First Big Steps

We arrived home from CYIA Retreat encouraged and were ready to get to work but requests for Bible clubs seemed to come in slowly. After the first two weeks we were plenty busy. As our 6 Summer Missionaries worked as a team, God brought us to areas where kids were hungry for the gospel.


One hostess, Nicole Sweeton, called before the club to ask us to pray for Paul, a neighborhood kid from an atheistic home. When the subject of God came up, Paul told Nicole’s children that he believed in nothing. The next week, we came to her house to conduct Bible Club. When Roger gave the invitation the first person to go back and pray with him was Paul!


In a few instances, our high school summer missionaries arrived at a 5-Day Club only to discover that kids their own age had been invited. In the past, teens who come to Bible club get bored, stop participating and sometimes make fun of whoever is teaching. Our Missionaries beautifully just kept going, focusing on the smaller children. The teens either left or participated, playing along but we did not have any trouble.

Not only were the children’s lives touched, but our Summer Missionaries discovered how to trust God in a whole new way. For example, we all prayed for the Father of one of our Missionaries when he went to the hospital unexpectedly. Later that week, he was restored to health. Another student had serious family problems and we prayed for her. God chose this summer to bring reconciliation and forgiveness in her family. We thank God for how faithful He was to us.


Every journey starts with a first step. This summer, God showed us that if we will trust Him with the details of our lives, we are taking the first big step in the incredible journey that He has planned for each of us.