small groups

Although I love all the kids I work with here in Liberia, there are six teenage girls that have a very special place in my heart. I meet with them every Wednesday afternoon for our small group. We talk, laugh, pray, read; the activities vary depending on the day. One thing I always try to communicate, however, is that each one of the girls is special, uniquely created, and loved.

Every Wednesday afternoon, I go to an orphanage and meet with a small group of six teenage girls. Like many young women today, these girls struggle with low self-esteem and image issues. What’s heartbreaking is that they don’t have anyone to affirm or encourage them. The mother of the home is often preoccupied with caring for the other 70+ children living there, and the girls don’t have older sisters or other family members around that they can talk to. These girls are beautiful, funny, gifted, and smart—but they don’t even know it.

Joy is a shy and soft-spoken 13-year old who lives in one of the orphanages that we work with. She was moved to the orphanage approximately nine months ago, having been transferred from a safe home by the Ministry of Social Welfare. Joy has lived an extremely difficult life. She comes from an abusive past, has had little to no formal education, and she arrived at the orphanage with only the clothes on her back.

All this week, we are celebrating Easter with the children who participate in the Child Development Program. It is our prayer that the truth of Christ’s death and resurrection will come alive for these kids as we tell the Easter story in a fun, new, and exciting way.

The Child Development Program Bible Contest started a few months ago as a challenge for the older kids at one of the homes we work with. In order to answer questions and fill out worksheets during small group time, they had to look up different Scriptures. The problem, however, was that there just wasn’t enough Bibles to go around. So, we started bringing Bibles to the home whenever we’d meet for small groups, and then all the kids were asking to keep them. Mariel told them she’d gladly give them one of their own–but they’d have to earn it.