Impact Part two: An answer to prayer

Let me give a little back ground information...

Summer 2007. Time to get into the new school year and to make sure our youth group was semi-plugged in to g-groups (growth groups or little bible studies led by upper class men). Me and a bunch of other upper class men had already gone through some training on how to lead a g-group. We were even handed the material we were supposed to cover along with a list of potential people who we could call to see if they were interested in joining one. I was given a list of upcoming freshman girls. Honestly my favorite group. Me and Julia Montany another girl who was going to lead it with me called some girls up...specifically one's that went to Temple High School. As we went down the list we noticed that there weren't very many girls that met those requirements. Lorna Davis was the only freshman girl who attended Temple High and Temple Bible Church and was also interested in being in a g-group. Yes! We had one! I soon found out she had a really close friend, Amber Armstrong who was a cheerleader along with Lorna. I asked her if she wanted to join and she said sure! Now we had two. That was enough for us! I began praying for them that July!

We began g-groups at the beginning of the school year. We met every Tuesday morning at 7:20 at the Starbucks by Temple High. Except on the days they were either grounded, had tutoring, or forgot! Haha! Typical freshman year! It was interesting for both me and Julia because before g-groups we didn't even know these precious girls even existed! So the first few weeks were spent getting to know one another and building relationships. It was harder than it sounded!

Once we started actually following the material i began to notice that the girls brought their stuff but didn't really seem that interested in it. They were more interested in stories and gossiping. It began to seem discouraging because i wasn't seeing any immediate fruit from it like i had in the g-group i was a part of when i was a freshman. I had begun to change my prayer for them from growing closer to God to actually understanding what God had done for them. I realized that God had given me two very spiritually lost girls. I began to wonder if either of them were Christians. Finally all the texting during g-groups made sense!!! By now it's the second semester of school!

Gosh, now i knew what God was doing! He wanted me to love these girls! Let them know that someone in this world didn't have standards for them to meet in order to earn love. My heart began to melt for them! I stopped pushing the bible study as much and just offered good Christian guidance for a lot of the stories the told. I made sure they knew where i stood on issues and why i stood there. By not getting what i had expected it seemed that i learned more from g-groups than they did! It was different but needed as well.

By the end of the school year my girls, as i fondly call them considered me more of a big sister than a friend or g-group leader. It was awesome. We texted each other and hung out aside from g-groups! I even helped Amber study for her end of year finals! (I had to dust off that section of my brain and bring it out of the dark!)

I was super excited to learn that both my girls would be doing Impact with Temple Bible Church this summer! It was awesome to see them step out and do something with the youth group. I can honestly say though that their motives for joining the team were the other people who were doing it. Amber was on my team and Bobby Weber had Lorna. He immediately showed concern for her and her lack of spirituality which i quickly explained was due to the fact that she wasn't a Christian. I told him it would be a challenge. Both Amber and Lorna did an excellent job learning their materials and even shocked everyone by presenting! They were both very timid when it came to speaking in front of the group, but did it anyway! I was so proud of their improvements!

Impact training camp was awesome. Amber came to me for the first time on her own and talked to me! It was amazing to see that she trusted me enough to do that! Man i prayed for those girls night after night that something someone said would click and they would "get it". But it was all in the Lord's timing. See Amber i found out is one of those girls who's gone to church all her life and pictured herself a Christian. I also found out that she actually was...she just didn't identify with it and because of that portrayed herself as a non believer. That's why she understood everything. She just had a hard time applying it. I knew God was asking me to step out and show her that this life is not for us but for Him. That identifying with God is the only identity we have! She grew so much! It was a miracle to witness and an answer to part of my prayers.

Lorna on the other hand, i knew wasn't a Christian, for real. She had no idea who God could be to her besides someone to tell kids stories about. Then came the last day of clubs.

We were all sitting in the big room at the Outback (our youth building) debriefing from our last day of clubs. We were telling stories of how kids game to Christ. It was so touching! Most people were crying, including Lorna. Someone came up and said something to the affect of "we have to live for the gospel everyday in everything we do". Meaning that it's either God or not God, no in between. Live life on purpose, sharing the gospel and showing people Jesus in everything we do. Lorna started sobbing and Katie Potts went out to talk to her. I began to pray so hard for her. I wanted something to click. She was gone for a while. I could only sit there and wonder if God's timing had finally come. She and Katie came out and sat back down on the couch right in front of me. Katie turned around, looked at me with tears in her eyes and nodded her head. I immediately knew what that meant. Lorna had come to Christ! It was the most overwhelming, relieving, exciting, touching feeling that came over me! My prayers had been answered! Only our God could have known the precise timing that would give him the most glory that only He deserves!!!

Lorna went up and basically explained what had happened. She mentioned that Katie had said that either she had to pick to live like she lives at school or how she lives at church, not both. She said that her friends have influenced her a lot and that they have been a huge part of her life. I learned later from her that she was talking about me. That was so very encouraging to hear! I only wanted her to see Jesus in me and i know i didn't portray Him all the time! I'm glad she caught a glimpse of Him! and i know that it wasn't by anything i did but the Holy Spirit inside of me. With out Him i am nothing!

After she was done she sat down. She was smiling...so much differently than any smile i'd ever see her give! She couldn't stop! It was so cool to see! I love my girls and know that God now has both of them and that they both have Him! That was all i had asked for! I couldn't stop crying from the moment she started crying until we left! Every time i saw her i started up again!

God is so good to us! I can't explain how wonderful it was to see both my girls grow over the past year! I know next year's g-groups are going to be a little different than last year's! I haven't stopped praying for them and ask that you join me in lifting them up to our Savior, Lorna especially as she is new to this whole thing! And please pray for me as i am a role model, sister, and mentor to these precious girls! Pray that i would be able to be patient with their growth and show them the love of God! Praise be to our Heavenly Father from whom all Blessings Flow!!!

This is only part of why Impact is so important! Not only do we get to plant seeds in the hearts and minds of little kids, but also in any one around us. These two posts explain why i've been doing Impact for the past six years. I pray that God uses what's been done to draw more people to be involved in Impact in the years to come. If not for Hannah or Lorna then for any of the other people who were touched by what God did through us this summer! God's worth it! For Real!!