Maria* has prayed for this day for a long time.
Her 18-year-old son, Sam,* had been living a life for himself. But on March 9, he agreed to make the 40-minute drive with her from their home in Santee, California, to Chula Vista for the God Loves You Frontera Tour.
There, he heard Franklin Graham preach about the peace God offers through a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.
As his heart softened by this Good News, he walked to the front of the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre—along with over 400 other people—to repent of his sins and receive Jesus Christ into his life.
“My life is messed up,” he told counselor Steve Boschen.
“I could tell he probably had not wanted to come,” Boschen explained, “but he was here—and he was broken.”
As he spoke with Sam, he saw Maria weeping tears of joy as she watched her son make the decision of a lifetime.
“She was crying through the whole conversation, knowing that she’s witnessing a supernatural thing,” Boschen said.
And this was exactly why Boschen volunteered at the event: to help others find the hope in Jesus Christ that he had.
Boschen encouraged the young man in his newfound faith and gave him a Bible and other materials to help him grow in his relationship with Christ.
“He had a shocked look on his face like, ‘I can’t believe I’m here, but this is what I need,’” Boschen said.
“It was a shock of hope.”
Hearing the Gospel for the First Time
Carlos* had never heard that God loves him, or that his sins could be forgiven—until he heard Franklin Graham’s message on Saturday.
“Your soul is valuable because of the price paid for its redemption. Jesus Christ paid for your soul with His blood,” he explained to the crowd of more than 5,700 people who gathered under the setting southern California sun.
“Tonight, will you put your faith in Christ?”
Carlos, along with his young daughter, Veronica,* both answered ‘yes’ to Franklin Graham’s question, and made their way to the front of the amphitheater where they met prayer volunteer Bernie Lund.
“I know this is what I need to do,” Carlos said after he came forward to receive Christ as his savior.
Carlos’s two other young children and wife also responded—and another counselor ministered to them.
Lund connected Carlos and his family with a local church where they can continue to grow closer to God, and to a family of believers.
Chula Vista—or “Beautiful View” in English—is indeed that: rolling hills of green, Bird of Paradise flowers, and sprawling villas in San Diego County. But in the amphitheater on Saturday night, an even more ‘beautiful view’ was displayed: hundreds of lives changed for eternity.
“At the end of the day, people are being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light,” said Lund—who came from San Diego with 30 other members of his church.
And that thought alone was why he had trained ahead of time—and then served at the event. “I wanted to be a part of that.”
*Names changed for privacy.
Please pray for the thousands of new believers all across the border region and ask the Lord to transform their communities as they share their faith with others. You can watch a replay of the outreach in Chula Vista here.
