Could be a Starfish

If any of you have been tracking with us, you will know we have been “triathletes” for the last couple of years…. together with some of our young leaders from Bhekulwandle.  These young men have truly transformed before our eyes and we are thrilled to watch them grow and develop.  Last week we had them over for a bike maintenance class with Carl’s uncle who is visiting from Canada (that day is a whole other blog altogether!) but I want to tell you about a young lady who came with them that day.She is 17 years old and has recently accepted Christ for the first time as a young adult.  She attended SOH children’s programs in her childhood, and enjoyed all the programs and christian teaching, but never really “got” what Jesus was all about.  Two weeks ago, at a youth event that these young men organized, she fully accepted Christ.  She asked for a woman mentor and the boys referred her to me.

We spent the morning chatting and getting to know each other.  She has tried purposefully to stay out of drugs, party scene, boys, etc.  Her focus has been on her school work and achieving her dreams.  She hopes to one day become a pharmacist.  I was intrigued to find out how she had made these positive decisions in her life… as it is not the norm of what we see in the lives of young teenage women in our community.

Did your parents teach you these values?  Do you have strict rules at home?  Curfews, etc?

Her answer was “no.”  Her dad is not in the picture and she doesn’t have a lot of input from her mom.  Then how?

How did you make these decisions for yourself?  How did you learn self-respect and motivation for your future?

Her answer made my heart warm and caused a big smile to spread across my face.  This is what she told me.

Auntie Michelle, I have been going to SOH since I was young.  I was taught there how to respect myself and respect God… how to look beyond today and think about tomorrow.  I am so grateful for having SOH in my community!

I can’t tell you how happy that made me!  You know the whole story about the starfish getting thrown back into the sea?   Is it worth it for that one?  Well, I sure think so!  Does SOH positively affect every single child who crosses their gates?  Most likely not, but for this one, a difference was made!  Trusting God for lots of other stories such as hers!!