The church children 1805

      Saturday afternoon there was a knock at the door. I opened it and there were 6 lovely young teen-aged girls on my doorstep. The first one tried to give the spiel, a second one tried but she got embarrassed and tongue tied like the first one did. I would have bid them farewell and closed the door, but they were so ebullient I decided to listen in the hope of building their confidence. Finally the youth pastor took over. She was just a few years older than they were, but very polished and gave the speech well. I listened and then tried to turn on the charm and raise a few giggles from them. All went well and they left in good spirits. The last thing the pastor said was, “don’t be alarmed if the boys come to the door because they too are working the complex."
      I had just sat down and started reading when there was another sharp rap at the door. It was the boys. I told them that the girls had been here and just left. The youth preacher answered saying, “we know, the girls are right over here and they wanted us to see and speak with you because they enjoyed visiting with you.” We spoke for a bit and the pastor asked if they could pray with us. I looked at Joyce and she nodded okay, so I let them on in, all 12 piled into our living room.
      I had to tell them our story of what had happened to Joyce and that the story made me a believer in Jesus, as it certainly has. The kids were all astonished at how Joyce had survived. The pastor took my story and ran with it in his prayer for Joyce’s recovery of her sight and hearing. It was so out of the norm for Joyce to stand in the middle of 12 people in a huge hug and listen to the prayers for her (which were delivered in a loud voice right into her ear). I do not think Joyce ever experienced anything quite like that. In fact I just asked her and she answered with a resounding nooooooo!
      It was a wonderful way to end a Saturday afternoon, one I will not soon forget, especially since I jotted down some notes so as not to forget any of it. We may or may not go to their church to see what it is like, but whether we do or not, our spirits were lifted to see so many young people together and giving us hope for the future. I hope they all contnue to do good work in the community and maybe in the country and the world.

      I read someplace that every action in the world begins the same way. That way is a single thought. Maybe someday a single thought will change and save the world.