Over the summer in Boulder we set up the table at least once a month, in combination with an Intelligence Test sign.  The sign is a great draw, and many who stop also browse at the table.  One Saturday afternoon in August we were swamped with people for three hours.  It was such a privilege to see God at work as we talked and joked and challenged people's beliefs.  In one picture you can see a man holding a paper copy of the Intelligence Test.  If they take nothing else, we try to give them this one-page tract since the gospel is presented on the back. 
 
At the table I try to display as much as possible (so thankful for an abundance of materials).  I have the CDs and DVDs in a tray with dividers labeled by topic for easier browsing.  We're excited about the recent shipment of books and tracts from Mark Cahill.  These are terrific for answering the tough questions posed by these deep thinkers in Boulder, plus "One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven" is good for helping believers learn how to share Christ in everyday life.
 
Your prayers for us and those to whom we witness are much appreciated. They give us courage.  Here are a few people pray for.
 
July 23, 2011
Spoke with two young men, one of whom proudly said he was a physicist.  The other, named James, was very open and said he enjoys debating.  He listened intently as I used the courtroom illustration in which he was guilty of a serious crime and the judge was ready to pass a sentence of life in prison, when into the courtroom came a man who said, “Wait a minute Your Honor, let me take the punishment instead.”  “Jesus stepped in and took your place”, I told James, “so you could go free.”  He broke into a smile and said, “Oh yeah, I totally get it!  That’s a great analogy!”
 
Another young man said he was raised Catholic and his name was Irish.  He enjoyed the IQ test questions and admitted his sinfulness, but didn't believe in Christianity.  Pray his heart will soften to the gospel and others will water the seed so one day he will be saved.
 
August 13, 2011
The balloon guy near our table - His IQ is just short of genius level.  He was raised in a pentecostal church, then drifted away and became a psychic to earn money, and would do voodoo.  He told me he walked with Christ for six years but when his life fell apart, he turned his back on God.  Now he's waiting for a miracle or sign from God that He is real.  He's a likeable guy but won't humble himself.  I expect to see him again on the mall and will keep up the conversation as God leads.
 
Two young men and their wives who follow the Sikh religion (India).  They were interested in the gospel message but they still think all paths lead to heaven.
 
A husband and wife took the IQ test and said they were youth pastors for a church.  We talked about using the 10 commandments as a way to help people see their need to repent before a holy God and be saved.  They had been considering what evangelism method to teach to youth, and thought this encounter might be an indication from the Lord to use the Way of the Master.  Thank the Lord for their interest in evangelism and in training others.
 
A mother and son were walking their dog. The conversation started out with some fun, light-hearted humor doing the intelligence test, but once we began going thru some of the ten commandment to see if they were truly good people, the mother became very defensive about it and seemed to have a difficult time saying she is a liar/thief/blasphemer/adulterous/murderer at heart. She couldn't fathom God being a judge, but insisted how loving and merciful he is and that the Bible is contradictory because God is so judgmental in the old testament, yet so merciful and loving in the new testament. She had issues with God having a male gender, calling him God the father/mother. Well, the list goes on with her oppositions, but fortunately God seemed to have been working on the son's heart in the midst of his mom's objections. He was all ears when I told him that I wasn't there to judge them because I was guilty of breaking the same commandments. Unfortunately the mom urged the son to leave before I was able to share the good news of what God did to save us from hell and condemnation. I told the son to read the back of the paper that shares the gospel message. Please pray he reads it and that God would reveal himself to him to the point of repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus. Also please pray that God would begin a work to humble and soften the mom's heart.
 
Another mother and daughter stopped by.  Both claimed to be Christians, but the mom didn't agree with the black & white approach I had of using the law to reveal sin. She also thought that the Bible was corrupted by misinterpretations of those who translated the text from its original language. She claimed to have studied Hebrew and Aramaic and that we can't trust the different translations out there. Please pray that God would reveal the folly of her argument soon and that she would humble herself before a righteous and holy God before it's too late.

Talked with two young brothers who said their dad is very "religious" and they seemed to have some understanding of the gospel. I told them that I also was raised in a Christian home, but the truth of the gospel never really made sense until shortly after college when a good friend took the time to spell it out for me. They were very interactive with me and I think the court room and parachute analogies clicked in their minds about how they were guilty of the crime & to put your faith and trust in someone to do for us what we can't do for ourselves. They were both very respectful and I pray they would be born again by the Spirit to become children of God who would seek after God's heart to honor and please Him all the days of their lives.
 
September 24, 2011
Older gentleman with an Italian heritage.  He asked me how many people get 100% of IQ Test questions right, and I said maybe 50%.  He thought that was just sad, and then proceeded to miss most of them himself!  He was able to laugh about it and was open to a deeper conversation.  He was raised a Christian but liked to think he had progressed past that to more open thinking.  At one point he said, "Oh, this is dangerous.  You're beginning to make sense."  We exchanged contact information, so please pray God would continue to work on Al to humble him and bring him to salvation.
 
Three young men enjoyed the IQ Test, and we got into a lively debate.  They believed everything in life is relative and even the illustration of "isn't it absolutely wrong if your mother or sister is raped?", was met with "well, the rapist might have thought he was doing a right thing for him."  One of them showed me a tattoo of a cross on his arm with a Bible reference, Romans 6:23, to show his Christian background.  He even quoted the verse to me, but said he doesn't believe any of it anymore.  After about 15 minutes, we agreed to disagree and thanked each other for the conversation.  They declined to take any materials from the table.  Then one of them gave me a hug!  I'll bet I reminded him of his mother who is very likely praying for his soul.  Please pray for all three of those young men to come to know Christ and be saved.
 
To God be the glory,
Patty