Knocking At The Door Of An Empty House
Our family of six recently attended the Vision 2024 Conference (pictured above, left), and each of us saw the Lord work in powerful ways. Annalei (pictured above, right) and Miah took part in the Ambassador Track. Annalei loved getting to meet students and staff from around the world, and learning more about how and why to share her faith.
Paxton and Cassia had a special moment with a Middle Eastern student named “Reed.” He attended Vision 2023 and was added to a list of students Naomi was praying for. Reed had suffered his whole life from persistent nightmares. Naomi shared this with Paxton, who prayed every night for God to protect Reed’s sleep. Paxton also got Cassia to pray nightly.
Reed finally got to meet Paxton and Cassia this year at Vision (pictured below) and tell them how God had answered their prayers: his nightmares have stopped! There were tears in Reed’s eyes as he told us how he was finally free. He was so thankful and touched that a boy he hadn’t even met would pray for him so faithfully.
One of our fellow Bridges staff relayed to us that, before the conference, Reed decided that he no longer wanted to follow the majority religion of his country. His parents were fine with this and even gave their approval for him to learn about Christianity. He was much more engaged in discussions about Jesus this year compared to the last Vision conference. Reed said that he now wants to read the Bible in his own language.
When I (Zack) spoke to Reed about all of this, he told me how he’s drawn to a peaceful feeling he gets when he learns about Jesus. I shared and explained two passages in the Bible to him: Matthew 12:43-45 and Revelation 3:20. Jesus has driven out the demons causing his nightmares, but Reed’s “house” is still empty. And an empty house is vulnerable to more demons coming back to invade his dreams again. Yet, Jesus is standing outside of his house, knocking at the door. “So, are you ready to let Jesus in?” I asked him.
Reed is still working through all of these things, so please pray for him to open the door of his heart to the Lord.
Reed and our family celebrated New Year’s Eve together on the last night of Vision.
I (Naomi) was also able to engage in conversation with another Middle Eastern student named “Shay.” She told me that she was 80% ready to become a Christian and that the Holy Spirit would have to bring her to 100%. She told me that she feared what the holy book for the majority religion of her country said about what would happen if she left that religion. Please pray Jesus would remove this fear.
Prayer Seminar
I (Naomi) was also blessed with the opportunity to co-lead a prayer seminar at Vision (pictured below). We shared the gospel and how, in Christ, we have a personal God who is faithful to hear and answer prayers.
Reed gave me this feedback, “I found your seminar very engaging. However, what stood out was how believable and relatable both of your presentations were…You brought up some really interesting points. You mentioned that God responds to our requests in three ways: yes, no, or wait. I thought that was a fascinating perspective…Especially when you were about to share your personal experience about the times when God says ‘no’ to our requests, we could sense that you were about to talk about something painful. When you spoke about the great sorrow of losing your friend, I realized that sometimes God puts us through difficult trials to test our faith. What’s remarkable, though, is that the way to emerge from these trials with strength is also through faith in God. It’s truly profound and thought-provoking.”
After the seminar, I spoke with a Japanese student, Yuna (pictured below), who I had met at Fall Retreat. She brought a South Asian friend who is also a seeker. I was able to pray over both of them. Yuna told me that she now believes in a loving God because of the conversations that we have had.
PRAISE REPORTS
• Reed’s nightmares stopped, in answer to Paxton’s prayers
• Reed is drawn to Jesus and wants to read the Bible
• Seekers came to Christ at Vision, and Christians were challenged to get involved in fulfilling the Great Commission
PRAYER REQUESTS
• Reed, Yuna, “Shay,” and other seekers would open the door of their hearts to Jesus
• Believers who attended Vision would share their faith