The War in Florence, SC

 

This week we stayed with the Lee Family, some friends

who I met when I went to BCM my freshman year.

Mr. Lee's job moved them down South, and I was glad

to be able to go to the church they now go to and stay

with them for the week!  They're a precious family!

 Their little boy, Andrew, kindly let me use his room :)

 Amanda & I worked with 1st to 3rd grade for Sunday School..

I just love teaching kids! :)

 This picture is for Stephanie & her girls (some friends from FL).

I thought you'd appreciate seeing a picture of the purse that y'all

gave to me!  Thank you so much for your sweet, sacrificial gift!

 We went out with a couple from the church for Sunday lunch.

I really enjoyed talking with Mr. Anderson and hearing all

about how he used to work for Presidents Nixon and Johnson!

 The restaurant feels like you're in an

outside cafe but it's all inside!  It was really neat!

 Guess who showed up on Sunday night and surprised me?!

I was SO surprised!  I was up practicing for church that night

when lo and behold my dear friend, Jacquelyn, walks in the door!!

I thought for sure my eyes were playing tricks on me!

It was so good to see her!  I started crying but then had to pull

myself together because it's near impossible to cry & sing! :)

Jack, thanks SO much for coming & surprising me!  It was great!!

 Jack even helped lug us around and took us recruiting :)

We went to this library to pick someone up.. isn't it awesome?!

So, I wanted to get a good picture of the building, so I walked

right out onto the front lawn to try and get the best picture.

Jack informed me afterwards that there was a big sign saying

to keep off the grass! haha Well, I got a picture anyway! :)

 We enjoyed Chick-fil-A's new Banana Pudding Shake!

It was pretty yummy.. if you like banana's! ;)

Things like this make teaching all worth it! :)

 Here's Jack reading to Anna, the youngest of the Lee's children.

She'll make a great mother someday, don't you think?! ;)

 Jack & her little buddy, Andrew

 Jack & I with Andrew & Anna, the last two of the four Lee children

 You like my new Easter hat?! ;)

 This week there was no Christian school with the church

so we did the War instead of the War of Special Forces

and had just two teams, the Navy and the Army.

We only had two nights of the War, Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday we had almost 30 teens, which isn't too bad with a

youth group of about 5 but it's still not too good, either :)

Praise the Lord, though, that Thursday night the Lord really

brought them in.. we had almost double!

 Amanda & Anna

 Friday night's crowd!

 Taylor & me

She was a girl from the church youth group who also

attended a large, public school.  She was faithful to invite

out her friends & ended up passing out over 80 brochures!

On Wednesday night I had the opportunity to talk with Davina

and lead her to the Lord.  It was very special!

Then on Thursday night I talked with a girl after the message

who had raised her hand but had not responded to the invitation.

She said that she did want to talk so I took her into a private room

where we could have some quiet :)  I found out that she was a girl

who'd been talked to the night before by a lady from the church

and Mrs. Van, but she had not accepted the Lord as her Savior.

I knew people had been praying for her, so as I started to talk with

her, I was praying for wisdom and the Holy Spirit to convict.

I had asked her why she had not yet accepted the Lord, as she

was clearly under conviction.  She said that she was not sure she was

ready to commit herself.  I asked her what exactly that meant.

I told her that the Lord wasn't waiting for us to be perfect in

order for us to be saved, but that we could come to Him as sinners,
and, in fact, what need would we have to be saved if we were perfect?!
It seemed to click in her mind as the Lord gave wisdom & words to talk
with her.  It was so special to see her face lighten up with understanding
as tears trickled down her cheeks..
That night Toni came to Christ as a sinner and accepted Him as her Savior
to wash away those sins.. Praise the Lord for His miraculous saving work!

Anna & Me

The Lee kids & Me

We ended up having Friday off because the Vans left to go

to Charlotte where Dr. Jim would fly out early Friday morning

to preach at a teen conference in Michigan. It was a nice,

relaxing day :)  We slept in, went bowling, played games,

and ate, of course! :)

Playing "Catch Phrase"

(Couldn't resist putting this picture on.. such a classic! ;))

I love seeing Nicole laugh this hard! :)

Some were just too exhausted to stay awake.. :)

It's pretty amazing that he could fall asleep amidst all that noise!

Nicole & the Lee girls

Such a cute picture!

Mr. Lee also let the guys ride his motorcycle!

A pretty brave thing considering some had never ridden one before! :)

Getting ready to watch some Stewardship Skits! :)

Couldn't resist taking a picture of the guys with their pink blanket! ;)

 

The End :)