’s home. We met with the local brothers and sisters and fellowshipped about the gospel work here. More than 25 saints attended, including young ones and children. The saints opened up their burden to labor in three major colleges in Orlando. These three colleges are some of the largest colleges in the whole country, with more than 150,000 students overall, these are great “fishing ponds.”

The next day we continued to blend with the saints and had a wonderful time of coordination and preparation for our upcoming BfA (Bibles for America) distribution/tabling on campus. After much prayer and fellowship with the local saints, today Jan. 29, the church in Orlando had their first tabling on a campus after four years. This was a great opportunity for us to go out burning in spirit to find seekers. The saints were very much encouraged and joyful! Three full-time serving ones from Atlanta, GA and six local saints joined us during Bible distribution. After two hours of laboring we contacted 35 students, each receiving one New Testament Recovery Version with Basic Elements of the Christian Life. Around 70 tracts were also distributed. After going over some features of the Recovery Version the students were interested in Bible study/college meetings and further contact.

During the evening time we had dinner with the local saints, enjoying the Lord and giving an update concerning the first day on campus.

Prayer burdens:

• Follow-up with the students that were contacted
• The local saints would join the follow-up with the students to establish connections
• For the Lord to cover us and have a way during our time on the campuses, because of restrictions and limitations by the school administration