Thursday night we had the second Bible study in the girls' dorm and again, I was blown away! God is doing something SO huge here. I wish you could be here to see it! We talked about the importance of God's Word and how we can get to know Him by spending time reading it and studying it. I introduced them to the REAP method that I learned at church in Austin. It is a fantastic method for studying scripture, and very easy to learn and use. I explained it to them, showed them examples from my REAP journal, and then broke the girls up into small groups to practice with each other. I was truly, truly amazed by the girls' reception and excitement. In my group, we went through a chapter in Matthew and each girl chose a verse that stuck out to them. They each verbally went through the REAP method with their verse, explaining how God ministered to them through it. It was amazing to see how God was using His word to teach them and encourage them right in front of my eyes. After talking to the other group leaders, they all said the same thing and that their groups seemed really excited to begin using this method and the Bible reading schedule that allows them to read through the Bible in one year.
My next favorite part of the night was when two of the young ladies came to me separately and asked if we could talk. One of them was struggling with figuring out if it was ok to have a relationship with someone who wasn't a Christian and wanted my input. She also said she is trying to leave her bad influences behind and get serious for God. Another young lady said she is struggling with peer pressure right now and wanted to know if she should stay true to her convictions and risk not having friends or do what the other kids were doing so she could have friends. God showed up in both of those conversations and I am so thankful for what He is doing in their hearts. Please pray for these girls. Each of them, along with all the others, have choices they are faced with and they all want to get serious for God. Being a teenager and wanting to get serious for the Lord can be challenging, especially if you have friends who aren't supportive.
The bad news happened the very next morning at breakfast. I was brushing my teeth when I heard a loud crash and screaming. When I went out I saw that the breakfast serving table had collapsed and the urn filled with hot water had fallen and burned three of the kids. One girl was burned on her legs and two of the guys were burned on their ankle/foot area. Another guy had a cut on his thumb from some broken glass. It wasn't a good scene. Fortunately they were all taken care of at the hospital and they will all be fine. Only one of the boys has a fairly bad burn that requires him changing his bandages each day for a bit. I again ask for your prayers in the safety and health of these precious kids, as well as the wisdom of me as one in charge of their care.
The other good news is that I accompanied the kids to their youth group last night and it was amazing! I loved every minute of it and am very excited about attending this time with them each week. At the end of the night we had three boy boarders and two girl boarders, as well as a couple of other kids who wanted to commit their lives to the Lord or were deciding to get really serious about their walk with Him. He is doing such huge things here, which always brings spiritual warfare with it. I covet your prayers for the kids and us as leaders as we work to pour into their lives, reflecting Christ to them, and discipling them in the Lord. We have future "world changers" on our hands! Thank you so much for taking the time to invest in their lives, too.
Here is the link for some new pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com
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