When the Jonas Brothers visited Urban Impact

When I first felt led to join Urban Impact I knew I would spend time building relationships with young men, live in the inner-city and talk with them about Jesus.  One thing I did not think of a year and a half ago was teaching 18 1-5 grade girls.

Now every Thursday, I teach the elementary drama class.  18 little drama princesses convene for fun, Bible study, acting, and whole lot of smiling.  From my perspective it's a hour and a half of Bill Cosby's Kids Say the Darnest Things and me thinking, "Dear God,  please help me."  Fortunately, God does hear my pleas and knows I don't have a clue when it comes to nine year old girl with a sassy attitude.  Because of this every week I have some amazing story of what God is doing in the class despite my inexperience.  The past few weeks it has been awesome to see the girls get incredibly curious every time we start our Bible study.  This year Sheri and Karen, two volunteers, have written a "Special Agent" theme study.  The young girls are members of the CIA: Children in Action and get "codes" found in the Bible which tell them about the KOK, LOL, and the POP (King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace).  This may sound like your standard Sunday school study but Sheri and Karen have blended James Bond-ness, Disney Princess, and Jesus to make something that these young girls love.  And when I say love,  I'm thinking about changing the class name to Elementary Awesome Bible Study and Some Acting Stuff.

Last week the CIA code was Isaiah1:18 "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow."  With the code came a big box of snow, which the girls took handfuls of and held it up to the light to let it sparkle.  This of course provided much giggling and some oo's and ah's, but nothing like the reaction of what was yet to come.  In the snow laid another box with a code on top.  This code read: Isaiah 62:3, "You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God."  I slowly opened the box and pulled out...  SCREAMING, instant, high pitch, Jonas Brothers concert type, screaming.  And in my hands lay a small, little tiara. All the girls took turns setting the tiara on each other's head and announcing to the anxiously awaiting class that Quiante, Samira, Emily, Mycah, etc. were each a crown of splendor to the Lord.

At first I thought the reaction was hilarious and a bit much.  Yes, it might have been, but each one of those girls they realized they were precious, beautiful, and sparkled like the tiara and the sun hitting the snow.  That deserves a reaction.

Prayer Request:

• April 8th PAA Performance Night
• Getting ready for new Shakespeare summer program
• A former student who recently got sent to prison
• Praise for what God is doing in the PAA Bible Studies
• New Ministry Associates and Support Raising

All of you who pray for Laura and me,  you rock more than the Jonas Brothers.