This past weekend Samantha, Megan and I invited a group of high school girls to come and spend the night at our flat for a girls night/Bible study retreat. Our theme: Identity in Christ.
Beginning Friday night we had six girls (SIX!) come to spend the night. I began the night by leading a bible study showing who we are and how we're defined if we have a personal relationship with Jesus. To see for yourself I encourage you to look up these verses: You are God's masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10), you are significant (1 Peter 2:9), you are created for a purpose (Jeremiah 29:11), you are loved (Romans 5:8; 1 Peter 5:6-7), you are forgiven/free (Romans 8:1-2; Colossians 1:13-14), you are accepted (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), you are secured (Romans 8:35-39, Philippians 3:20), you are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and you are a child of God (1 John 3:1). Each student was given one of those bible verses to read out loud and afterwards we discussed which each one meant. Along with looking up these bible verses I showed them a wonderful video that talked about four identity myths we as a society like to believe in.
Megan led a wonderful craft activity, that helped illustrate how God defines us. We were all gathered around a table, chatting, when all of a sudden Megan grabbed a beautiful piece of scrapbook paper and tore it in half. Well of course, this grabbed our attention. She continued to explain that because of our sin we are like this ripped piece of paper. We are broken, messed up. But through a relationship with Christ he puts us back together and makes us into a masterpiece. So we all began ripping pieces of scrapbooking paper and gluing them onto a new piece of paper, creating a collage of colors. Once our collage was done we added "I Am" at the top, along with words such as "redeemed," "chosen," "loved," "accepted," and many, many others. What was once messed up and broken became a masterpiece, a work of art.
The rest of the night was filled with laughter, games and of course Disney movies! It brought joy to my heart when us oldies went to bed but heard whispering, laughing and then yelling "shhhhh!" until the wee morning hours. It reminded me so much of my early mission trips that were so influential in my walk with Christ. It reminded me of Life Together. It was an environment where these girls could just be themselves, an environment where they felt comfortable. In the morning we all got up for an American pancake breakfast! The six girls thought it was so much fun to flip the pancakes and make big stacks of them on a plate. On the table we had a layout of many toppings to choose from and showed the girls how to stack, layer and then eat the pancakes because one of the girls tried to roll them like palacsinta (their version of a pancake) which proved to be very unsuccessful.
Afterwards Samantha gathered the girls around in the living room for the final bible study. She taught on Ephesians 2:1-10 (Stance before God) and did an amazingly wonderful job! A couple of students read the passage for us and we began to discuss it. Either we are in the Kingdom of Darkness, or the Kingdom of Light. Placed on a door, Samantha drew two castles, colored accordingly to the kingdoms. Each student was given a notecard with a description on it. "Dead in sin," "following Satan," "alive in Christ," "obedient", etc. One by one the girls taped their cards underneath the kingdom it belonged to. Samantha then went on to explain how we are all born in the Kingdom of Darkness. No one has to teach a child to disobey, lie, or be selfish. We are all born that way. So how do we get into the Kingdom of Light? Is there hope? Samantha placed a cross between the two kingdoms. Only through Christ can one go from the Kingdom of Darkness to Light. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that its by Gods grace, not by our works. We cannot get to Heaven through our own merit. Christ died for us, this is how we are able to be in the Kingdom of Light and have communion with God, through Gods gift.
Many of the girls seemed to have been soaking in every word and really thinking about what was being said this past weekend. Please pray that they would continue to think about all that God has done for them and the great love he has for them.
Love and miss you!
Kaitlyn
Város Napja (Town Day)
Petra, Vírag, Megan, Me and Samantha hanging out during Város Napja
Fire Works Show! We had the perfect view from our balcony!
The girls and I learning how to cook traditional Hungarian food for a Goulash party
A beautiful little village we came across while taking a Sunday drive
