Sitting on the floor next to a girl...

The Christmas Party for the teens tonight was full of fun, laughter, gifts and a lot of love. The memory that I will take away from tonight was sitting on the gym floor next to one of the teen girls as she shared what was going on in her life. It's moments like these that remind me.... this is why we do this. 

She was sitting on the floor, watching the boys play basketball and I was sitting on the bench. But I had a desire to just sit next to her on the floor, and right away she started to talk about how busy she is with school and life. From what she said it seemed that maybe she saw God as a "rules" God more than a "relationship" God. So I encouraged her that He was more interested in a relationship with her.

I want to believe that taking that small step to sit next to her on the floor made her feel special, important and like she was worth the time. This is the heart beat of this ministry, taking moments to build relationship in a prayer that they will see glimpses of who Jesus is.  

Thank you to all who donated to help purchase gifts for the teens! And thank you to all the volunteers who helped create lasting memories for young people in East St. Louis!