A Brief Report on the UCLA and SMC Students Welcome Meeting
In the past a few weeks, the saints in Hall 3 picked up over 70 new students of UCLA and SMC from the airport. Many of them stayed in the saints’ homes before moving into their dorms. Through such sweet contact with the saints, thirteen of them joyfully received the Lord and were baptized into the Body. The purpose of this welcome meeting is to invite all of the students and their new friends back-- to continue to hear the gospel and enjoy the family love in the house of God.
Eighty-seven new students came to the meeting. About forty saints came from Hall 3, Hall 2, Hall 4, the Church in Montery Park and FTTA-MA to coordinate in the oneness of the Body. The meeting started from 4:00pm. In the first hour, the student saints shared their campus life with the new students. In the following one and half hours, instead of having a big meeting all together, the students met in eight small groups, with each group having one or two homes open to receive students. The purpose is to strengthen the connection between homes and students to bear remaining fruits. Each group studied a gospel message while enjoying the BBQ with group members. In the last two hours, all the groups gathered together and presented group by group their enjoyments of the messages. All the students were involved in the presentation. Brother Donald Martin gave a warm welcome to the students in the beginning of this section and a wonderful conclusion with the burden of gospel in the end. Most of the students called upon the name of the Lord, and one was baptized right after the meeting.
In the following weekend (9/24), in order to help the new ones to see the vision of the Body, we will bring them to San Diego to blend with the saints there and the visiting saints from Riverside.
Therefore, we would like to ask all the saints to pray for the coming San Diego blending, for the development of a long relationship between homes and students, and for the new ones to be perfected unto the work of the ministry unto the building of the Body. Amen!