Be Mine

This was a project I signed up to help with a few months ago.  It started as an idea/calling for one of our adult volunteers and it really blossomed from there.  Almost immediately lots of women started signing up to help based on their spiritual gifts and time limitations.  Linda had a knack for asking people until she found someone to fill a need.  We ended up with about 20 incredible women to help make this day a success.  The goal was to have 40 girls attend.  We were blown away when 61 girls showed up on Saturday!  These girls were a mix of middle school and high school students. 

We started the day off with breakfast, a photo booth, worship, and a great message from our key note speaker Kathy Ruiz.  The first message was about God’s love for them and how in our faith we all get the chance to be God’s favorite child.  The goal was for them to understand how special, unique, and loved they all are.  After the message we headed into breakout sessions.  We covered topics like body image, inner/outer beauty, fitness/nutrition, relationships, struggles, and I presented on Netiquette.  I think at least one or two topics resonated with each girl.  We built in activities to get them talking and learning more about the other girls. 

As leaders we served the girls lunch and paired them up with a little/big sister.  The afternoon was packed with two more messages, worship, a testimony, the other set of breakout sessions, and then we ended with a giant glow stick dance party!  It was an incredible day!  We had several girls share their stories and ask for guidance and prayer.  I am always heavy hearted to hear about the struggles they have faced but I’m always thankful to be able to listen and help them navigate through both the exciting and the difficult experiences.  It was an incredible day and I can't wait to see what God has in store for these incredible girls!