Things have been very busy for me lately. We are one week away from the debut of our school musical, “Down by the Creek Bank,” and there is still much to do. Set pieces, props, and final touches take up my thoughts, my time, and my energy. I think this is probably what my mother feels like as she plans Easter and Christmas worship services each year! I don't know how she does it -- this is hard!
And
I am stressed. But in the middle of all of this I still make time
for a weekly bible study with the teenage girls at GSCH. Since it is a choice for them to come, the numbers in attendance fluctuate each week. When I started
this bible study 8 weeks ago, I had 8-10 girls on a given night. But
lately I have had a faithful 4-5 girls who come every week with their
bible and notebook, ready to learn.
It
saddens me that many of the girls would rather sit in front of their
TV for an hour instead of spending that time focused on eternal things,
but I am grateful for the small, consistent group of girls that I do
have. My prayer is that this small group will grow in Christ and
have an impact on the other girls in their casita in ways that I never
could.
On
Sunday afternoon I sat with a visitor and talked about these bible
studies. She was very encouraging to me, and she wanted to
do something nice for the girls who attend. She pulled out a few
dollar bills and said, “Could I give you some money to buy the
girls an ice cream after bible study one night?”
“Sure!”
I replied.
“How
much will you need?” She asked. “Is $6 enough?”
That's
enough for 6 girls. I thought.
That's plenty! I 'm only expecting four or five.
Before
I gave my answer, she asked again, “Or maybe $7, just in case?”
Knodding
my head, I thought, I don't think I'll have seven girls …
Before
I could answer, she put $8 into my hand. I was grateful for this
gift to my bible study girls, but secretly I was thinking, There
is no way 8 girls are going to come. I haven't had that many girls
for the past 4 weeks!
On
Monday morning, I needed to print out a worksheet for each girl who
was to come. I remember standing at the copy machine thinking, How
many should I print out?
I
wanted to believe that more girls would come, but I also didn't want
to waste a bunch of paper and ink on worksheets that no one would
ever use. I decided to print 8 worksheets, since that is the amount
that the visitor had given me the day before.
I
have been praying and praying for the girls at GSCH – that God will
give them a hunger to know Him deeper and to serve him
wholeheartedly. But even as I have been praying this prayer, I have
had a lingering doubt in the back of my head that he will fulfill
this prayer.
So
as I walked up to the Casitas on Monday night, I didn't know what to
expect. I went to Casita 5 first (16 – 18 year old girls) and
asked if anyone wanted to come to bible study. Per the norm,
they all ignored me for a few seconds as they stared blankly at their
television screen. So I asked again.
Then one
girl looked over at me to say something.
Here
comes some snarky remark or excuse of why she doesn't want to come.
I thought. She had never attended before -- she liked
her show too much.
“I'll
come.” She told me. Then she turned to her housemates, “Tell me
how it ends.”
I
stared speechless as she rose from the couch and walked to her room
to grab her bible.
Okay,
then, I thought. Let's
see about Casita 3.
I
walked 40 yards to Casita 3 (13-15 year old girls) and I could barely
ask the question before girls were getting up from their couch to go
retrieve their bibles.
“Wait
for me, Bailey!” They told me. “I'm coming!” Again I was
surprised, but I waited for them and we walked to the Cafeteria together.
Once
we got to the Cafeteria and sat down, I took a head count.
One,
Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight.
There
were eight girls present.
We
continued with bible study in a different way than usual. Instead of
telling them about a passage of scripture, I handed each of them
their own worksheet (Thank goodness I had printed eight!), and I told
them to spread out in the cafeteria to be alone and spend time with
the Lord. Once we were all situated, we each individually studied
Psalm 73 – “Though my heart and my flesh may fail, God is the
strength of my heart and my portion forever.” I looked around at
each of the girls and prayed.
Thank
you for these girls, Lord. Fill them. Be their strength. Speak to
their hearts tonight.
He
spoke back to me, “Oh, ye of little faith.”
