A 12 year old girl. Abandoned by her parents, left alone with 3 siblings to raise themselves. A girl on fire for God. A girl full of hope and joy. We all have something to learn from her…
Stelah
This week we had a last minute surprise. Instead of doing crusades and revivals, we would be traveling to a 5-day youth conference with the young people from Deliverance Church (our ministry host this month). I had not ever been to a youth conference & hadn’t been to a Christian youth event in over 10 years, so I was excited to see what was in store. Let me just say that (from my experience) American youth conferences are quite different from African youth conferences, as you can imagine. The days began at 5am with “morning glory” prayer hour, followed by cleanup duties, a light breakfast, and no less than 12 hours of alternating sermons and praise & worship with a short break for lunch. I woke up the first morning to my buddy Cornel shining his shoes at 4:30am, making sure to look as “smart” as possible for the first big day. The youth were dressed to the 9’s in their Sunday best each day, while us Americans were in the same clothes we’ve been wearing for 5 months now. To say the least, we stuck out like a sore thumb in the sea of African youth from all over the region. I had African girls swarm me at the first session of free-time, trying to give me a little makeover by platting my hair.
The week was long and testing at times, but each time a praise & worship session began I felt revived, dancing freely to the upbeat African songs~ it is quite a freeing experience to dance like a wild woman for the Lord and not worry about what anyone thinks because everyone looks just as ridiculous as you! These young people were absolutely wild for the Lord… completely drunk on the Holy Spirit. You would have thought they were drunk on something else the way they were carrying on. The evening sessions of praise & worship were the most entertaining, with clapping, yelling, congo lines, and people getting so excited they were lifting their chairs above their heads~ it was definitely an “anything goes” type environment… nothing like the conservative services I’m used to. The pastors paced the stage and yelled their sermons from the pulpit with excitement, every sentence ending with a “Praise the Lord” or “Hallelujah”, receiving responses of clapping, waving hands, & shouts of “Amen!” There were altar calls, exorcisms, and manifestations of the Holy Spirit all around… people paced the aisles in prayer and praise, clapped and yelled, and jumped up and down. I’ve never quite seen anything like it, but I must say I admired the enthusiasm these people had for God. Many young people’s lives were touched and changed during the week. That was clear. There was much freedom found during the long days devoted to the Lord, even by me.
Among the most excited of the youth was my best buddy Stelah, my little shadow. From the moment we arrived at the church to depart for the conference she didn’t leave my side. For the entirety of the conference, Stelah made sure I didn’t leave her sight and any time I managed to disappear for a moment, she had her radar on me. I’ve never felt so admired, so needed, so adored… and I must say the feeling was mutual. This little girl was abandoned by the two people who she should be able to rely on, yet she seems to have more trust and dependence on the Lord than most of the people I know.
Stelah was listening attentively at each session, sitting on pins and needles for the next nugget of truth to cling to. Every time the pastor gave us a scripture, she reached for my Bible, traced the words & mouthed each one slowly, and asked me to hi-light the passage. She danced wildly at every worship session, whooping and hollering for Jesus. She bowed her head and paced the floor in prayer. She is mature beyond her years & had an interest in God that I’ve never witnessed in someone so young.
For the entirety of the conference, sweet Stelah switched between two outfits, both with busted zippers and lost buttons. One afternoon, we sat in the grass and she told me how much she would miss me when I leave in a week, how sad she was that I wouldn’t be here for Christmas. She asked me when I would be back to visit her. I told her I didn’t know, that I would have to go back to America and make money before I could consider coming back. She looked at me with her sweet innocent eyes and said, “When you get money, you’ll buy me shoes?” Apparently, the shoes she had been wearing all week at the conference were borrowed from a neighbor. So, I decided Christmas should come a little early for sweet Stelah & her sister Mercy. I'm planning to take them for a special outing to buy some new shoes & a Bible. I feel so blessed to be able to bless them. To think that someone who loves Jesus as much as Stelah doesn’t even have a Bible to read… To think that now another person she loves will be leaving her… my heart is full of love and breaking at the same time. Please keep Stelah & Mercy in your prayers with hope that the Lord will protect them and raise them to be strong successful women of God.
Stelah (left) & Mercy (right)
Please also pray for Florence (youth from Deliverance Church) & her mother Mary who help care for Stelah & her siblings, along with 3 orphans & 2 street children.
