Impact Part one: Hannah

Wow! It's been a long time! Back Yard Bible Clubs were awesome this year! Yes, i have to admit...it was very tiring and exhausting...but all well worth it...we all enjoyed it so much...especially getting the opportunity to hang out with each other (the people who lead the clubs) all the time! After Impact was over we didn't know what to do since we weren't with our friends every waking moment! One of the highlights of my clubs was that a girl named Hannah came to Christ!

Hannah came to our last club at the Burke's house. She is from a broken home and her parents recently got a divorce...which she thought was her fault...she was one of the most attentive and mature second graders there...so grown up for her age...she's the same age as Kenna Burke. It broke my heart when she started explaining her family situation and i immediately began to pray for her and that God would draw her to Himself.

The theme this year for Impact was Pirates and Treasure. The "Treasure" we were offering to the kids was God Himself. I had the opportunity on the last day of clubs to sorta explain why we teenagers were coming over to the Burke's house this week...it wasn't for the games, fun, food (yeah one of the only clubs where there was a meal already provided!! => )or kids...it was because each one of the people who came (Me, Tim Hagen, Amber Armstrong, Katie Potts, and John Ermis) have already acquired this treasure and it's so important to us that we can't help but come out here and share it with them...we wanted the kids to most importantly feel loved, for real, and we did that best by sharing our treasure with them...the treasure that God's offering each and every one of them...i noticed while i was up in front talking Hannah's eyes were locked on me. The way she was looking at me was like something inside of her clicked...it was so cool to see...i prayed after and the kids went and did what they do best...ran off in a loud bunch to jump on the trampoline!

I went off as well...then turned around and noticed Katie Potts talking to Hannah. I sat nearby enough to hear but not close enough to interrupt. Katie was just getting to know her better since she'd never met her before. She asked her which day was her favorite and she said "Water day!"...surprise right? It's always a hit. Then Katie asked her what her favorite part of today was...she said "the treasure, the treasure inside of y'all"...Katie said that she began to pray and God said "GO."...so she did...she began to ask Hannah if she knew who Jesus was and what He did for her...she listened eagerly...Hannah spilled over what she had gone through in her home life and Katie knew what to say...she began to tell Hannah how God is the Perfect Father...Hannah shed a tear...Katie continued explaining how God will never leave her, never abandon her, never hurt her...Hannah just sat there...listening, but thinking oh so much...too much for a 7 year old girl...Katie explained how sometimes she feels lonely and just wants a hug...then she said she prays to God and lets Him know that she needs one...and she feels this warmth and comfort come over her...Hannah says she feels like that sometimes...Katie reminded her that she didn't have to feel that ever again...Hannah showed so much interest in God and wanting to know Him more that praying for Him to be her Savior was the only thing left to do...after she prayed with Katie she had the most genuine smile on her face...i hadn't seen her smile like that the whole week at clubs...it was overwhelming...

Katie and i told her mom about our exciting news and the Burke's...we know that Hannah is going to be encouraged to grow since she's in Kenna Burke's class at school...

Having God be so gracious and willing to allow us one sister in our "harvest" after planting many seeds and watering them as well was more than enough to make all the blood, sweat, and tears Impact brings about, worth every single part of it. He's an awesome God!!

Pray for Hannah and the other kids at all the clubs (in all there were about 15 kids who came to Christ!!!) that God would show Himself to them and that they would begin to grow closer to Him!