Squeezing down the aisle of the plane, Gavin located his seat about halfway back. Grabbing a window seat, he sat next to the 30-something Hispanic man, Jesús, who was moving out to Seattle.
He thought it was funny that the man sitting next to him was named Jesús. Maybe he would have an opportunity to talk to Jesús about Jesus?
Traveling from Minneapolis, Gavin, (left, on right) a senior zoology and conservation biology major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, had just attended a conference for Christian college students. The Campus Ministry of Cru hosts annual winter conferences by region. College students who come are encouraged and grow spiritually.
Gavin had been to the one in Minnesota; during the four-day conference, 1,500 students from the region packed into the Hilton hotel’s ballroom.
Gavin’s Bible study leader, Cru staff member Adam Penning, gave one of the messages during the conference.
Gavin wanted to be obedient to Christ and talk with Jesús. But he had difficulty understanding him. Gavin first tried talking with him in English, and that didn’t get a response.
Then he tried his second language—Spanish—and that didn’t work very well either.
As the plane jetted closer to Seattle, Gavin remembered he had a bilingual booklet in his pocket that explained the message of God’s love and forgiveness. The booklet enabled Gavin to present the message to this man who grew up going to church, but didn’t have a personal relationship with God.
Jesús revealed that this was the first time he had heard about having a personal relationship with God. As Gavin finished explaining the booklet, the plane was getting ready to land. But before they touched down, the man had placed his faith in Jesus Christ.
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