“Do not be afraid!”
These are words straight out of scripture and words spoken from a teenager I had in my group at camp this past week. We went to Free State to help with a camp of about 150 grade 8 girls (13-14 yrs old).
Honestly, going into the weekend I was not looking forward to another week of camp doing ministry 24/7. Then to top it all off we got there and they told us camp lasted Monday till Friday instead of till Wednesday like we originally thought. So we would be driving back 4ish hours… I say ish because with “Africa time” it could and probably would be longer, and then packing up that day and heading to debrief. This sounded exhausting.
And though it was exhausting, it was also amazing all at the same time! I got the opportunity to oversee 2 groups of young ladies (25 girls) and God had much bigger plans for this week than I did. I should know this by now! When I am dreading something, He always turns it into something beautiful! I got to talk to these girls about Jesus all week and share my experiences with them, hear their hearts and pray with them.
Last night as we ended with prayer stations I could see God breaking down barriers and building a lasting foundation of following him. It was such a joy to pray for and with them.
I want to share a specific story about a young lady that just stole my heart. Her name is Roechelle. The Lord has gifted this young lady with a faith that will truly move mountains at such a young age and it was so beautiful to see! The Lord asked me to do a listening prayer for each of the girls, so one afternoon during free time I sat on my bed and listened for each one. Roechelle noticed what I was doing and asked me about it. I got to explain to her that I was praying for each girl in our group and waiting on God to tell me what he wanted to say to each one. Then I was writing it down to give it to them. I told her about the Spirit rial discipline of Listening Prayer and how it has changed my relationship with God so much. I challenged her to try it for a friend and she was eager to get started. She grabbed her bible and journal and started right away. It made my heart smile to see her listening to Jesus! The next day I asked her if she had finished her listening prayer and she said she had and wanted to share it with me. She had done listening prayer for me! Y’all as I listened to that young girl I teared up! She told me she had gotten psalm 23 and that I should not be afraid because God goes with me everywhere I go even around the world and back to America. She didn’t have an English bible so she took the time to translate the entire chapter from africaans!!! My heart!!! If you haven’t been to South Africa you can’t understand how beautiful this is. Africaans people are very proud of their language, so the fact that she took the time to translate it out into English was very special. You can see the full prayer she wrote out in the picture I have attached.
I will never forget this precious young lady! God is raising up a generation that follows Him wholeheartedly. I have seen it all around the world. I encourage you to press into things God has called you to even if you may be dreading them. Don’t miss out on beautiful gifts like Roechelle and what he wants to show you. God can teach us through even the most unlikely ways and people.
