Shaka was sitting in his living room relaxing when he heard a faint knock on his front door. Thinking that it was just a salesman, he ignored it. But then there was another knock, only this time much louder. A minute later, another loud knock finally brought Shaka to his feet.
As he proceeded to the door, he was prepared to face a very persistent salesman. In fact, he was all ready to deliver a harsh rejection ... until he beheld who actually stood on his doorstep. Immediately his demeanor softened.
Standing there were two young girls, Ashlee Bohlman, 16, and Sachi Kleiman, 20. They were student literature evangelists going door to door offering health and devotional books for donations as a way to pay for school and reach people with the last-day message. For many students, the opportunity to share is the experience of their lives.
Ashlee was a little timid, and barley knocked on the door. But Sachi, the team leader, was determined to get someone to come to the door, so she knocked the next two times much harder, praying that God would send someone to the door who would encourage Ashlee.
Shaka listened patiently as the girls shared with him what they were doing. He also decided to give a donation for a Final Events DVD. Before they left, the two young evangelists asked, “Would you mind if we had prayer?” As they prayed, Shaka’s heart was touched by the sweetness and simplicity of the prayer.
Says Shaka, “After I heard them pray, I wanted to learn to pray like that!” After the prayer, Sachi and Ashlee offered to have someone come by and study the Bible with him. Shaka signed up, and the girls walked away encouraged by the experience but not expecting what a blessing would come of that visit.
More Amazing Facts Connections
Not long after, Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism graduate Jeff Bentley followed up with Shaka and his wife Stephanie, but they put off the Bible study twice even though the Final Events DVD had made a big impression. The third time, Stephanie said to her husband, “We’re not putting him off again.”
Their first study was on Daniel using an Amazing Facts Study Guide. Shaka loved the study so much he couldn’t stop thinking about what he had learned. For the next few weeks, as Jeff explained some basic Bible terminology and answered their Bible questions, both Shaka and Stepahnie soaked up truth.
(PHOTOS. Top: Shaka is baptized by AFCOE graduate Jeff Bentley. Right: Stephanie, Shaka's wife, makes a profession of faith before baptism.)
For them it was all-new information. When they learned about the Sabbath and other important Bible topics, their first reaction was shock, as they felt like the truth had been hidden from them all their lives. Eagerly they shared this information with their friends and family, only to have it dismissed as old theology.
Still, the couple was determined to investigate further, so they attended Pastor Doug’s Most Amazing Prophecy series. And not long after, they were baptized on October 28, 2006. Now Stephanie is following along with Jeff on other Bible studies while Shaka is on the literature distribution team! Shaka has already brought one of his friends to church. Praise the Lord!
The Lord surely answered both Sachi and Ashlee’s prayers by using them to pique interest by sharing the Final Events DVD, sending a local Bible worker from AFCOE using Amazing Facts’ resources, supporting their work with an evangelism-minded church and the powerful MAP series to bring two more souls into the fold! Amen!