Young Foundations,

I have a testimony that I want to share with all I can!

I was at school last Wednesday when I was robbed. I had received an e-mail the night before from my college directory that informed me of a current theft crisis occurring on campus. Since I don't live on campus, I didn't worry about it. I always locked my car and was pretty careful with all of my things. Well, on Wednesday I sat all of my things on a little table in the cafeteria. I had my backpack, food, a jacket, and most importantly, my really nice Oakley sunglasses. I simply turned around to grab a newspaper off of the rack (about ten feet away) and when I looked back, my Oakley sunglasses were gone! I was so upset. I knew that I shouldn't have let something so small bother me, but they were a gift from a very special person and I really liked them. They were by far the nicest pair of sunglasses I had ever owned. Needless to say, this pretty much threw off the rest of my day at school.

I was driving home, still very upset, when I called my mom and she told me, "things could be much worse" and "this is probably all just a test and God is waiting to see how you handle it." Fortunately, it was Wednesday, which meant I could take all my burdens to the Lord that night at church. I have always cherished my church's Wednesday night services because they always seem to be exactly what I need to recharge half way through the week and get me through the weekend ahead.

Well, on this particular Wednesday night, I had a much heavier burden on my heart than usual. I spent the whole afternoon in prayer just asking the Lord to take control over the situation. A friend of mine told me right before I went into church that night (the same friend that gave me those sunglasses) that if I asked the Lord to put it on the person's heart who stole them to give them back, that God would compel them to give them back. It was so difficult to even tell my friend about what had happened, and it blew me away that she would even mention such an idea. I had never even thought of doing that. I had gone to all of my friends on campus and the Head of Security. They all told me, "I'm sorry, but you are crazy if you think that you will ever see those again. No college student would give a $200 pair of sunglasses back."

All hope seemed lost in my mind, but I took that advice from my friend and sure enough, that night in church I did exactly what she recommended. We had such a marvelous service that night. The Spirit of the Lord moved amongst the congregation in such a sweet way. I knew that since I had come with such expectations and in need of such an uplifting, that the Lord would move on the scene. Sure enough, He did just that! The Lord came down and touched all of our hearts through the message spoken by our Prophet!

At the end of the service, I stayed after to pray and I asked the Lord, "Father, if I am not deserving to have those sunglasses anymore, then so be it. But if it would be in your will for me to get them back (all this time Satan is just pounding me with doubt and feeling stupid for asking such a thing) then Father, PUT SO MUCH CONDEMNATION ON THAT PERSON'S HEART THAT THEY WOULD GIVE THEM BACK TO ME. I would be lying if I said that I actually believed that it would happen. For that reason, I didn't think that my prayer would be answered because the Scripture says that you must BELIEVE what you ask for and it shall be given unto you. I really didn't think such a miracle could take place. Regardless, I asked God to make it happen and left it in the His hands...

I went back to school that Friday. I had been telling everyone I knew the day before (Thursday) that I was confident that the Lord would answer my prayer. He had never failed to answer any of my prayers before and I just knew He wouldn't start now. Even though Satan kept filling my mind with unbelief, I held true to that promise, and in my heart I just knew that I was in store for a miraculous blessing! There's just something about those long, awful days out in the world that gives you hope for a blessing in the future. It seems like when Satan comes after us, we have to know we are doing something right. Brother Branham had spoken on that during Wednesday night's message that, "when the trials of life come rushing in, just say Praise the Lord and move forward!" So that's exactly what I had done.

After my first class was through, I always have an hour long break before my next class. Instead of grabbing a bite to eat and studying like I usually do, I was determined to act on what I believed. I didn't care what anyone else said, I decided to press on and do a school-wide search for those sunglasses! I printed off about fifty fliers that I had made up and began plastering the walls with them. Since I was doing this during class session time, there was nobody else around in any of the buildings I went in. All of the other 1,500 or so students at the college were either in class or still in their dorms. There was no one in the hallways where I was "decorating" the walls. During this time, Satan continued to discourage me in my mind. He made me think of how stupid everyone on campus would think I was for putting myself out there like this, all for a pair of sunglasses that I would never see again. But I told Satan to get behind me and I continued to move forward!

I had reached the final building on campus and was down to only one flier. I had saved the "original" copy of the flier to put it on the same table where my sunglasses were stolen. Sure enough, I found myself standing in that exact same building. I walked over to the "scene of the crime" and sat that final flier on the table in the same spot my sunglasses were stolen. It was a disheartening moment, standing there starring at this flier where my sunglasses last were. I was just thinking to myself how I had put forth my best effort, re-traced all of my steps, and had done my best to get them back. However (Praise the Lord), I had no idea what events were about to take place.

As I was walking away from the table, I caught sight of the FIRST student I had seen in that entire hour. I walked up to him (I had never seen him before in my life) and simply asked him, "You haven't seen a pair of Oakley sunglasses have you?" He looked at me and said, "Nope. Sure haven't." I proceeded to tell him about what had happened and I pointed out to him where the robbery had taken place. He told me, "I'm sorry to hear about that man. I'll sure keep a look out for them." I thanked him and walked out of the building. I only had another fifteen minutes left before my next class, and I knew I wouldn't have anymore time that day to do anymore searching or anything. I began to walk towards the building where my next class was when something came over me that told me to go make more copies of the fliers and go back to where I left off. I battled this idea for a moment before realizing that it might be the Lord's leading, and I couldn't take a chance of neglecting that. I ran back to the computer lab, printed off fifty more copies and ran back to the last building I was in to pick up where I had left off. As I walked in the door, I saw that same young man I just spoke to sitting there at that EXACT same table where I had laid the original flier on and he was dangling my pair of Oakley sunglasses. It was such an overcoming moment that I lost all words. As I walked up to him, he asked, "Are these yours?" I said, "Yes, they are." He said, "Let me ask you something. What is it about these sunglasses that make them so special?" I told him how they were a gift from a special friend and I was heart-broken when they were stolen. He looked right at me and said, "I stole these from you on Wednesday, and I don't know why we are the only two people in this building right now, but when you walked out of that door a moment ago, SOMETHING CAME OVER ME THAT I HAD NEVER FELT BEFORE." (Praise the Lord!) I told him how I had prayed at church that God would compel that person who stole them to give them back. He said, "I don't believe in God, but all I know is that when I saw how much those sunglasses meant to you, I HAD TO GIVE THEM BACK!" Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

All things are possible, Only Believe!

God Bless You