We had a great weekend in the beginning of May, bringing the kids through an “Encounter with Jesus” retreat.  It was physically hard being with kids an entire weekend, even during breaks you are “on duty” because kids destroy things, or jump off balconies, when left alone J.  I was wore out on Monday, but it was well worth it to see how God worked in their lives during this weekend.  On this weekend, we taught the children about sin and repentance and about the Cross where Jesus paid the price for our sin.  We shared with them the importance of feeding on the Word of God, how they are fearfully and wonderfully made, and we had a session on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

We had several kids this retreat who had never been in the church and may have for the first time heard that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins.  It was really amazing to see kids so hungry for God and receiving from Him.  The subject I taught was  “fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalms 139, for the kids we call it “you are special”.  I shared with them how I came from a big family and that I was usually known as someone’s sister, or just thoms because they couldn’t keep all of our names straight, and this made it hard for me to realize that I was special and unique.  It changed my life when I realized that God loved me and created me for a special purpose.  Honestly, I don’t know how the kids received it, but several of the leaders really enjoyed the message!

It was really a great weekend, and it was a delight to the kids lives changed by the power of the Cross!