Pinocchio, Teens, and Jesus Talk

 Teenagers, my favorite age group! (Well, sometime with my own 3 teenagers I understand why animals eat their young, but they are still alive...) It was my pleasure to be their teacher and mentor along with several amazing leaders. Our mission was to talk about our purpose in life and how God uses our pasts to minister to others in our future. I shared my own story of being poor and sometimes not having food and heat in our home. Of the time I was asleep and I woke up to a rat scratching my back and using my face as a race track as he ran to get away from my wrath! I know you all just died... But imagine the impact my childhood story could have on a child living in low income conditions and we take the time, effort, and money(thank you all) to come see them. We talked about how God could use our current circumstances to grow our faith and later use our lives to serve him. To share God's amazing grace and how he could use any one of us for great things!
  I then shared about my business and how we run a supportive friendly environment based on God's love. When we have a godly support system we can lift each other up and help our friends who are down. I told them that one of these women was in the room and has now become my best friend. I asked the teens if they could pick our that person. A girl by the name of Daniella points to Sara and says "Sahrah(insert Romanian accent) because of the way she looked at you while you were teaching.". How cool was it that Sara loves me THAT much a teenager saw her love for me.;)
 That then led us into sharing how God's love for us and His faithfulness is when we follow His will. The MOST exciting thing was learning these teenagers had never heard about Jesus and they were so receptive to His word! How AMAZING is that?!
 Later we spent the afternoon in a troubled girls home. We spent quite a bit of time dancing, laughing, and testimony sharing. The look of lightness and excitement in their eyes was truly a blessing. When they receive love, attention and kindness they truly blossom.
 In closing, 700 teenage boys now are my Facebook friends saying "ooh lala Jeshie". I can't wait till they read this;)    Lots of Love from Romania! Jessie