"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." 

Luke 15:7


So this past week was an extremely important week for Cherish. We went to all of our schools and talked about Christ and the amazing life each of them can have if they decide to give it up to Christ. The read all about relationships in their packet, which emphasized the most important relationship in our lives, is the one with Christ. We read several scripture verses with them and really explained what it means to live a life for Christ. In this culture, everyone grows up in church and knows who God and Jesus are, but they don't know who they are. Our goal was to really make them see that someone who truly gives their heart to God will also have an outward change in behavior and attitude. We stressed that, as Christians, we should be different and set higher standards for ourselves than the world does. 

The girls in the different schools all had crazy questions about things their culture has told them Christians DON'T DO. Some of the questions were... "Can you be a Christian and have a boyfriend?" "Can Christians wear earrings and rings?" "If I have already had sex with my boyfriend, do I have the right to tell him I no longer want to?" "Can Christians wear trousers?" It is sad how it seems the whole culture has missed the point of what it truly means to be a Christian. A lot of these girls feel like there is still a list of things we can't do or God will not accept us, when in reality all he wants is for us to love him and love others. I felt that is was so neat to be able to crush some of these myths they believe in hopes that they will become more intimate in their relationships with the Lord. 
 
In all the schools we go to (which is 5), every group, that Phumlile and I had, either committed their life to Christ for the first time, or recommitted their lives. Praise God...with every group of girls, I felt the Holy Spirit hovering over the group and speaking to them. The girls were so receptive to what we taught them and really seem eager to want to change their lifestyles so that they are good trees bearing good fruit. The other two groups also had great success. Most of the girls in their groups had already committed their lives, some accepted him for the first time, and some had seeds planted that day. Regardless the number, we count this week as a victory for the Lord since his good news was spoken and heard. 

Thank you all for your prayers, they are working and God is answering them here every day.  For these girls, can you please pray that the Lord continues to touch their hearts and speak to them on the upcoming issues we will be talking about? Next week we converse about virginity and the precious gift that it is, we then will talk about redemption from past sexual sin, we will then go on to discuss HIV/Aids, and then we help them make a plan on how they are going to abstain from sex until marriage. The road up ahead is very bumpy, but we are trusting solely in the Holy Spirit to work in these girls...they are willing!