This past Thursday Chuck and I had two presentations at two different venues. One was a fourth grade class and the other was with an after school Kids Club but before the presentations we prayed for the Lord to be at the center of it and for both of us to be open to God’s leading. We tend to have an agenda set up and certain expectations for presentations, but after our first encounter we were reminded that God has His own agenda!
Vowles Elementary School was our first stop and the students were great! They had all sorts of questions: 1) why is their hair so short? 2) why do you have a guard? 3) what are the houses made out of? 4) are you guys Christians? and after answering all their questions the kids got to sample some African food. We told the kids, however, the food they were tasting had been really doctored up with spices so it had much more flavor!
As we were packing up, a student approached Chuck and asked “what do I have to do to become a Christian?” Chuck said to believe in Jesus but before he could continue the boy said he believed and had asked God for forgiveness for his sins. So Chuck told him he was a Christian, but he said he wasn’t baptized and wanted to be! Chuck called Carol over, she has a son in the class and helped organize this presentation, and told her the situation and she said she would help him in the process!
We were reminded then about God having a “big picture” outlook instead of our little window of what we see and how we think things should move along.
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT
After Vowles we immediately drove over to St. Vincent DePaul where kids gathered for an after school program that began over the summer during Vacation Bible School (VBS). It was a much smaller group but still a great group! Their world outlook is changing because they have been learning about poverty around the world and seeing how different it is than here. One student had told the teacher during one of their meetings if he had to be poor anywhere in the world he would choose the United States, because they have seen poverty in other countries through presentations like ours, the Internet and videos and they are helping by having fundraisers. They see a need and do what they can to fill it – “He [Jesus] called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-4 NIV
God works on me daily, even moment by moment by continually building up my faith with instances like these and letting me see how He is working not only in my life but others I come into contact with.
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