Last week was Holiday Club! It went super well!
There are so many things to highlight but I will tell you a couple of stories that just made the week for me!
The first is about a pre-teen (or tween, if you will) named Lelethu. Here’s the back story:
We have had some behavior issues with her in Teen club and so I had to ask her to go to kids club if she was going to continue to behave that way. As you can imagine, that did not make me very popular with her. For about 2 weeks she would scowl in my direction and say things under her breath about me. I just continued to love on her in spite of her attitude.
She would walk by club hoping that we would see that she knew we were having club but that she was not coming. I continued to pray for her and pray for her attitude to change.
So Thursday of Holiday club she came right in to teens club and sat down. Al and I looked at each other and had one of those silent conversations as if to say, let’s see what happens if she stays.
She still wouldn’t look at me but I could tell something had changed.
That day we gave the Salvation message. We talked about John 13 where Jesus washes the disciples feet. We then put that into practice and Al, Mzo and myself washed all the teens feet.
Al had his camera out and Lelethu came over to me and said, “Kendra, let’s get our picture together!” She put her arm around me and smiled real big. I looked at Al and we were both in total shock! This was not the Lelethu we had seen in the last two weeks!
After Al took the picture, she looked at me and said, “Now, Kendra, make sure I get a copy of that picture!”
The next day she showed up to kids club in the morning, came right up to me, greeted me, gave me a hug and smiled big. She sat beside me and leaned over me.
It was such an answer to prayer and an encouragement! Monday was her birthday. The day before mine!
She is a new kid! A leader even!
The other story is about a girl that we will call Alicia. She is new to Red Hill but before moving there lived close so most of the girls know her. She is 13. She has a multitude of kids to take care of because her mom is a substance abuser and we think prostituting herself in her house in order to put food on the table. She is in no shape to take care of her kids so Alicia has stepped into the mother roll.
She had not been to holiday club all week because she said she had to take care of the kids. Al ran into her on Thursday in the road when he went to pick up the bread. He told her to come to teens club and to bring the kids. They could play right outside the church while we had club.
She came.
That was Thursday. The day the gospel was shared. In Red Hill, we are intentional about sharing the gospel as often as possible. So out of all the kids in Teen Club that day, she was the only one who had never heard it before.
Al told the group that it was a personal decision that no one could force them to make and if they had questions they could come talk to one of us afterwards. We took them through a track and everyone got to take their track home.
The next day, during one of the activities at kids club, she came up to me and told me that she had gone home, and prayed that prayer in the back of the booklet!
At the end of kids club Al and I took her aside and spoke to her about what’s next. We are in the process of getting her a Bible.
God is so good!
There are so many other stories to tell but those will have to do for now.
On a personal note I had a birthday last week! April 13th to be exact! I turned 24! My friends here made it so special! One person baked me a surprise cake! Another friend put together a small surprise party for me! I was sung to about 15 times during the day! It could not have been better!
I also got a car last week! During the craziness of Holiday club the Lord lined everything up for me to buy a car! It cost less than I had to spend and it runs well! It’s a Toyota Tazz (Which they don’t sell in the States) and it’s a stick shift. Which I was nervous about at first but it feels like an old habit now! There is something empowering about driving a stick shift! It’s kind of fun even!
The process of buying a car is pretty intense here! I will have to write more about it at a later date!
Sorry it’s been so long since an update! It’s proving difficult to always put something up here every week! But I will continue to fill you in on all that God is doing!
Thank you so much for all the prayers and support! I know I say it all the time but it really is such a blessing to have all of the kind wishes and love sent my way!
Be Blessed!
