L2R: Becky, Spunky, Ellory, Mary, Joy
I was given an assignment to write out my past goals for 2006 and how I succeeded in them. This was a precious assignment to do, because it brought me to one of my favorite seasons in life – my time with the Middle School Girls from our youth group
SWEAT
. This was truly one of the most fruitful years I have ever had!
When we began our group, there were just 6 girls and me. It was quiet and somewhat awkward, but it did not take long for that to change! Within a couple of weeks, we were up to almost 20 girls and were just as loud as we could get. We changed nights, houses, and times to try and accommodate everyone’s needs. Our group finally made a decision on all of that and a name too, I’m LIGHT (Living In God’s Holy Truth) from Mt 5:14. We met for 2 ½ hours every Friday, not including our Wednesday night service too. The girls were troopers! They were so hungry and ripe for someone to teach them the Word of God, and I was blessed to be that person!
Don’t underestimate Middle School youth just because their young. These girls can take anyone of us on when it comes to passion and knowledge of Jesus Christ! Every week we would do in depth Bible studies, memorize Scriptures and even
chapters in the Bible, and we would pray for hours! If someone was in a struggle, we would put her in the middle and lay hands on her and literally cry out to God!
They served alongside each other in many service projects including serving in a wedding with 500 guests and receiving the offering in church with an even larger congregation. They have stuffed hundreds of baskets at Easter, wrapped presents at Christmas, and delivered them to our homeless and poor communities.
We have also had many down times too. Sometimes we would not even crack open the Bible (that may mess with some of you). We would just hang out. We had slumber parties, ice cream & pizza parties, and pool parties. We (they) stayed up for hours on in. Man can those girls party!!!
I’m LIGHT has amazing faith and the courage to live it out. I will never forget them. They restored a piece of me that I didn’t know was missing. With tears streaming down my face right now, I say to you Mary, Becky, Joy, Dayra, Darielus, Gelela, Zernikiah, Ellory, Morgan, Susanna, Elena, Sable, Amber, Amanda, Sam, Alicia, I LOVE YOU & WILL MISS YOU SO VERY MUCH! I am very proud of you. Keep up the passion! I will be back in 1 year to quiz you! HUGS & KISSES
