Prayer – our life line with God, the connection to His power…..such an important topic for our third day here. Laura and Adam continue to do a great job explaining the essentials of prayer, what it is, isn’t, how to pray, what to pray…..so much to compact into one session, but they did a great job leading the group through Matthew 6:5-14, the Model Prayer. The students were given time to have a private time alone with God, to consider what were their real needs, to see if they had sin to confess and if there were those they needed to forgive. By the end of the day we heard of several young people who shared with their leaders that they came to the point of forgiveness as a result of today’s lesson. Praise God for His work in our hearts.
We adjusted our schedule a bit today to provide a special
“girl/boy” discussion time for the boys to meet together, the girls together,
to share things that they were facing, challenges, Biblical questions,
etc. In the girls’ group, the main topic
was relationship with boys. It was quite
a frank, open discussion about sexual purity, God’s design for relationships,
why turning away from that design brings harm and sadness and why God’s loving
desire is to protect us for our good. It
is very evident that sexual temptation is very strong in their community, and
we are thankful for the local leaders who are working with them on a continual
basis to mentor, encourage and help them in this journey. The boys’ topics varied from some Biblical
questions to questions about drugs, violence, education, as well as the topic
of relationships with girls. Again,
frank discussion. We know that it is not
easy to discuss these concerns with others, and we are grateful that they felt
the freedom to bring these questions out in the open. The team and local leaders shared sound
Biblical truth as well as advice that hopefully will encourage them to seek
purity in their lives and continue to pursue God’s best.
The workshops continue as the students prepare to present in
church this Sunday. With only two days
left to prepare, they determined their program, time limits, and are creating
what we know will be an inspiring presentation.
Our ministry partner, Judy Mbugua, also came to spend time
with the students today, visiting small groups and seeing what they have
created in the workshops. She shared an powerful
message with these young people, a challenge for them to not let Kibera define
or limit them, to hold out for God’s best, what He created them for. We need not be defined by our circumstances,
or by other’s opinions; it is God’s opinion that counts, and He has provided
everything we need to fulfill His plan for our lives, and His plan is good!
Again, God was gracious as the rain clouds began to gather
just as we concluded our day! Our hearts
are full; we are seeing God at work in tremendous ways. Our hearts are also a bit heavy as we have
listened to the trials these young people face; hard indeed. But we are also reminded; with God, nothing
is impossible, and He is able to sustain us as He walks with us on our life
journey, difficult and not so difficult parts, trials and triumphs. He IS with us.
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