Here is an Update...It's been a long time!

I can not believe that it is already July...the summer is going by so fast!

You may be wondering what I have been up to that has kept me away from blogging the past month. Well, it's VOBS...Vocation Beginners School! VOBS is a 4-week summer jobs program for youth, broken into a 2 week session for 10-13 year olds and a 2 week session for 14-17 year olds. There are about 90 youth that went about an intense eight-week training session before the summer started. Each youth was required to write a resume, ger reference letters, complete a job application, and have a successful job interview before they could participate this summer. Here is a break down of the activities the youth take part in during a typical week in VOBS:

• 10 hours vocational training (work)
• 8 hours of biblical training classes (study)
• 2 hours of field trips and recreational activities

All of the work the youth do are services needed around the community-yard work, cleaning lockers at East High, or even washing cars. Local businesses and supporters have donated funds so that at the end of the program, each student has the potential to earn $250 for the two weeks.

We held our first session June 16-28 with the 10-13 year olds and I absolutely loved every minute of it! I haven't had many opportunities to work with children this age but the Lord has continued to awe me with the way He works in and through young people. One girl in particular is a 12 year old named Jacqueline. She was one of the girls that was in my group I met with each morning before we started work. Jacqueline has gone to church her entire life, lives with her grandmother and other siblings, and has told me that she lives in a really dangerous area here in Memphis. Well, I noticed early on that she is a natural leader, so I knew that if I could gain her trust and respect, I would have a better chance to be trusted and respected by the other middle school girls. So each morning, we would talk about various things, talk through the gospel with the bridge diagram, and pray for whatever they brought up. After about the first week, I asked the girls to tell me what we had been talking about through the bridge and I was completely awed by the way some of the girls could understand what we had been talking about...especially Jacqueline! So I pulled Jacqueline aside while we were working and asked her if she had ever repented and trusted in Christ for salvation and she told me she did the previous night, which was Sunday after church. She told me that her church had made her think that in order to be right with God was through being a good person, but finally understood that "no good is good enough" for God. She had been listening intently all week and told me she realized that her church was wrong and that we can only come to God through Christ because we are separated by sin but He was perfect and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. The coolest thing is that on the last day of VOBS, we gave an opportunity for any of the kids to share with the entire group what they enjoyed about the program the most. Some shared about the fun we had at the pool, the money they would recieve, and other things...but Jacqueline shared her testimony with 45 kids without anyone encouraging her to do so! God has changed her heart and made her new and she wants everyone to know! She is not the only one either...there are 2 other girls that I know of that have been changed by the Good News they have finally had the opportunity to hear for the first time. Please pray for Jacqueline (12), Dynasty(10), and Miesha (11) that they would continue to desire the Lord sincerely. Also, pray for the staff as we follow up with them in discipleship.