I cannot believe Easter vacation blows by so quickly.  However, this week was a blessing because besides the obvious, the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, I got a chance to go to Easter Conference.  For those that don’t know, Easter Conference is a half-week retreat for the adults at Cornerstone Evangelical Baptist Church.  In the beginning, I wasn’t thinking about going because I needed to get some errands (like the yearbooks) done and I wanted some time to sleep in and relax.  But when the people in charge couldn’t find anybody to watch over the kids at the retreat, they came to ask me.  Having a hard to saying no, I reluctantly agreed.

Not a lot of kids showed up this year because the Chinese department decided to go on a cruise instead.  The blessing from this year is that many of the kids that I were at the camp were students I had before when I was teaching 4^th grade, doing enrichment, instructing Sunday school, or being a middle school leader (including MSSD).  Usually when the retreat rolls around, I would write up morning and evening Bible lessons for the leader to facilitate.  But since I knew the group would be small and 5 of them were in 8^th grade or above, I decided to give each of the older kids a day to teach a lesson of their choice. 

To be honest, I did not know how it will turn out.  In fact, I was hesitant and figured I would need to step in and rescue them.  My fears never came to pass.  In fact, the kids did a brilliant job leading lesson.  Great work Craig, Wesley, Traci, Rani, and Rachael!!!  Not only did they lead lesson that included an activity and a memory verse, they also helped significantly in taking care of the younger kids.  I barely had to raise my voice or tell people to listen; the older ones did it for me. 

It is a real blessing to see these kids grow and be the leaders.  Lots of time I question how much does the kids take in and apply in their life.  As I saw during the conference, they take in a lot and are maturing in their walk with God.  Praise the Lord!  I will end this by using one of the memory verses that they chose.  Found in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, it reads, “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”   

God’s planning is impeccable!  On Saturday, I had a fourth grade teachers’ meeting that had to end early because one of the teachers needed to leave.  I was a little bit sad since it was an important meeting that was not completed yet.  With the rest of the afternoon off, I was not sure what should I do.  That was when my cousin called to inform me that my grandpa had a serious accident when he tripped and fell over an uneven pavement on the sidewalk.  I thought to myself how bad can the injuries really be.  It wasn’t until I got to the emergency room that I saw the full extent of his injuries.  He suffered several facial fractures as well as internal head bleeding.  However, throughout the entire process, I saw God’s hands at work.  First of all, the accident took place on a Saturday; a day in which everyone in our family was in the city and everyone was available if needed.  On most days, none of the English speaking members of our family would of have been ready to attend to my grandpa immediately.  In the emergency room, I was there with my dad, aunt, and brother-in-law.  Each of us had a special role, most noticeably my aunt.  My aunt recently traveled to Asia with my grandpa and assisted him in filling out all those forms that travelers need to complete.  In doing so, she memorize some of the vital information that the doctors kept on asking.  The doctors and nurses, at least all but one of them, were also a gift from God.  They took care of my grandpa as if he was their own.  There must have been at least a dozen different doctors, nurses, specialists that came to see my grandpa.  Even the fireman who brought my grandpa to the emergency room came back later in the evening to see how he was doing.  It was great seeing all the strangers and family working together for the good of my grandpa.  He will be in the hospital for a few weeks, but everything should turn out okay.  Praise the Lord! 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Wow, I haven’t posted a movie lesson in a long time.  Well, today I got a chance to watch Evan Almighty; surprisingly, it was a fantastic, clean movie.  In the movie, the main character asked God, "How can I change the world?"  Morgan Freeman, the actor playing God, wisely answers by doing Acts of Random Kindness, or ARK (the movie was based a little on Noah and the ark).  We do not change the world all at one time, but we do it one person at a time, one ARK at a time.  Reminds me a little of our recent Middle School Special, “Christmas in May.”  During the special, we set out into the community to perform ARK to the people.  Though some were suspicious and others were slightly frightened, overall, the responses were positive.  One person was so touched that she decided to donate $10 to our church.  Rewards aside, Jesus exclaimed, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."  (Matthew 25:40).  So my encouragement for you is to go out and change the world, one person at a time.  You never know what God will do with your ARK.

A little side note paraphrased from the movie:

"When we pray for courage, does God give us courage or does He give us the opportunity to be courageous?  When we pray for patience, does God give us patience or the opportunity to be patient? "

When we God for something, we need to be on the lookout to exercise our faith.

After a very long week of making yearbooks, those of you that had me in fourth grade knows what I am talking about, I was ready for a slumber, long rest Saturday night after middle school fellowship.  However, when it was 10:30 pm, my brain told me to go to bed but for some reason, I didn’t move. My desire was to get at least 10 hours of sleep prior to Sunday Service.  Without thinking, I ended up watching television, cooking a late snack, playing with my video games.  To make a long story short, it was almost 2:00 in the morning before I headed off to my room.  Dejected by the time I thought I wasted, I went to my bedroom computer to turn it off before I hit the sack.  Just then, one of my good friends instant messaged me.  He had just gotten online in the wee hour of the morning hoping he will see me.  During the evening, he went through a very dramatic event and needed to chat with me and take it off his chest.  In the end, he told me what happened so that I can pray for him and offer him some advice.  The discussion greatly encouraged both of us.  After our chat, I was reminded that God has a purpose and a reason.  That He is in control and has perfect timing.  He knew what my friend required and provided it.  Now it really time for me to go to bed, resting in the knowledge that God will supply me with my needs.