A young robber went into a South Florida cell phone store hoping to come out with some cash until he was dissuaded by a talk about Jesus.
"You know what, ... you take whatever you want. I'm just going to talk with you about the Jesus I have ... before you leave," Nayara Goncalves, the store manager, told the man.
A surveillance camera recorded the entire exchange.
The unidentified man first approached Goncalves on July 23 asking to look at a cell phone. As she assisted him, he pulled out a weapon and calmly demanded that she give him the money from the register.
Goncalves didn't appear startled by the attempted robbery and instead told the man she was a Christian and wanted to tell him about Jesus.
"God bless you for that," the man told her.
He said he was a Christian too and attended Calvary Chapel. He apologized and said he hated robbing her and that it was his first time. But he said he had no choice as he was about to be evicted with his family.
The store manager offered to help him find a job and told him about the "beautiful city in heaven" that Jesus has.
"Jesus got something way better for you, for everyone that's one there," she said. "I'm not blaming you, I'm not judging, I don't know what you're going through but all of us are going through a hard time right now."
The man still tried to take the little money that was in the cash register but after Goncalves told him she would be held responsible and charged for the missing money, he decided to leave empty-handed.
"I don't want to do that to you. I'm sorry," he told her.
As he was about to walk out the door, Goncalves continued to share Jesus.
"Jesus, he can help you. He can change your life," she stated sincerely. "Go back to church. Find a job. Get real friends in church. Talk to a pastor. They can pray for you. You don't need to do this. Jesus is coming soon. Go to YouTube. Start watching the videos. It's going to change your life.
"The end is coming. There's no time."
Just before walking out the door, the man informed her that his weapon was actually a BB gun and told her, "Good will be coming your way for what you did today. God bless you."
