In 2021, our team had the privilege of coming to Fairfax Baptist Temple for the first time! Pastor Todd Abbey is doing a great job there and is assembling a wonderful staff. This year, we had another blessed week. We worked with the youth pastor, Craig Christensen, and I was encouraged with his burden and philosophy of youth ministry. I did a podcast with him on the Thee Generation Podcast. I would encourage you to listen to it! The Lord did some great things in lives!

A young lady on the Marine team responded to the invitation on Wednesday. She was struggling with self-harm due to her abusive home. Carissa, the Marine co-captain, counseled her and encouraged her to find her identity in who God says she is and not what others say. Carissa has been able to have continued contact for accountability. She testified on Friday:

“For a while now I’ve been struggling with self-harm. And growing up, my parents used to…treat me and my family really badly…but it made me feel like I’m not good enough and they compared me a lot too… but this week I talked to Carissa and she helped me to know that my parents don’t define [me], but God does.”

On Thursday evening, a Christian school young lady responded to the invitation. She had been struggling with assurance. That night she nailed it down with Sydney, the Ranger co-captain. The following night she testified about her decision:

“Something I’ve been worrying about…[is] if I’m gonna go to heaven or not. I was saved at a very young age, at seven. And I thought I was going to heaven…and last year I was bitten by a snake and it scared me a lot… I just wanna say that if you still wrestle with that it’s not worth it. Just give it to Him and do whatever He wants you to do.”

During the invitation on Wednesday evening, five Christian school girls on the Seal team raised their hands that they were unsure about their eternal destiny. None of them had the courage to respond, so after dismissal, Annaleese, the Seal co-captain, caught two of them and challenged them. They both were not ready to make the decision right then, but a few minutes later, one of the girls came back to Annaleese and said she’d like to talk about salvation the next day. She was gloriously saved on Thursday after chapel. The team continued to pray for the others. On Friday, Annaleese was able to see two more of the girls saved and another settle assurance. The fifth girl shared in how she settled her assurance that week as well. It was a blessing to see all five young ladies settle their salvations!

A young man on the Seal team raised his hand on Wednesday evening. He didn’t respond, but Nathan, the Seal captain, was able to fish him after the service. He said he had made the decision during the invitation that night. Later in the week, he responded with a burden about his purity and bitterness. He testified on Friday:

“I was saved last year…[and] after that service I went…and got saved. And I was doing good for about a week and then I just fell off …I didn’t feel the same way I did so I started doing the same old things I did before. And then this week came, and it hit me in the chest…His sermons hit like they were really sermons, and I have felt an impact…I didn’t have assurance of salvation. I knew I was going to heaven…And they asked in chapel….. raise your hand. I didn’t go up…every single [time] I failed at raising my hand…Finally, today I did and it was probably one of the greatest decisions I made.”

Jeremiah, the Marine captain, counseled a young man on Friday about bitterness towards his brother and other peers who had been talking behind his back. Jeremiah encouraged him to forgive and let God take care of it. He gave a testimony on Friday:

“I have an older brother, but he’s an older stepbrother…before he went to boot camp… he…had given my dad a hard time…my dad disliked him very much…when he was younger. But hearing all these things from both of them…was…really heartbreaking for me and…I felt bitterness towards both of them. [My stepbrother sent] an apology letter to my dad before he went to boot camp…[my dad] didn’t read any of it, instead…he…[tore] it all apart. It was really heartbreaking, and I felt really bitter towards my dad. However, this week as the pastor was preaching during chapel about bitterness…I talked to my youth pastor. He basically told me I should get things right with my dad; I should forgive him and my older brother.”

There was a young man on the Marine team who did not respond all week. Finally in the invitation on Friday night, he raised his hand. He had been so impacted by his peers’ testimonies that he knew he had to get right with God. That night, he responded and talked with Jeremiah about his viewing and caving into peer pressure. It seemed like a switch flipped, and he understood his victory was found all in Jesus. Overwhelmed with his newfound freedom, he stood up and gave Jeremiah a big hug.