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On the final morning of the Oklahoma-based youth group's stay at the base we spent time debriefing, asking the students to share a favorite day or moment from the past few days. Many of them talked about the East Texas Rescue Mission and how getting to talk to the men there opened their eyes to the needs in that community. We asked each student to fill out a short evaluation and to write a story from the week on the back of the paper. Stephen, a 16-year-old, wrote this: "This week was amazing. We got to go to the Rescue Mission and help cook for the homeless people. The teachings affected me a lot and I got closer to my friends, the staff, and my youth leaders. During this week I felt like I was away from the world, had peace, and that everything I was doing was for God. Doing so much for God and being in His presence all the time was awesome."
In previous posts I focused on the service projects that the students did during the day, but I've waited until now to really disclose what we did in the evenings. We gathered in a classroom for teachings every night, touching on Lordship, Quiet Times, Relationships, and the Family Heart of God. The students were impressed with how easily they could relate to the speakers and had a clear desire to hear what they had to share. After they were given the Quiet Times teaching, which gives direction on how to have a relationship with God, we had the students spend half an hour reading their Bibles in the mornings. They were amazed at how God clearly spoke to them as they prayed, and when He directed them to a verse in the Bible. Elizabeth, who is 14, talks some about Quiet Times here: "When we had Quiet Times, God and I seriously connected all over again. It honestly touched my heart. I have to say the hardest part about the SST Mini is actually putting into practice what I've learned. Here I am surrounded by people living for God, but when I go back to school or work I won't be, so I'll have to change the way I live. I loved absolutely everything about the SST Mini, and I loved getting to go out and serve other people. The experiences were truly amazing."
It encourages me to know that God desires a relationship with His people and it doesn't matter how old we are. He has a purpose for each of our lives, how awesome it was to spend a week with these kids and see them gain understanding of the love and life that God has for them! After many group photos and some teary goodbyes, the Servant's Heart youth group loaded their vans and headed for home. We hope to see them again this summer since many of them expressed interest in the summer SSTs, and thanks to things like Facebook, Twitter, and texting, communication with them is hardly limited.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 April 2010 15:56 |
