Few people go to the grocery store with the intention or expectations of interacting with strangers. Hector Ramirez, a junior communications major at Troy University, goes out into the community to pray for strangers and share the love of Jesus.

“I take a simple trip to the store, but I’m not just so focused on getting my groceries when there are people walking by who don’t know who Jesus is,” Ramirez said. “They don’t know that He loves them and that He died for them and for every person.”

Ramirez, who his a member of The Vine Church in Troy, began going to Walmart to speak to strangers he came across and ask if they needed prayer. He said the Holy Spirit leads him to the ones he needs to speak to.

“It takes boldness and it takes courage to get out here and pray for people,” he said. “God never told us to be comfortable. Some people say they aren’t called to do that. So, you’re saying that you aren’t called to tell people that Jesus loves them?”

While he began his journey alone, others have noticed the impact and have begun to pray with him. Ramirez now has a group of about eight people who actively go into places such as Walmart, Piggly Wiggly and the jail to pray with strangers and tell them about Jesus. Ramirez said that in just two outings, eight people received salvation and gave their lives to Christ.

“People think that we’re preachers or evangelists,” Ramirez said. “We aren’t here to preach. We’re here to share love and Jesus and that’s the most important thing. This is not about me or the other guys that do this. It’s about Jesus and the love that He has for everybody. It doesn’t matter what your background is … I don’t care what it is, Jesus can fix everything.”

Once while he and a friend were in Walmart, Ramirez said his friend saw a man that had a tracheotomy tube in his throat. They wanted to pray for him, but when they approached the man, there was no sign of anything wrong with his throat. Ramirez encourage his friend to ask the man if he had any issues with his throat.

“The man just stepped back and looked at him crazy and said ‘How did you know?’” Ramirez said. “[My friend] said that the Holy Spirit tells us things and told him that we are Christians and we believe in Jesus.”

The man had been diagnosed with throat cancer 17 years ago, but now if he swallows anything wrong, it can give him a type of pneumonia that is incurable. Ramirez and his friend prayed for the man right there.

“We hear people say ‘Jesus loves you,’ when in reality He really does,” Ramirez said. I just want people to actually see that and know that. I had lots of Christian friends that never once told me ‘Jesus loves you.’ I only heard it in church.”

Ramirez also takes a bold and courageous stand on social media by posting videos of encourage words from God. He says the videos are completely led by the Holy Spirit. He has only made three videos so far, but he is going to make sure to post at least one or two videos a week. His latest video had approximately 1,500 views.

“God told me to make at least one or two videos a week to inspire,” he said. “I’ve had numerous amounts of people tell me how much it inspires them. They’re listening to Jesus.”

No matter what his schedule throws his way, Ramirez makes it a point to go out and share the love of Christ.

“Too many times I get busy and sometime I miss opportunities but I’ve made it a promise that I’m going to go and speak to as many people as I can … I’ve decided that I’m going to live my life like Jesus told us to. I’m not saying that other Christians aren’t living their lives like He told us to, but it’s our mission to tell people about Jesus.”