Unexpected Fruit

Recently the Lord gave us the privilege of visiting Petrolina, a city where we served almost 20 years ago. It was a joy to see many whom we had discipled actively serving the Lord. To tell the truth, my memories of our early days there are a blur because I was too busy chasing after our four sons (who were ages 3, 6, 8 and 10) at the time. I remember asking the Lord to give me opportunities for ministry, knowing that if He did, He would also have to give me the time to prepare and the energy to follow through. He so sweetly answered my prayer by opening doors for me to minister to young teen girls.

At first, the gals wandered into our house at every hour of the day “to see how Americans live.” When I suggested that they all come on the same day at the same time, our Girls’ Club was born. I put together a curriculum on what it means to be a woman of God with a special emphasis on sexual purity. The meetings included games, crafts, recipes, Bible verses and a devotional time. They were such a huge success that one participant was allowed to miss school on the afternoons we met so that she could attend.

Seventeen years later friends from the Petrolina FMC took us to a neighborhood where they are planting a church. I was shocked and delighted to see them running girls’ clubs using the same curriculum which I had created so long ago. It was only by the Lord’s grace that I had written it, and it is only by His grace that it is still bearing fruit.