Our final week of the 2019 tour was in Riverview, FL. We all enjoyed the wonderful weather and braced ourselves for our return to less moderate climates after the week! The War of Special Forces team was here three years ago and had a wonderful time. It was a blessing to be back and to work with the good folks here. It was great to work with the youth pastor, Paul Patterson and his wife, as well as Mr. Sainsbury, the principal. I believe the Lord gave us a very profitable week. I feel like we were able to go farther with the students than normal as they were very responsive and tender to spiritual things. Whatever Pastor Goforth and the leadership are doing down there, they need to keep it up!

While recruiting on Tuesday, Hannah, the Seal team co-captain, met a group of middle schoolers. One of the moms was very interested in her two sons coming out. Several of their friends came with them, and six middle schoolers came to know Christ as their Savior this week!

On Wednesday night, a young man arrived for the rally night after being handed a flier by Hannah. A young man from the Christian school befriended him on his team. After the salvation message, he went through the gospel with the visiting young man, who trusted Christ as his Savior! On Thursday night, another young man came, whom Josh, the Seal team captain, had recruited as he was leaving his work shift at Chick-fil-A. Again, the young man from the Christian school shared the gospel with him after the salvation message, and the visiting young man placed his dependence on Jesus to save him. Praise the Lord for using this young man to win two of his peers to the Lord! He shared in a testimony on Friday night:

“…maybe if I work hard, then God will use me in ways that I really hope that He will. But this week after hearing [0/100] and after hearing some of the testimonies of the guys that came, I finally realized that I had to give it all to God. It was all Him and none me. And He actually used me in ways I’ve never been used before, and I’m excited. I’m excited to win people for Him, and I’m excited to live the Christian life and to grow closer to God, and I’ve never been more excited than I have been.”

One young lady in the Christian school was struggling with bitterness against people in her life that had hurt her. She had made decisions at camp that had not lasted, so she started the week determined not to respond during the week. When Hannah, the Seal team co-captain, gave her testimony, the Lord really started working in her heart. She opened up her heart to Hannah after the message, and made a decision that day. She shared in her testimony:

“I know that I’ve forgiven…but not through my own strength. Only through God’s forgiveness and through God’s love will I be able to forgive and love…”

One young man in the Christian school responded to God’s working in his heart. He was struggling with bitterness in his heart to someone who had hurt him. Hunter, the Ranger team captain, was able to relate to some struggles the young man had been through and encouraged him in making decisions. The young man wanted victory, had a desire to really know God’s presence, and embraced the 0/100 message preached this week. He shared in his testimony:

“I used to always think that…I had to do something. ‘I’ve got to do this, and I’ve got to do that. I’ve got to do my devotions, and I’ve got to pray more and different things like that.’ But this morning, Pastor Van Gelderen talked about 0/100. It really stuck with me and convicted me that it’s nothing that I can do that will help me with my relationship with God, or it’s nothing that I can do that will help me live this life for His will. It’s all Him. And I know that finding true joy is impossible without Him. The only way that we find fulfillment in our lives is only through Him.”

 A young lady in the school responded to the Lord’s working in her heart on Thursday afternoon. She was desperate to see victory in her walk with the Lord. Rebekah, the Marine team co-captain, encouraged her to not look back on defeat, but to realize that God wanted to have an individual relationship with her. She shared in her testimony:

“I realized I was living for myself, and God broke me that day. For the first time in my life, I felt completely helpless but I felt peace at the same time…I made the decision….to follow God through His strength.”

A young man in the Christian school was clearly making decisions throughout the week. On Friday night, he spoke with Josh, the Seal team captain, about his struggle with bitterness. After the War night, he went all the way through on getting right with the person who had hurt him. He shared during the testimony service:

“And I was really upset and just bitter, and I did not want to give in. And through the messages I felt like it was constantly at me. And it was just pulling at my heart, and I just didn’t want to let it go. And when it came to the team leads, I heard Josh and I heard Hannah, and I relate to them so much… In the message today, the 0/100 message, I understood finally that…I was trusting myself. I couldn’t do that anymore, so I responded. And by the end of the invitation…I had such a peace because I finally…forgave. It was like a freedom like I never knew. It’s just so amazing when you give it to God.”

Praise the Lord for the work He did in the lives of many of the young people this week! On Friday, we gave the Christian school students a challenge to spend 20 minutes with God for 21 days. Over thirty young people took the Challenge, and our team was encouraged with reports from several who stuck with it and grew in the Lord!