Graduation Reception

I was regretting my decision not to walk across the stage at graduation this month, but my church family really made me feel special at the graduation reception this past weekend. It was much more memorable for me than walking across a stage in front of thousands of strangers. Everyone was so kind and my parents sat beside me as I was welcomed along with the other talented graduates (whose grades were all better than mine, but after my very long battle with College Algebra, I am just thankful I finally finished). I know as I take the next step in life so many will be praying for me and guiding me. If you read my last graduation post a couple months back (“Fall Down Seven Times, Stand up Eighth Time”) you know I actually graduated in December. After months of confusion, I decided I would like to work with kids again. Provided everything goes through, I will be headed abroad to teach English as a second language. I am so thankful for all the well wishes as I start another journey. I thought I would share a poem written for me by one of the members of my church, Grace Alliance. It is just one example of the many words of encouragement, which touched me. Even though the miles may soon separate us, you will all be in my prayers and in my heart.

A quiet young lady has come our way

To Bless our lives each and every day.

She works with little children, oh so good.

We praise her, we praise her its understood.

 

May her life be blessed for work well done,

Perhaps she a child to the Son, she has led,

 

Or wiped a tear from one small face

Blessings be hers with truth and grace

 

We wish you well as you travel on life’s way

Success and happiness be yours always.

- David Wells

 

Below is a song, I would like to share with you. Michael W. Smith’s “Friends are friends forever.” I am thankful for the hundreds of eternal friends I have in this world. I am truly blessed. This is not my video. Thanks to Michael W. Smith and the fan who posted this video.

 

 

Shyness is Ruining Me

A painting called Left Out that has been in my room ever since I can remember. So often I felt like her looking behind a hole in the wall, wanting to join in the fun with others yet too scared to.

I have decided to start a new series on my blog in addition to other posts. I came across a book called Emergency Prayers by Deborah Smith Pegues. The book is basically a bunch of prayers on various issues we might have in our times of need. The prayers are all based on scripture. I agree with the author that we can not go wrong by praying God’s Word. When we do know how to pray we can go to God’s Word for direction. The Lord Jesus Christ, often used scripture while praying. I would like to put up one of this prayers every week. These are not my own words, but that of Deborah Pegues. I hope they will encourage many of you as well. The first one is more so, for my self. I have always been a very shy individual. It hurts me that I so often distance myself from others. This can not seem to be very loving! I was very encouraged by this prayer and plan to use it over and over, when I find myself wanting to slip into hermit-like actions. Many of you may be very outgoing and feel this prayer does not apply to you. So many of us though may love to talk, but unable to speak at the right moment. I hope this might encourage you to let go of fear and speak the truth, in love!

“Shyness is Ruining my Life”

Father, I am tired of sitting on the social sidelines of life watching other people get to know each other and develop mutually beneficial relationships. I find myself wanting to engage others in conversation, but I can’t think of anything to say. There have been times when I knew I had meaningful and helpful information to share, but I kept quiet. I am plagued with the fear of making a fool of myself, appearing unintelligent, or receiving a negative response from others. Lord, Your Word declares that You are my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear. You, are the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalms 27:1). I want to start now to cast down negative imaginations and everything that rises up against what I know about You and bring every thought into obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Lord, I know you have not given me a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). I realize that if I allow shyness to me prisoner to things I want to do and say, I will never be the effective and assertive leader You have already equipped me to be. Therefore, I claim the promise You made to a fearful Moses – to be with his mouth and teach him what to say (Exodus 4:12). In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Pegues, Deborah Smith. Emergency Prayers: [God's Help in Your Time of Need]. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Pub., 2008.

Psalms 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

 2 Corinthians 10:5

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 2 Timothy 1:7

7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

 Exodus 4:10-12

10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

I think “Word of God Speak” by Mercy Me fits  this post pretty well. Diclaimer. This is not my video. Thank you to the musicians who sang it and to the fan who posted it.

Fall Down Seven Times, Stand up Eighth Time

EEEEEEEEEEEEEE! YAY! This is what I was screaming (while jumping up and down and running around the house) when my diploma came in the mail a couple weeks ago. It designates that I graduated with my bachelors in science in fall of 2011. I started my degree TEN years a go in 2001. College life has been a much longer road than I thought it would be, but I would not take back any of the experiences I have gone through. Even my many failures influenced me to be a stronger person.

I graduated from Ramstein American high school 11 years a go this June. Can’t believe its been that long. The following semester I was enrolled full-time at UMUC Europe, taking morning and evening classes on the military base. I was very fortunate to have a part time job at Faith Baptist School, which did not intervene with my school work at all. I did this for three years until my family was transferred back to the USA to Laughlin AFB, Texas in the summer of 2004. If I had stayed in America with my family, I am sure I would have been done with school in four to five years at the most, but I chose another path. After only months in America, I returned to Germany on my own. I was able to get a sponsoring job (or two) on the military base at Ramstein. I was forced to slow down my school work to a class or two a semester. I do not regret this though. It was an amazing time. I made many close friendships with members of the U.S . military. I traveled as much as I could and went on many mission trips.
In 2006, I realized that my major of criminal justice might not be my chosen path after having trouble with my criminal administration class for the second time (my first failures. Received a D both times). I did not want to change my major in my “senior year” so I decided to take a break from my studies. I quit my job with the military and traveled to Northern Germany for a “semester abroad” in theological school at Calvary Chapel Bibelschule in Siegen. It was probably one of the best times of my life. I went to school with people from all over the world. Classes were taught in both German and English. I went on many service trips on the weekends. I took 21 credit hours in one semester. It was invigorating. I also was required to take part in a service week trip. I went to Berlin with about a dozen other students. That was perhaps my most favorite place in all my travels. I loved the people there and all the history: the places and the faces. All too soon, my semester came to an end and I decided to come back to America to finish school.

I am so grateful my parents did not mind taking their 23 year old daughter back in so I could finish school. I started taking classes online with UMUC in criminal justice again that spring of 2007. That summer I decided to go to College Park, MD to experience college life face to face. It was a grueling summer semester. I took a double load as I took a full load of classes at both University of Maryland University College and University of Maryland, College Park. I enjoyed touring DC that summer a lot and going to many campus events. Dorm life at a secular college was a little too wild for this sweet shy girl, but thankfully the smaller summer residence allowed me to have a room to myself.

Perhaps the best part of my time in the DC area was the week before school and the week after. I had to take a bypass test for a criminal justice class. I stayed in a guest house run by Mennonites. It was truly an uplifting and refreshing time, even as I studied. People from all over the world (mostly other students) stayed there and we had discussions with tea and coffee every night. If you are ever in the area and get a chance to stay at the International Guest House on Kennedy Street, I definitely recommend it. My time there ended my summer at UMD. Unfortunately, I saw my first failure in school that summer as I failed college algebra. A long battle with math started for me that summer. I reluctantly returned back to my hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. With just a dozen credit hours left, I began to consider law school. I visited some great schools. I looked at nearly 100 and visited Regents University in Virginia and Liberty University School of Law. It became clear while visiting Liberty and sitting through law classes that law was not the path for me.

I started working in security to see if law enforcement might be the path for me. I have been doing this now for four years. I still do not know any better whether law enforcement would be a good path for me, but it has been good experience. I worked at Charleston Southern University as security so I became involved in campus ministries, while still attending school myself online. That semester in 2008, I took intensives beginning math and intermediate algebra at Trident Technical College only to receive another failure. I only needed algebra and two other classes to graduate so I decided to enroll as a dual student in the Masters in Human Services program at Liberty University. I will always treasure my year at Liberty even though my finances no longer allow me to go face to face. I took graduate classes in counseling, youth ministry, human services, and yet again classes in undergraduate math. In contrast to my time at UMD, I loved my time in the dorms at Liberty. I was happy to have another friend who was in my graduate program, around my age, from Honduras. I was very involved with international students and on student leadership. I went on month long trips in the summer as youth counselor to Costa Rica and Chicago with the student-led organization Xtreme Impact. Perhaps though I had a little too much fun. Once again, I failed College Algebra both semesters! With the same professor at that. This is embarrassing to admit that I have failed so much, but I hope it also shows that I have the patience to persevere through all obstacles. So in 2009, I returned home without my bachelors degree. I was working so many hours in security that I was forced to take time off from school for about a year.

Spring of 2011, I found myself in intermediate algebra for the second time. After failing college algebra a total of four times, it became clear to me that I needed to start at the previous class. Finally I had a teacher that I could understand. She sometimes taught using childish method such as having us sing the math formulas, but finally I began to enjoy algebra a little. This professor at Trident Technical College really cared. She did not mind spending extra time with me when I had issues with a problem. I got a C in the class that semester, but that was all I needed to move on. I wanted to graduate. In May, I took a CLEP test in Algebra, but unfortunately I did not pass by ONE point. Still, it gave me hope that success was nearer. I saved everything I could and decided to take the summer off while I took college Algebra. I was sure if I was just a student I could finally focus on math and pass. I also took a music theory class that summer at Trident to raise my GPA a little. The music class was much harder than I thought, but it was very enjoyable. With no distractions from work, I really began to enjoy my last math class. My teacher was not the greatest math teacher, but in order to make up for it, I was willing spend hours with my book, watching videos on youtube and listening to help cds. Thanks to my previous professor, the math was not so bad. Much to my surprise, I even made a 100% on my midterm for that last Algebra class. I was jumping for joy over that. I have not had a 100% in math since elementary school. Yet, there it was. I overcame one of my biggest obstacles in life. College Algebra. I passed the class just points from a B (my final was not as good as my midterm). Finally, I was graduated. Since it was a transient class from a community college here, I did not receive my approval fro graduation until December. It was a painful wait, but finally the letter approving my graduation came. I was so happy that day came. I would have graduated three years a go if not for Algebra. I failed algebra a total of five times (counting my CLEP test. This does not count the time I failed beginning algebra and intermediate algebra),which could be very humiliating. I am not afraid of any failure in the future though, because I know what it means to fail and get back up.

During my last semester a co-worker who knew I collected fortune cookie slips left a slip on my notebook, which said : “Fall down seven times, stand up eighth time”. I have stood up that eighth time. I am ready for whatever God has next for me. In addition to returning to my graduate program at Liberty University online, I have applied for jobs in any and every sector and field since December. I have had very few responses, but I am just going to keep trying. I am going to continue standing up. I don’t know what lies ahead, but I know its a good road. My Lord has promised me thus: :For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” I still like I am playing the waiting game a little as I spend hours every week job searching, but I will just serve where I am at while I waiting

Worship While I’m Waiting.

Easter observations

Hey everyone. I know its been a while since I have written on my blog. It was so easy to find time to write last summer, when I was taking time off from work and was just a student. Life quickly caught up with me after I finished school. Just wanted to say that I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. My Easter season was pretty nice. I have been teaching an ESL (English as a Second Language) Sunday School class the past 9 months or so since a family at my church adopted three children from Estonia. Although none of my usual children were there on Easter, I had a beautiful little kindergartener visiting. She was a little shy so her mother (who was five months pregnant) stayed for class too. I visited children’s church a little during the service. There were fourteen children total including several from my usual Sunday School class (our Estonian girls looked like little princesses) so they had the teacher had their hands full. Easter dinner went well at Grace Alliance. I ate way too much ham, but it was happy times. Perhaps the most interesting part of my Easter season was my participation in Lent. I am not Catholic, but I have come to appreciate many aspects of the Catholic faith since my week stay in a monastic monastery here in my area last summer. I am also currently dating a Christian Catholic so I thought it would be nice to observe lent a long side him. Lent is the six week period (40 days traditionally to represent the forty days the Lord spent in fasting before he started his ministry) of the before Easter when those of the faith abstain from things they indulge to represent the sacrifice Christ gave up for us. I abstained from chocolate (in any form – did not realize how hard that would be til I couldn’t have my chocolate tea or hot cocoa). Lent observers also do not eat meat on Fridays (sex is also abstained from on Fridays for those who are married and taking practice in this) as it is a meant to be a day of cleansing and reflection over the week. I eat very little meat so Fridays were not a huge sacrifice for me, except when I had to tell my friends why I couldn’t join them for a pot roast dinner or steak, etc. Some critics in my faith scoffed at the idea of an Evangelical Christian taking part in lent, but Christ gave up so much for me why could I not give up a little something I tend to over indulge in thankfulness for what he did for me.

Every time I would start to have that piece of chocolate or cup of cocoa, I would stop myself and thank God for the sacrifice he gave for me by allowing his son to die on the cross for me. We are told in the scriptures to fast. In this passover observance I was fasting from something, which was not good for me. I will likely continue to take part in the sacrament of lent in the future, because it did cause me to reflect much upon the sacrifice Christ made for me. I also had some health benefits as I lost a little stomach weight. Not bad at all. I have been enjoying my Hershey Hugs (my favorite chocolate) and cups of hot chocolate since the day after Easter. I am taking it slowly. I do not want to make myself sick by over-eating it now. I do not think I would choose chocolate again next year. I will try to keep a weekly journal of Lent next year so you get a better picture of what it is all about. Hope everyone had a Happy Resurrection Day. It is one day of the year. Let us reflect daily on what Christ has done for us.

Psalm 22

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.^[b]

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.^[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

http://en.m.wikepedia.org/wiki/Lent

http://www.newadvent.org

Amazing Love

Grandma’s Hands

Edith Belle Workman as a young woman. Long before she became my "Nana".

August 1st was the fifteen year anniversary of the death of Edith Belle Workman Collins. She was my grandma. She was also my closest friend until she died at age 86, when I had just turned 13. We only saw each other a couple times a year, but we often wrote letters back and forth from the time I could write. I won’t go into detail in this post of the last few months of her life, when she battled dementia. I choose to treasure the good memories. I do treasure the last visit with her (a week before she died) though she was in a coma, after having had a serious stroke. Mother and I were singing one of her favorite hymns, “O how He loves you and me!” We got to the last verse and suddenly a tear streamed down her unconscious face. Doctors often say that the patient can’t hear while in a coma, but I will always believe that her heart heard our prayers and then the voices of her dear ones singing her favorite song. Today, in Nana’s memory I would like to share with you, a poem I wrote just a year or two after her death. I am leaving it untouched, as the 14 or 15-year-old child wrote it.

Nana’s Song

Needing to hear some good advice

Needing to see a gentle face

I miss my Nana tonight

The smile of a happy greeting

The voice and the look of a deepful thought

Yes I miss her as I miss as I hear my Nana’s song!

The song so full of love and beauty.

Together we hung the clothes across the line

Basking in the greatness of the simple moment

In the smells and love of summer sunshine

A ladybug landed upon the woven basket

“Look Nana” the child cried with glee

Oh yes, that is a little wingling.

In the excitement of the moment

The freshly cleaned linen dropped to the ground,

The child expected an angry word

But was held close in the loving arms of Nana

In that special way which makes a child feel like gold.

That night only one was willing to go

To go to her pretty church upon the hill

Arm in arm with Nana I proudly walked.

I hear her voice still as she said

This is my baby, my Libby’s child.

The “Old Rugged Cross” we sang that night

Her voice so strong and sweet

She tells me of her Father’s love

O how I miss her so!

Tonight, I miss the song of Nana

Wanting that heart to listen with care

Tonight I miss the different beauty

Strengthened by the wisdom’s touch

Tonight I hear her singing

Singing with the angels

In our final home up in the sky!

-written by Kathryn E. Jackson

"Nana" with her former husband, John Collins and my mother, Libby.

This is the Nana I remember and grew up with. Taken about 4 years before her death.

Bill Wither wrote this song about his own grandma. It was not received as well as some of his other songs like “Ain’t no Sunshine”, but it remained one of his favorites, because it was about his beloved grandma. Thanks Bill! I am playing it for my Nana tonight! I am not responsible for the contents of this video nor am I trying to make a profit from it. Thanks to those who uploaded the video. If you have any problem with sharing, let me know I will immediately take it down.

Just “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” Today!

Just another friendly day at the Pig!!

Just “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” Today!

This is to be the first of many music posts. I had planned today to talk about one of the songs from my music appreciation class but i was inspired otherwise. One of the stores I work is a small neighborhood gas station that is part of the Piggly Wiggly located right before the bridge toward Folly Beach, South Carolina. Although I hated working there at first, because it is a 45 minute drive from work, I quickly fell in love with the small community and the people. You see the store isn’t just a convenience store it is also a place of social connection for those who live in the neighborhood. Everybody knows everybody and looks out for everyone else. I see the same people everyday (some of them three times a day).

A storm shut the computers and pumps off at the store. We smiled at what came after the storm!

You can often see a group of people standing outside the store talking about everything and nothing and just shooting the breeze. Unlike my other stores, it tends to be a very relaxed atmosphere just as any beach store should be. A couple weeks ago, I was standing in this store when suddenly Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” comes over the Store radio. Unconsciously, I start moving my body to the music even though, at the time, I didn’t know the song by heart or the artist, who wrote it. The cashier laughs at me and I say that “I didn’t even realize i was moving. Some songs just have a rhythm that your mind and body can’t really ignore!” Three people, who were just kinda hanging out, said “That is Otis Redding for you!”. I said, I didn’t really know who he was but his music had a nice sound. I knew I had heard some of his music in movies or on the radio. One lady said, “you really don’t know who he is! He died in a plane crash years a go!” I promised to look him up when I got home. She then said, “There is a reason why this song means so much to me!” As she said this, she suddenly seemed very emotional. After a short pause, she went on to say that Otis wrote the song when she was in college. It was a time when the fight for civil rights was in full swing. There were bars and stores that banned “colored people”, as they called them then, from entrance. Riots could break out at any time in the streets. It was a hard and crazy time. There was a night when she was just hanging out with some of her buddies. One of her close friends got a little buzzed and he started singing the recently released song, Otis Redding’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” to the top of his lungs. They laughed and had a good time. The next day her friend was killed in a violent riot. This song will forever be edged into her memory because of this last memory with him. When she hears it, she “will be reminded of her friend and the pain of those years so long a go.” I could really feel her pain as she told me this story, and I will never look at this song the same way again. After doing some research, I found that there are a lot of people who had similar stories about this song. It was actually released a month after Otis Redding died from a sudden plane crash at the young age of 26. It was recorded a few days before his death and some sources say it was unfinished – that he meant to write lyrics later to the one verse that was whistled instead of sung. Regardless, it was in January 1968 it was released, and it quickly became the one song of his that became the top hit on the Billboard 100. Otis wrote this song about himself. He himself left his home in Georgia to pursue his dreams. It is quite interesting that he wrote a biographical song months before his death. The song is also a cry for change in the midst of a battle for equality and true freedom. It is a part of the legacy Otis left behind. Below are the lyrics and the video. Feel free to leave any comments or stories about the song or the man, Otis Redding himself!

Somewhere under the rainbow is a place where I call home!

(SITTIN’ ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY
- written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper
- lyrics as recorded by Otis Redding December 7, 1967, just three
days before his death in a plane crash outside Madison, Wisconsin
- #1 for 4 weeks in 1968

Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun
I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch ‘em roll away again, yeah

I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the ‘Frisco bay
‘Cause I’ve had nothing to live for
And look like nothin’s gonna come my way

So I’m just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

Look like nothing’s gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can’t do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I’ll remain the same, yes

Sittin’ here resting my bones
And this loneliness won’t leave me alone
It’s two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home

Now, I’m just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Oooo-wee, sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

(whistle)

Sources:http://www.lyricsdepot.com/otis-redding%25/sitting-on-the-dock-of-the-bay.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%28Sittin%27_On%29_The_Dock_of_the_Bay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_redding

http://www.otisredding.com

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for this video nor I am I trying to make a profit from it. Thanks to those who uploaded. If you have any problem with sharing, let me know and I will take it down immediately.

Grace Like Rain Pours on Pepper Hill!!

Was pretty excited when this family with seven kids came to register Thursday including 3 for my class!

Finally, I have finished my homework for the week and am able to write a blurb about the last night of the Backyard Bible Club at the Pepperhill Community in North Charleston, SC on Thursday, July 28,2011. I was amazed, first of all, how many of these kids had returned with 3 or 4 of their friends. I believe the director said we had over 60 kids this night. One girl, who was in the 4th grade class I was helping with, brought 4 of her friends this day! Many of the teenagers brought friends as well, bringing our youth total up to twenty-two kids. Things went much smoother on Thursday ,and we did not seem pressed for time. The kids in my 3rd and 4th grade class were quieter and much better listeners. I believe it was because God was opening their minds and hearts for his message. There was no fighting or arguing at recreation time. Everyone was just happy to get their turn at playing kickball. I think it helped a lot that our recreation leader decided not to keep points. It taught them that sometimes its ok to have fun and not worry about who wins or losers. We are all winners when God is on our side. Next, we went to story time. The children were told the story of Zaccheaus and the sycamore tree. I confess I heard little of the story. One of the boys, was a little restless and didn’t want to sit with the group. I just stayed with  him behind the circle and put my arm around him praying the message was getting through, somehow. The story leader ended by sharing the entire gospel story with the children using a wordless book. The kids asked lots of questions and seemed very interested, but no decisions were made at this point, yet. We went on to craft time which ran very efficiently. The children made door hangers in the shape of a stop light with a message to Pause and take time for God and Go and Grow everyday with Him (I am sorry that I do not remember exactly what they said. If anyone from the trip know, send me a line. I confess that I was mostly concerned at this time with helping the kids pay attention and listen. Crowd control was an important part of working with a dozen excited children. They could get surprisingly loud. ).  One child did remark to me during craft time that, “this has been a pretty good week. It has been surprisingly fun. It has been one of the best parts of the summer.”

Next, we had prayer time. The prayer leader shared the gospel again using parts of the Roman Road. The kids were very excited about being saved from their sin and receiving forgiveness, especially 4 in the group. The prayer leader was not even done talking when one girl raised her hand and said, “Can I do this now, I believe Jesus died for my sins. Can I be saved now!” The prayer leader prayed and told the group to talk to the teacher later if they wanted to know more about salvation. I am so thankful for the other teacher, Katie’s sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. She pulled the 4 students aside who had seemed interested in salvation, while I took the rest of our kids inside. She made sure the kids understood what the prayer leader had just said and told the gospel story more in detail. When, she was done, all four of the children accepted Christ into their hearts by praying the sinners prayer. Their response when they were done was to say that they wanted to share the story with their family members so they could hear it and be saved also! We gave the four children a copy of the wordless books (with the Romans Road verses in them) to celebrate their newfound faith in Jesus Christ and so they could share the gospel with their family and friends. I was very happy (more like ecstatic) to see these kids return to the rest of the group at music time with glowing faces. The children sang and dance to the music of “Shackles” (see previous blog post) with a fervor like never before. They certainly had a reason to praise him for their new-found salvation. One of the boys who was saved had told me on the first day of ministry (when it rained so we couldn’t play outside) that he had only come to VBS to play kick ball. He was glad he stayed and so was the Hillcrest group! God certainly had a plan. Sadly, the day ended shortly after music, when all had eaten their snacks, but at least 4 children went home with different hearts that day. We invited all of the age groups out for huge barbecue the next day.

After, the kids had all left, we met for a meeting and rejoiced together over the 4 children who had entered the kingdom of God that day. We also found out that one of volunteers had gotten to share the gospel with a parent. There was also another parent ministered to, who came with 7 kids. She was Hispanic and spoke little English. Thankfully, we had a volunteer who was fluent in Spanish, who was able to spend time with her. One of the children she brought with her was only two years old, which meant they were too young to be in a class. Our leaders allowed the woman to follow the kindergarten class along with her toddler and participate that way. She said she would likely bring her family to our Hispanic service on Sundays. I am sure that volunteer did not expect to use her Spanish on  local mission trip, but it just goes to show that we never know when God might ask us to use the gifts he has given to us. We must not hesitate when we feel him pulling. Among the teenage groups, no decisions were made but there was one teenage boy who seemed very interested. The youth leader shared the gospel story and no one said anything. The leader had left his Bible on the table. He saw one of the guys thumbing through his Bible. He put it down immediately when the leader saw him and said he was just looking. He wasn’t really interested. The leader just happened to have a small, pocket-sized Gideon’s Bible in his car (This is one of the reasons I so heartily support the Gideons – see blog link roll). He gave the Gideon’s Bible to the teenager. During snack time, he looked over and the teenage boy was leafing through the Bible with a fascinated expression. We don’t know if this boy made a decision and was too shy to say anything or if he was just really interested, but we know the seeds were sown and God was moving. Yes, God was moving all throughout the Pepperhill community. Something new was started here and I believe, it is only the beginning of a ministry that will be carried out in this community.  Tomorrow, I will share the final wrap up of Hillcrest Baptist Church Mission Connect 2011, which will include our barbecue with the kids and parents, and our debriefing time among the mission team members.

I am not responsible for the video above. Thanks to the other uploader who shared the song and made the video. If you have any problem with sharing, let me know and I will immediately take it down. This is one of my favorite worship songs and it was running in my head after Thursday! Grace like rain fell upon 4 young souls! Hallelujah indeed!

P.S. – I just noticed comments were off for this post. I am not sure why. I can’t seem to fix it. Anyway, thanks for reading. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated!