This past month in ministry at Dewey schools I got to take on two classes with my teammates Mattie and Elle! They were third and fourth grade classes with the teacher out for the week. I stepped right in and made the most of the situation with no lesson plans or knowledge of what they really have been learning. We really just went with the flow, you get used to going with the flow when you are on the World Race. One afternoon my fourth grade class came back from music and just casually I asked “ how was it” expecting a simply reply of “ good teacher.” Instead, they told me of a movie they watched where the lead character was wearing a cross necklace. A lot of the students at the school we have been going to believe in Buddha so they were curious of this other figure known as God. At first I was taken aback because I never thought they would be the ones bringing up Jesus. One helpful and smart student named Billy who sat towards the front of the class asked in great detail of this Jesus and of what the cross meant. As he asked and I answered he told me of his story and of his desire to become a Christian when he graduates and moves. He said how he believes in Buddha for his family and out of respect for them. Many other students chimed in with very similar statements. Wow, was I happy to explain to them of this amazing God who loves us SO very much that he sent his own son to die for us. I felt overjoyed, changed, real, and fulfilled as I exclaimed great things of my father.
The next day I talked to Billy individually more about his life and religion. Getting the chance first hand to spread God’s word gave me a sense of fully living and sparked a never ending passion in my heart for the gospel & to give glory to God. Before I went on the World Race I read the following verse, “ He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain- first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4: 26-29). I have never before spoke of Jesus to large groups of people or nonbelievers, I was not very open about my faith in the past. This was an act completely outside of my comfort zone and something so new to me. Those moments in the classroom God really revealed to me my potential and purpose. Hannah this is what you do in life, you show my love through your heart and speak of me through your words. You don’t have to create this huge change in a person or necessarily convert anyone to Christianity to feel effective. All you do is spread the word of the Lord through your actions and words, by that you’re planting a seed to be grown. Without our knowledge the seed may be growing, the person may come around to God by just that small act. We are making Him known, He will do the rest. That’s all He asks of us, to plant those seeds so He may water them in time.
