I can honestly say that I never ever imagined myself as a volunteer at
Juvenile Hall. But I tell you the truth, leading Bible study on Wednesday
nights at Juvenile Hall has become the highlight of my week. I can’t
express the feeling of fulfillment and joy that I experience at every visit.
It’s like my whole life, everything I ever experienced, all the good and all
the tragic, all lead up to get me here. Every week I experience the
partnership and companionship of the Holy Spirit. Every week I experience
what it truly means to be a friend of the Bridegroom. And all I really do
is point to my Jesus and share his word with them. When I look into their
eyes I don’t see delinquents. I see precious, lost, lonely, scared daughters
that need to know how much God loves them. They need to know their identity
and that they have purpose. The girls are now collecting their own “Truth
Verses” and look forward to adding to them. I never know exactly which young
girls will be in attendance week after week but it is such a joy to witness
their growing interest in God and His word. Many of them are reading their
Bibles regularly now and ask to share the verses that spoke to them. It is
so obvious that God is at work in some of them, their attitudes and behavior
testify to this. My prayer life has also deepened and been enriched. Being
prayed up is critical to my confidence and ability to speak truth into their
lives. I feel extremely blessed and humbled to have been chosen for this
task.
I urge anyone that has a heart for the lost to pray about becoming a
Juvenile Hall Chaplain as well. I believe this experience will greatly
increase my ability to communicate truth wrapped in love as a C2BU spiritual
mentor, as well as improve my ability to communicate who these precious, but
hurting girls are when I speak on behalf of Courage House in my role as a
speaker for C2BU.
“Dear children, Let us not merely say that we love each other; let us show
the truth by our actions.” 1 Corinthians 13;7
In His service,
Gina