Kira

Hi, I am very glad to speak to you this morning about what I learned during my trip to Chester, with Maranatha Missions, last summer. Chester is a run-down city, where the schools are not very good, the houses are falling apart, and the parks are littered with glass and trash. Our goal was to run a Vacation Bible School for the children, in a nearby park, and everyday, we needed to clean up the park before we started our program. We played games, sang songs, performed a skit, and learned lessons in small groups. Each team member was assigned an age group of kids to work with. I had the privilege to work with 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old girls. There were about four or five everyday.

Even though I enjoy spending time with younger girls, this was a stretch. The girls in my group were rowdy, and they just didn’t want to listen to what I had to say. This was frustrating. After two days of this, I went to the girls in my room. I asked them what I should do, and they said, be patient. This was hard for me since all the patience that I had was already gone, but we prayed, and I asked God to not only give me the patience that I needed, but also to open the hearts of these little girls.

The next day came, and when it was time to have our lesson, I decided that I was going to try something new. Instead of just telling the story to them, and expecting them to listen. I asked questions about their everyday life. I tied these things into my lesson, and to my surprise it worked! They listened and even more, two out of the four girls in my group asked Jesus into their life.

This was very encouraging, and I realized that clearly, God had worked in their hearts, along with mine. I learned about patience and perseverance, but most importantly, I saw God answer prayer. No matter where we are, or what we are doing, God hears us when we pray. It was my job to trust him, and I saw him not only give me patience, but also, work in the lives of these little girls. It was amazing, and I shared in their joy. I didn’t do any of this, because it was all done by God. As Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”