A Living Hope

A Living Hope

Teaching is a gift God has given me. The Bible says in I Coro. 12: 28 “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers…” I do feel called by God to be a teacher.  I taught Bible stories as a summer missionary for Child Evangelism and led children to Christ using the Wordless Book.  Also while I was in high school, I taught children on Sunday nights.  Right after I got married, my husband and I taught the teenage Sunday school class. We had a good group of teens who wanted to learn the Word. One humorous event I remember is one girl called Habakkuk, “Habuga”. She later, learned to say it correctly and came to a saving knowledge of Christ.

 I have always loved to teach and have wanted to motivate students to apply the Word of God to their lives. I taught third through six grade girls for many years. We made the disciples out of toilet tissue tubes and a replica of the temple which came with our SS materials.  I loved those girls and took great pleasure in helping them grow as Christians. My daughter was in my class, and her dad came in some mornings. Those were special times. After my husband died, I changed churches and did not teach for a while. I did teach Vacation Bible School eventually. I remember one girl asking me why I loved Jesus. I told her He is my best friend.  When my former Guidance Counselor asked me to take her class on ESL, I developed an interest in helping people learn English using an ESL book of Mark. I relished working with my two students.  Irena and I became close friends, and she even fixed me Lithuanian meals.

Now I teach VBS in the summers. I always make sure I ask the children if they have Jesus in their hearts. I pray the Holy Spirit will work in their lives. We have a tutoring program at our church. I started to teach an ESL class for the parents of the students who needed help with their homework. I met Lupe and her family through the program, and I have known them now for six years.  I am the adopted grandmother of the family of four children. I take two of them bowling in the summer and to VBS.  Andres, the youngest, asked Jesus to come into his heart when he prayed with me this Christmas while his family was at my house.

Now, I am still teaching the Monday night ESL and one Sunday a month I teach the Karen from Burma. They are precious people who love the Lord. When they pray in their language, I don’t know the words, but I feel God’s presence.

 In Guatemala this past summer, the Women’s Missionary Union held a women’s retreat for the Guatemalan ladies from churches in the area. I taught a lesson on prayer and on Ruth. The ladies touched my life, because they prayed earnest prayers out loud and from the heart. We prayed for several of the ladies who were struggling. We encircled one K’iche’ woman and raised our voices in prayer for her. I know God answers prayer, because of this inspiring example of its power.

 I also had the privilege of doing the last lesson of VBS in Spanish at an Evangelical church in the Dominican Republic.  I asked the children to raise their hands if they wanted to follow Jesus.  About fifteen came up and prayed with me. After I went outside the church, a boy touched me on the arm and put his hand on his heart to let me know he had accepted Christ as his Savior.

How does all this fit in with my theme of butterfly hope and renewal?  God has given me hope that one day I will see many of the ones I have taught in heaven.  Praise God!  I thank Him for allowing me to see these treasured souls come to know Jesus as Lord.

I Peter 1: 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope…”