Matthew 19:14  Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
    God has placed on my heart a passion for the youth of the world.  The night before I left for Hawaii Kath Hershberger came over with Jeremiah to give me something to deliver to Tavita. Kath prayed for me, and something she kept praying was that me and Tavita would develop a great bond of friendship with eachother.  That I would not just be the disciplinary teacher but that we could become friends, and as close as siblings.  I feel that has already began to happen.  We do schoolwork in the day, but we also go and play basketball or play video games and watch movies when we are out of school. One of my worries before coming was that I wouldn't be able to teach him, or that he wouldn't listen or respect my teaching.  But that has not happened at all, and I thank God for that!
      When Jesus speaks of letting the little children come to Him, we can take it literally as in the kids approaching Him as they did that day in the Bible.  Or we can also take the time to view it figuratively.  What if He is talking of those who are unbelievers, or who are very young in their Christian walks. How often do these people come to us and ask for help with their life, or about spiritual things in life.   Maybe we don't have the answers to the complicated questions.  I remember flying home from Europe a few years ago and sitting next to a science professor from a University.  When I shared with her that I was doing missions there in Europe she began to ask me the questions that are not so easy to answer. "How do you know there is a God" "If God is an all loving God, than why does He let bad things happen" "How do you know He created the world" "How do you know that the Bible is actually inspired by God, and not just another book" I remember trying my best to answer her questions, but felt horrible for not knowing my Bible better, and remembering what I had learned in church and school about defending my faith.  Some of us need to study the Bible and answer these questions for ourselves, so that when we are faced with trials, we can defend our faith.  We as Christians hold the keys to eternity.  By not giving them the "food" they are hungry for, we are holding them from heaven.  We need to invest more in the lives of those who are unbelievers or who have questions about eternity.  And to invest in them, we need to study the Bible first.  Our time on earth is short, and when I get to heaven I want to be able to tell God that I did all I could while on earth to proclaim His gospel to those I came in contact with.

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them.

    So that is my challenge to myself and to you all this week.  I miss you all, and would love to here from any of you! I feel so encouraged when someone leaves a comment, or facebook post, or even better a phone call or text! If you would like an address for where I am staying let me know and I can give you that as well! Love you all. Also - I set up a paypal account so that you can give online now.  Just use my e-mail, Phipps023@sbcglobal.net, and mark that is is being given as a gift.  It will probably say Cheryl Phipps instead of my name, but its ok!  Blessings to you all..