The Lord has blessed me with a tremendous desire to reach young hearts for HIM, and therefore I cherish any opportunity to serve the Lord while working with children!
I believe D.L. Moody said it best when he was asked about the conversions at a recent meeting. The conversation went something like this-
Man: How many accepted Christ, Mr. Moody?
D.L. Moody: Two and a half.
Man: Oh, two adults and one child?
D.L. Moody: No, on the contrary, two children and one adult. You see, when a child accepts Christ you are gaining a whole life in service to the Lord, whereas an adult has already spent half of his life.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I could not agree more. As my pastor said at VBS this year- "we are fighting not just for a life but for a lifetime."
Few people truly understand that we are in a spiritual battle, and I believe that no battle is stronger than the one that is waged over a young heart. Christ Himself said "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)
What a battle we are in my friends!
I am grateful for the opportunity to help train up the next generation of Believers!
Here are some highlights from the 2012 CI---
This is a Group shot of our kids and some of the Team Leaders/Assistants
The entire Team
Back Row (L-R)- Briana, Amanda, Martha, Kayla, Hannah, Kristin
Kneeling (L-R)- Avonlea, Chris, Ben, Stacey
Seated- Rebecca and Olivia
The kids enjoying the parent presentation on Saturday.
(This is when they get to 'show-off', so to speak, for their parents.
We sing the songs and recite the scripture verses that they learn during the week.)
This year our theme was "Let Your Light So Shine", based out of Matthew 5:14- "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and praise your Father in Heaven."
We learned about different missionaries each night, and we also learned different ways to brighten or dim our light for Christ. As Christians, our goal should always be to shine brightly!
We learned Philippians 2:3-11, and how being a missionary means you must be a servant to not only the Lord Jesus Christ, but you must also be a servant to those whom you are witnessing to.
We had some wonderful stories as well. Here are some of the highlights-
Monday Night- We learned about George Muller and his faith to trust the Lord for everything, and never ask man for anything.
Tuesday Night- We learned about George the determined/obedient elephant, who listened to the voice of his master.
Wednesday Night- We learned that we have to memorize Scripture to fight off satan when he attacks us with bad thoughts; we also learned, through a different twist of Musical Chairs that you must yield your rights in order to win in the game of life.
Thursday Night- We learned that we have to give things away, not claim them as our own, if we want to be able to love. ("For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:21)
Saturday Morning- We shared the greatest story of Forgiveness every told- the story of Christ giving His life for you and me on the Cross of Calvary.
Saturday Afternoon- We learned a couple different things- we learned how sometimes, things must be broken in order for the Lord to use them (Jim Elliot and his four friends who went to witness to the Auca Indians in Ecuador were killed. Because of their murder, the Lord later opened the door for Elisabeth Elliot (Jim's wife) and Rachel Saint (sister to one of the other men) to go in and witness to the tribe, and eventually the entire tribe came to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus), we also learned how we have to learn when to let something go, otherwise we might reap serious repercussions if we don't.
It was truly a blessing to be able to serve the Lord through CI again this year!
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