Erik Nilsen Apprenticeship Update: February 2024

Thank you for your continuous prayer and support for me. This first month of my apprenticeship has been very productive indeed.

Paul, Garry, and I are very grateful for our new home and have furnished it with all manner of couches, rugs, bookcases, and musical instruments. It has already become the main meeting space for our group meals and discussions throughout the week. We are also planning on hosting a neighborhood barbecue soon to meet and greet all our new neighbors and establish friendships with them. Grace has also found housing with several other Christian young women elsewhere in Fullerton and is thankful to not have to sleep in a tent outside anymore. (Kidding.)

Our mentor, Nick, encouraged us to explore the various parts of Orange County and observe the variety of cultures, backgrounds, and experiences represented in different areas. One day, Garry, Grace, and I drove to Irvine, where we ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant (a first for them) and explored the Irvine Spectrum. There, we encountered a pair of Jehovah’s Witnesses at their display table and engaged them in a friendly dialogue. In John 20:28, upon seeing the risen Jesus, the disciple Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!,” and in Matthew 28:9, the disciples fell and worshipped Jesus. Since JWs do not believe that Jesus is God, I asked them why Jesus did not ever correct his disciples. They were cheerfully engaged with the question (and Garry’s collegiate knowledge of NT Greek) but admitted that they did not have a good answer. In the middle of our conversation, an Assyrian man approached and introduced himself, sharing his conversion experience when, while he was screaming blasphemies and curses against God one night in the forest, God stopped his mouth and audibly called to him to believe in his son, Jesus Christ, and be saved.

Later that day, we visited my friend from high school down the street, who gave us helpful parking directions for UCI, as well as some questionably helpful points of interest on campus. Recently, this same friend had expressed curiosity about Christianity and its claim to truth, which I explained was entirely contingent upon the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:19), and is wrestling with the idea that it is faith in Jesus, not good works, that saves. He has become gradually more open and curious about these topics over the years. Please pray for him, that the Holy Spirit would prompt him to move from curiosity to courage, and that Jesus might become good news for him. Encouragingly, he is not the only friend from high school who lately has taken an interest in who Jesus is.

On a later, much more different experience, Nick, Grace, Garry, and I took the OC bus to Knott’s Berry Farm, which was my first experience with public transportation. Much less stressful than I dreaded. On the bus, Nick met and befriended a young skateboarder. As they talked about skateboarding, the young man opened up about his life and his ongoing process through addiction recovery, to which Nick shared his own testimony and how Jesus transformed his life from former addiction. The skateboarder was joyfully intrigued and traded phone numbers with Nick to later set up a Bible dialogue through the Gospel of Mark. Pray for him, that he would follow up, and experience the same transformation through Christ as Nick

This week, we began visiting CSUF to talk with students and experience campus life, as we prepare for evangelism on campus. Several of the Christian clubs, including Cru, Intervarsity, and Titan Catholic, have invited us to train their members in discipleship to better reach students for Christ (especially as cult activity on campus has aggressively increased in recent years). We attended Discoverfest, which is CSUF’s club rush event, and were instructed by Nick to visit the different clubs and simply ask questions about their interests, hopes, and expectations, and establish rapport. A member of Titan Catholic went with Nick to visit the college Hindu club, where they openly asked the club representative about his worldview, and his experiences that led him to it. How deceptively simple it is to ask questions, and how often overlooked.

I have been attending Glendora Friends Church for the last few weeks. It is a small and welcoming congregation, and it continues to be a pleasure to learn everyone’s names and stories. I even got to reunite with my college classmate, Katie Newton, who is their worship leader.

Recently EFM informed me, that Rose Drive Friends Church committed to a generous monthly donation to support me and I am supremely grateful. Now, I am 59% fundraised. If you also would like to help support me financially, there will be instructions following this update.

Through your prayers and your gifts, God has been making all of these opportunities (and more, that I have yet to share) possible to pour into the lives of others for the hope found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

 

Faithfully yours,

Erik

You can support me through prayer and financial giving. I need and appreciate both so that I can reach 100% in both areas as soon as possible so I can continue in my apprenticeship.

I currently have 201 prayer partners with a goal of 250. If you know anyone who would like to pray for my apprenticeship, please forward this form to them.

I am currently 59% fundraised and looking for financial supporters to support me through October 2024. Would you please prayerfully consider supporting me?