7th graders to the rescue

I guess I am an extremist because I believe now I am posting too many pictures at one time, sorry.

I have been praying that the Lord would provide people to come and play and minister to these children in Jos, Nigeria, especially since there are no groups or interns coming this summer. He has answered me in ways I had not expected.

This entry is about these girls, not only the children they came to serve.

Meet the 7th grade girls discipleship group at Hillcrest school. There are about 14 of them who have chosen to take one of their Tuesday afternoons to help the Fatherless. It was soooooo much more fun that I thought it would be.

John and I joke about people who minister to middle schoolers have a special calling on them because it is not an easy age to reach out to (take no offense all you middle school parents, I will be one next year as well).

Anyway, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The leader who is a good friend of mine actually told me that the group was having some problems relating to each other and dealing with some internal conflict so she didn't even know how many would come.

Not only did they all come but they added a few as well and the afternoon was just full of blessing. They did an excellent job throwing themselves into the task completely and not allowing one child, no matter how disabled and challenging they might be, to feel left out or abandoned for an afternoon of fun.

And one of the things I love about God is how He can multi-task (even though I can not). Not only did the orphan child get loved on fully, but by the end of the afternoon the group was completely unified and laughing and talking about the next time they can come and serve. I do believe that is how God ordained it.... to keep our eyes off of ourselves and onto something bigger than we can handle on our own. Only with the help of God and their 13 other friends could this afternoon have been pulled off the way it did. I was so thankful to be a part of it in some small way.

I would like to add a P.S. to this entry. For those of you praying for my parents safe travel, keep on praying. Jason our director is picking them up in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria and is still waiting. Apparently they have had quite the adventure already before even living here. They have had delays, missed flights, no internet, no working phone to call us, bad connections, etc.... So, currently at this moment, they are in Frankfurt airport waiting to leave to get here tonight. So, it is only one day later but it probably feels like 3 weeks to them in lack of sleep, good food and clean clothing.... We have been hearing from my sister how they are doing and this morning we were able to receive an email from them. They are spirited and just concerned for our schedule (super kind of them and completely not necessary). So, keep praying them to Jos.... They will hopefully get here soon.