Our small group bible studies have started off with a bang. Our first official night was on Valentine's Day. My group of 16 girls shared with one another who we would be today if we did not know Christ and then who we are instead because of our relationship with Him. This was extremely eye opening to me to see the hectic situations these girls come out of. I have at least 3 girls from abusive homes, one who's lost both parents, and many said they would be prostitutes today if not for Christ in their life. It was also encouraging time of strengthening one another up and relating to one another's stories. When finished sharing we made Valentine's cards to Jesus expressing our great thanks to Him. Since then, some of these girls have drifted away, but God has been gracious to replace them with others. I still have a very strong and committed group of girls that I highly enjoy. Their enthusiasm, realness, and questions they have about the Word and life in general make for a really blessed bible study.
Another exciting aspect of my bible study is that I have challenged the older girls to take younger girls under their wings. I have 4 upper classman who have taken 2 girls a piece to spend time with, walk along side, and even meet with them to study the Word together. Although this may not seem like a big deal, this is a HUGE deal here. This just does not exist amongst their churches. Any level of deeper, relational bible study and discipleship does not occur and is altogether foreign to concept of Christianity. Please pray for me to be wise on how to invest in these girls and that they too would show wisdom in ministering to the younger girls.
Even more exciting news than all this is that two of my girls came to know Christ at the beginning of the year! The two girls on the back row wearing dark shirts…Phindi (on the left) and Sane (on the right). These two girls will be the "youngins" I walk with this year. Please pray for me in this vital role of teaching them the fundamentals of their Christian faith.
Stephen's bible study has also been going really well. One the same intro night the guys had an arm wrestling match. They loved it! In his group there is around 20 guys, but on average about 10 show up each week. Unlike my girls, many of them are shy, quiet, and much less talkative. Therefore Stephen really struggles with getting guys to wrestle with and discuss the challenges in the Word. Please pray for the men's bible study in this, that they would not just accept what Stephen presents to them, but they would participate, give opinions and discuss what is being taught.
Thank you all for your interest in our ministry and for your unfailing prayers. I'm sorry I have been a bit absent from this blog, but we have been kept very busy during the last month with the Chippendale's being in the States for the past 4 weeks along with Stephen's parents coming to visit us! Look for more updates soon!
