Happy New Year

It has been a blessed time home this holiday season; resting, reading, relaxing. God has been showing me many things about myself, life, direction... and I've also gained a new appreciation for being on the road! After 3 months of intensive ministry, preaching every day and being totally occupied in the work of the Lord, a long break like this (though welcomed) is rather slow. I am anxious to get back at it this coming semester.

The New Year is always an opportunity for us to focus our thoughts, motives and plans upon God once again and commit our way to Him. "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5) A life outside the will of God is no life at all. Jesus came that we might have life and that more abundantly! We ought to ask ourselves: are we living that life? What exactly IS that life? How do I obtain such life? These are the questions that I am asking myself at this time of year.

The answer is Jesus Christ. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3) My prayer is that we would all know Christ intimately, and that we would die to our life and allow His life to live in us. Yes Lord!

January 13 is when I will be flying back to California to begin the journey home. Please pray for:

-the presence of the Holy Spirit with us as we go
-souls to be saved for the glory of God
-protection from evil and the wiles of the devil
-divine strength
-provision for all our needs
-no van trouble

My earnest prayer is that this second half of the trip will be far more glorious than the first. I personally feel that last semester was very much a learning experience and time of experimenting with preaching on campus. Though I know this will continue into the next semester, I want to preach what is right, the right way, in the right place, and see the right results happen. Please pray for me, dear saints.

May God bless you all richly with all wisdom, strength, and power this next year, my friends. You are precious in God's sight. Love your brother in Christ,

-Eli

Campus Ministry '06

1. SUNY Oswego
2. George Mason University
3. Virginia Commonwealth University
4. Eastern Carolina University
5. UNC Chapel Hill
6. NC State University
7. College of Charleston
8. University of Tennessee, Knoxville
9. Middle Tennessee State University
10. University of Memphis
11. University of Central Arkansas
12. University of Arkansas, Little Rock
13. University of North Texas
14. Tyler Junior College
15. Texas Tech University
16. University of Texas, El Paso
17. El Paso Community College
18. New Mexico State University
19. University of Arizona
20. Pima Community College
21. Arizona State University
22. Glendale Community College
23. Mesa Community College
24. College of the Desert
25. University of California, Riverside
26. University of California, Santa Barbara
27. Santa Barbara City College
28. University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

UCLA was the last campus we preached at before flying home for Christmas. I originally did not publish a report on this outreach because of time, but thought I'd now put up some pictures and say a few comments about it. We drew some of the biggest crowds here at one of the most well-known schools in the country. Crowds got to be as large as 200, and yet remained very calm and civil. I preached only the last day because of the stitches in my lip from a few days earlier (See Ministry Update: Four Stitches in Upper Lip). Miles and Evan did a great job regardless.

This is Jaeson Mah, a Christian brother from campus who came out and gave his life's testimony to the crowd. The response was phenomenal!

Brother Jimmy Lee open air preaches for the first time.

Evan drew in great crowds almost everyday. On the third day of ministry while Miles was preaching, a wild student who was out of his right mind disturbed the meeting with threatenings and course behavior. I was not even preaching, but wound up getting hit in the face again... that's twice in one week, can you believe it? The police arrested him yet he was still trying to fight them too. It was awful. All this happened in front of hundreds of students, but I think it really sobered everyone up to the Gospel.



Brother Ceril from Jews for Jesus. It was awesome to fellowship with him during our time at UCLA.

I preached the last day with a cut lip and a swollen jaw, but praise God for His super-abundant grace and the sufficiency of His Spirit! UCLA was quite an experience which I'm sure none of us will forget. The Lord bless you saints,
-Eli

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

Santa Barbara City College

Santa Barbara City College is a beautiful campus right on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. We arrived the first day to preach but were stopped by the campus security who told us we could not speak without permission from the administration, and after going to the main office we were allowed only one hour the next day to preach. Therefore, our normal meeting needed to be condensed into a space of one hour, but the Lord was with us and gave us an excellent time of preaching, with many attentive and inquisitive listeners. When we were finished, our hearers even gave us a round of applause.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:14-16)

Blessings, my friends. If the Lord wills I shall be home shortly, and I eagerly desire to see you all. It has been a tremendous blessing to travel across the country these last few months lifting up the Name of the Son of God, and the Lord has taught me many things about Himself and about my own self. I am humbled to be called a preacher of Christ. Saints, I wish you all a very happy Christmas holiday, and may the Lord bless you and keep you, may you experience the sweet fellowship in the Holy Spirit and with one another in love. Grace and peace to you from,

Your brother and fellow labourer in the Gospel,
-Eli

Ministry Update: Four Stitches in Upper Lip

Dear friends, last night I got punched in the face by an angry college student and had to be taken to the hospital. I received four stitches in my upper lip, my gums are cut up and my teeth are sore, but thank the Lord nothing is broken and I am recovering well.

We were doing outreach down on the main party street in Isla Vista Friday night, and at the time I wasn't even preaching. I had talked with my attacker earlier and he became extremely angry because I was showing him what the Bible said about his sin, and he was under conviction. He grabbed me by the collar but his friends held him back. After he had left I thought he was gone, and I started to talk with another student. About three minutes later he came out of no where and punched me right in the mouth. He hit me so hard I was thrown backwards to the ground and blacked out for a second. I didn't even see him coming, but Miles told me later that he saw him run straight out of the crowd and delivered a full blown punch to me. I was bleeding pretty bad, down my jacket and on the ground.

I am honored to shed my blood for my Lord Jesus. "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:12) Praise God. What's great is that the Christian community here in Santa Barbara were stirred and encouraged by this incident, and I am so thankful for their loving kindness in praying for me and getting me to the hospital. We also prayed for the young man that hit me, that he might be saved! I forgive him; may the Lord also forgive him and rescue his soul. Please pray for the expenses I must now pay. American hospitals charge for their services and I am not insured, being a Canadian citizen, and it is very expensive. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

Praise the Lord for His protection. We must never cease to be the light in the dark places despite whatever trials come up against us. No matter how hard, no matter how dangerous, let the Name of Jesus Christ be glorified in us to all the world! God bless, dear saints.

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." (2 Corinthians 4:6-11)

University of California, Santa Barbara

We preached at UofC Santa Barbara for three days, the second most famous party school in the country. Apparently, over 20,000 students pack into an area of 0.5 square miles in a place called Isla Vista to go wild all night long. These are the same students that are studying to become lawyers and doctors and politicians, etc. How far this country has fallen from it's original integrity and Christian hertiage! Today, campuses are thriving with anti-Biblical liberal thought, ravaging the minds of impressionable young students.

The first day on campus we were having an excellent civil meeting with a group of iniquisitive athiests. They were asking all sorts of questions about the Bible and God and His Son, but then something terrible happened. A handful of students Christians showed up and totally devasted the meeting. They began trying to argue with us about doctrine and would not leave or accept the fact that we did not want to talk to them but to the non-believers. The meeting eventually closed, with the athiests just seeing these Christians arguing with us. It was very grieving. We couldn't believe it.

Here is Miles being cut off by a campus Christian.

Day two was much better. We prayed that God would prevent that same thing from happening and that day we did not see even one of those contenders who came out previously. Large crowds attended the meeting as we preached hard about sin, righteousness and judgment to come, emphasizing that "we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." This seemed to make sense with the students; their conscience condemns their wicked lifestyles.

Day three was the best day of our time spent at Santa Barbara. The students very totally civil and the meeting accomplished much. Many people had questions that received answers and others were deeply challenged to get their lives right with God. One man printed off a list of so-called Bible contradictions, but we went through each one plainly until his mouth was completely stopped. A pot smoker had nothing to say when we demolished all his arguments and he saw himself guilty before God. One girl was almost in tears as the Holy Spirit began making an assault on her hardened heart. Evan and I had a great conversation with a Bahai student, who had many questions about Jesus Christ and His second return. Miles reasoned with two evolutionist philosophers and the crowd acknowledged that they were reductio ad absurdum, reduced to absurdity. Two Christian girls and a guy were so convicted about their lifestyles that they started to cry right there in the meeting. Other Christians were encouraged in the Lord; one young man asked us to pray for him that he would have more of a hunger for the Word of God! We also met two Jews for Jesus believers who were a wonderful witness and encouragment to us. God be praised!

Thank you, dear saints, for your encouragment to me and for reading these reports; you bless my heart. Lord willing I will be home next Saturday, the 9th of December, for Christmas break and I hope we can get together during that time for fellowship; I know I miss you all dearly and long to see you. May the Lord bless all of us, and strengthen us in our faith and in the Word of God. To Jesus Christ be the glory both NOW and FOREVERMORE.