A Deeper Understanding
Our missionary here made the comment "The gospel goes wide here, but it doesn't go deep." the first day that we arrived. With every different ministry we've helped with I've found that this is so true. Little kids grow up singing church songs much like we do singing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and "This Little Light of Mine", but don't really ever learn the deeper meanings of what they sing. The adults are just the same. They can tell you that Jesus loves them, that God is the only God, but it doesn't go much deeper than that. A concept like how deep God's love truly is for us, or even that Jesus didn't just die for sin, but thier sin, is so foreign to them, and very hard for them to understand. Because of this a lot of people claim to be Christians because they "know who Jesus is" but there is no personal relationship with Him. Please pray that we well be able to help people understand on a much deeper level Christ's love for them, and that they will begin pursuing a personal relationship with him.
True Love Waits
There is one particular place that is very heavy on the whole team's minds right now. This is somewhere that we've visited a few times. There are about 65 kids there ranging from 4yr.-20yr. and it is way understaffed. The last time we were there we were helping them clean up and pick trash up while the kids were at school. While doing this we discovered a hidden mattress on the ground behind some storage buildings and some items that don't belong anywhere in this place. This broke our hearts, but it also started a fire in them. We've done some bible studies every time we have visited, but as it has been for everyone at the same time, this is a subject that's inappropriate to just bring up. We're going to talk to some people in the next couple days to see if it would be possible to do a mini true love waits study with the older kids. Many of the girls have been through some kind of sexual abuse, and feel as if the only love they receive is when they give themselves away sexually. Many of us girls on the team have been given testimonies of how God can completely restore and heal you physically and spiritually, and we're hoping to get the chance to share that with these youth. So please pray for open doors!
A Special Request
Our van driver for the entire summer is named Request, and he's lost. He sings every "church song" he knows with us, he even teaches us some we don't know, but he has never walked into a church and he doesn't have a personal relationship with God. We've invited him to church every time he takes us, and his attitude about it is lightening up, but he still hasn't accepted. He's also opened up to letting us pray with and for him every time we get off the van. Please pray that we will be an example of Christ's love every single time that we step foot on that van, through our attitudes, our words, and our actions. Pray that he will see Christ through us, and that he will come to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father.
I thank you all for the love and support, and the many many prayers I know you've already prayed!
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