Agnostic Turned Christian At USC!

One of the outreaches that Circuit Riders plans each year consists of a tour across America and the nations called Carry The Love Tour. This tour consists of our staff planning gatherings on both high-school and college campuses with the goal of reaching our generation with the gospel. These gatherings include a time of worship and message, followed by a second day of evangelism on each campus.

It was during one of these Carry The Love stops at University of Southern California that I felt like The Lord lead me to go and share the gospel with a girl I saw sitting on a bench. As I started talking with her she explained how she was a foreign exchange student from China and grew up in a family of Atheists. She herself believed in a higher power but she felt unsure of what that power was and had never even heard of Jesus. She described how she had often used crystals and tarot cards as her mediator to the supernatural and I responded that I knew a better mediator that I would love to show her. I then asked if I could pray for her and as I began to pray, I felt like God showed me the phrase “ daughter of mercy”. Unsure if this would mean anything to her, I shared what I felt God had said and shock quickly came over her face. She then told me that growing up her mom had always called her “daughter of mercy” because of how forgiving she naturally was. I was amazed and asked if we could pray again. This time seeing a picture of her sitting outside on a bench with her head in her hands and an expression of anxiety on her face. I felt very strongly that the anxiety seemed tied to a deep fear of the future. As I shared the picture with her, the same expression of shock came over her face once more. She then told me that just a few hours beforeI had walked up to her she was sitting on this very bench with her head in her hands, anxious over what she should do with her major. By the end of the prayer time, she kept asking me. How do you know this about me? Who told you this? I responded that I didn’t know any of this about her, but that Jesus knew her. I asked if I could share the gospel with her and she said yes! After hearing the gospel for the first time, I asked if she wanted to give her life to Jesus and with such joy on her face she responded yes, that she was willing to give up her own plans and follow Jesus whatever it looked like. We prayed a simple prayer giving her life to Jesus and kept telling me how much lighter she felt. Afterward I got her connected with some Christian friends on campus and had her download the Bible app!

At the end of our time together. She wanted me to ask God one more question. She told me that although she had given me her Chinese name when I first started talking to her, she also had an English name and was wondering if I could ask God for it since I had said that He knew everything about her. Nervously, I closed my eyes and asked the Lord what her name was and the first thing I felt for her was the name Jenny. I looked at her and asked if that name meant anything to her and she began to jump up and down wildly screaming that’s my name! that’s my name!

All glory to Jesus who knows our name!!