Raising Up The Next Generation

I would like to introduce you to an amazing young lady. This is "M". She has agreed to be a guest writer for me today! She is a beautiful 6 year old girl who has a great heart for the Lord and a very giving spirit! Let me explain:

Back in April, I wrote a post about a ministry that helps the homeless and low income families here in Georgia, called "Must Ministries". Our church has been actively serving them in small ways and a few weeks ago we were able to help out the Summer Lunch Program which I wrote about here.

I wish I had taken pictures and written a post about the day that we all got together to put the lunches together - but due to the harried schedule I have been keeping lately, I haven't been able to keep up with it all! In a nutshell, we as a congregation were able to raise the money necessary to provide 300 lunches for these very special children, through various fundraising efforts. We gathered together one day after our Sunday service to form an assembly line to put the lunches together. We had so many people involved with this! Our Sunday School children took the brown paper bags and decorated them with crayons and encouraging words like "You are loved" and "You are special to God". We had a wonderful lady in our congregation who isn't able to do certain things due to physical limitations - she copied off a colorful picture of Jesus with little children and a Bible verse which she then glued on each bag.

We had a very special lady - the mother of our guest speaker today - who did most of the organizing and did all of the necessary shopping for this event. We had so many people there that day to gather in the assembly line to put the lunches together and then ladies who gave of their time the next day for delivery.

This year we were just getting our feet wet to see what we could handle as a group and I know that next year - we are going to do it on a much larger scale. It was so amazing to watch God's hand at work when we had set our goal at 300 and we were VERY unsure if we could reach that goal. God not only MET the goal - He surpassed it! We have money left over in our treasury for the NEXT big Outreach project!

Through all of this we have had little eyes watching our actions. One special young lady who I am pleased to introduce you to today has been by her mother's side helping from the beginning. She has been taught by mom that this is a wonderful way to give service to those who are God's children - just like she is and are in great need right now. She has been watching and learning and GROWING through this experience and I feel so blessed to be able to watch how God is using her to teach others through her simple faith.

"M" was shopping with her mother the other day for Must Ministries. Her mother had decided to take some groceries to the Food Bank and "M" decided it would be a good idea to do a news article about it and give it out to people in our congregation to show them by example the gift of service to others. She handed out her newsletter to everyone at our ongoing Bake Sale that we have been having after Sunday Services - proceeds that directly benefit Must Ministry events throughout the year.

Keep in mind that this beautiful young lady is 6 years old and in the first grade. She took her pad and paper out at the grocery store - carefully noting all of the various items her mother was purchasing, so that she could write her news article accurately! How cute is that!

I now introduce you to our guest speaker "M". Here is her news article in it's entirety:

Charity Day
Name withheld to protect her identity
First Grade
"On August 6, my mom, my sister "K", and I decided to have a Charity Day. The Bible says to “Love thy neighbor as thyself” (Lev. 19:18).
First, we went to WalMart and bought Pork n’ Beans, Macaroni and Cheese, Tuna, Cereal, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Powdered Milk, and Spaghetti and Sauce, and Ravioli. After we paid for it, we loaded it all into the car and took it to MUST Ministries. When we got there, Miss Victoria helped us unload the car and we put it all in a shopping cart. Then we took it inside, where they could put it away.
I hope the people who get the food like it!"

How stinking cute is that! Oh how I adore this little girl! She has a heart of pure gold! I wish I would have done things like this with MY children when they were younger - they are always carefully watching us as parents - what a wonderful "gift" this mother has given this young lady - the gift of service to those who are in need of our help. God tells us to be servants to those who have less than we do - and "M" is learning early the joy of doing God's work for others!

I know Miss "M" would love to hear comments about her first newsletter. Hopefully she will continue to be a reporter for future ministry opportunities for our church! Please join with me in helping to encourage this special lady - she is representing the next generation! Maybe - this will encourage her to start her OWN blog!

I hope this will encourage all young parents reading this - what a fun way to share God's love with your kids!
Blessings to you all,
Kymber