Monday, August 23

Monday, August 23, 2010

This was our first day to take Team Impact with us into the local schools. There are two things we always notice about the kids. The first is that they seldom smile. Secondly, you look in their eyes and see an emptiness and a longing for something in their lives that will make sense and bring them joy. They show an eagerness to see the Americans but a greater eagerness to see why we are here. The older they are, the harder and more closed they are. Their degree of wariness and doubt increases with their age. Their hopelessness becomes more apparent; their desperation more obvious.

It's difficult to make eye contact with them. But if we are successful, they have beautiful smiles! We try to hand them a tract, and they hesitate before they take it. If you wave the tract back and forth like it is a fan, they take it and reward you with a brilliant smile and shining eyes. It's as if they are afraid to be happy. As if their happiness will be taken away in the blink of an eye. The peer pressure here is to NOT show any happiness. They remain aloof and stoic. These observations can lead one to believe that while they can hide their individual hurts and disappointments, but they can't hide the burden of carrying them. And that is why we are here. While we can't change their physical circumstances, we can help them to see that they can shine where they are by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The way the boys and girls react to the gospel is very different. Most of the girls listen intently. Most of the boys act like they aren't really paying too much attention. Yet when an invitation is given, we have the same number of boys and girls raise their hand, pray for salvation, and receive Christ. You see the same struggle in their faces as they decide to take a chance on Jesus. The same struggle with the emotion of FINALLY givng their burdens up to the Lord. Most importantly, you see the same peace move over their faces when the Holy Spirit enters them.

Tonight, one of our groups went to a high school filled with teens that have killed, have drug addictions, have evil spirits and hard hearts. In God's perfect plan, the Team Impact member who shared his testimony is a man whose own life was filled with alcoholism and drug addiction. He was a member of the US Bobsled team in the 1994 and 1998 Olympics and a pro-wrestler for 5 years with the WCW.  He later lost everything, wife, child, and career due to his addictions. Because of his direct connection with these kids, they were so engaged you could hear a pin drop in the auditorium. After he completed his testimony and gave an invitation to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts, 52 hard, closed, and lost teenagers walked forward shamelessly, in front of their peers, and publicly proclaimed their new faith in Christ. Afterwards, we prayed with the kids and prayed a prayer of oneness. We let them know that while we may not see them again here on Earth, we will one day be rejoined in Heaven. All of them signed up for small group Bible studies as a first step in their new life in Christ.

1st Baptist of Parintins currently has 54 small group Bible studies in place. We had the church's small group leaders with us at the assemblies to take the new Believer's information and encourage them to start their walk with the Lord by attending a small group once a week. Please pray for these small group leaders as they strive to reach these kids. Pray that the kid's prayers of salvation were genuine.