Little Girls in the Big City

Our youth group girls were given a great blessing at the end of February. They were sponsored by a church in the states to attend a Women's Conference in Santo Domingo. This was something they had never experienced before!

The 8 of us, 6 youth group girls, myself and my good friend Jessica, set out Thursday morning, February 26th for the big city of Santo Domingo. We attended the conference True Woman, put on by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. The first session, Thursday evening, was dedicated to teen girls. Dannah Gresh was the speaker. It had been arranged by the sponsoring church in the States for my girls to have a few minutes with Dannah Gresh before the conference started. So, we signed in, received our bracelets and a large tote full of books and treats and were then ushered off by the event coordinator, who was expecting us, to have our meeting with Dannah.

 

Much of Dannah's main message is purity. She was great with the girls, encouraging them to focus on the Lord and to make a commitment to Him to remain pure. Then, she said she had a gift for the girls. She gave each of them a Boyfriend Bear. It is a cute fluffy plush bear with a pocket in the back. She encouraged each of them to spend time in prayer and then to write out all of their desires for a Godly man and their commitment to remain pure as they wait for that man and then they hide it away in the pocket of the bear. Then every time they feel lonely they hug their plush friend, they are to remember that commitment to the Lord. My girls felt like princesses. Which they are. Princesses of the King.

The girls receiving their gift from Dannah.

 

Then! Dannah had a gift for me. I had been praying about a new book to study together with my girls and had looked into Dannah's book, "And the Bride Wore White" as they were going to have many resources available in Spanish at the conference. Well, Dannah turns to me after she gives the bears to the girls and tells me, Here are 8 copies of my book "And the Bride Wore White" in Spanish!! I was blown away! God always provides beyond what we expect.




So, the conference began. Dannah Gresh shared about sexual purity and modesty in our clothing. Nancy Leigh DeMoss taught about the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. How we, like Mary, can bring the life of Christ to others. Mary Kassian taught us that we should be the same woman in private that we are in public. Damaris Carbaugh taught that a woman who loves the Lord, obeys Him. With each speaker, with each session, although each speaker had her own style and each session had its own message, the resounding topic that was reoccurring hour after hour day after day is Read the Bible, Be In The Word of God. Each speaker quoted and read many scriptures and the very last session we attended by Damaris was completed dedicated to the topic of Reading the Word of God.

 

It is so important. We can't expect to remain pure and modest, or bring the life of Christ to the lost, or be honest and sincere about who we are, and we certainly can't love and obey the Lord if we are not daily in His Word. As Christians, the Word of God is our sustenance, our fuel, our guide, our wisdom. We can't live a life that pleases God if we don't know what it is He wants from us and for us.


Rosa, Amanda, Adriana, Angelica



Amaly, Jessica, Julieta, Rosa

 
This was a new and amazing experience for these 6 girls. For the majority of them, it was the first time they stayed in a hotel. It was the first time our youth group had spent time together in an overnight trip. The quality time these girls had together has bonded their relationships into something powerful. The abundance of food made us all happy. But beyond the hotel and the food and the fun, the seeds of God's truth that were planted into their hearts and the abundant overflowing love that God demonstrated towards them, will stick with them for the rest of their lives.

These girls do not have easy lives. For many of them their family is a mess or their parents are not believers or they go without things we in the states call "Necessities", but you wouldn't know it looking at the joy in their faces. Jesus has redeemed them. Although their lives here on earth will probably never be easy, their future is secure and they walk in the joy and strength of the Lord.