Does it thrill your heart to see young people on fire
for the Lord? If so then here are some
young people to thrill your hearts!! Together with some of the leading women in
the church and the missionary team, these young people from the Ricodo church
are enthusiastic scripture teachers in their local school.
It has a cost. Sometimes their peers may mock them
and say things like, “Oh so you think you are some sort of teacher now?” But
they are willing to endure persecution because they love Jesus and want others
to know Him. This takes courage and also a desire to ‘live strange’, realizing
they are only pilgrims passing through this world.
They are not super youth, they do ‘normal’ things when
they get together like play games, have bible studies, eat snacks and they have
crushes, but they have youth leaders who are pretty passionate about developing
them into young people who know where they fit into the body of Christ and who teach
them to use their spiritual gifts for the benefit of others.
Two years ago in Ricodo, the youth group was a
struggling and straggly bunch. Through vision, perseverance and lots of
training and encouragement, the missionary team in Ricodo have seen the Lord
raise up this team of young people who are excited about serving, who are
confident to teach because they realize that it is the Holy Spirit who empowers
them, and who want to make their lives available to the Lord’s plan for them.
A couple of these young people have graduated from
colleges and have degrees but instead of applying for jobs out in the city,
they are instead finding greater joy in sharing the good news about Jesus with
their friends and with others.
Other news we’ve heard in the past few weeks about
empowering others comes from Tumpagon and Cauyunan (approx. 6-7 hours hike from
Ricodo) where the older women in the churches are training about 12 of the younger
women in ministry.
This team of women leave their babies and toddlers
with grandparents or their husbands, set aside their piles of dirty laundry,
their farm work and their other responsibilities and about twice a month they are
walking 3 or 4 hours to the outlaying churches to visit other women who are
lonely, who are in need, who are sick, who need to be taught how to love their
families and how to love Jesus.
The young ladies on this team are excited about this
opportunity to serve Jesus with the older women and this is growing the
churches stronger in unity, in love and in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
One of the young ladies in ministry has written her
testimony and we are working on translating it for you, as we have found her
testimony very challenging and inspiring. We hope to be able to share it with
you before too many days.
