“I would like to give back everything that I have done in the past. Forgive me, Lord, for the wrong I have done. I learned a lot from this weekend and I want to start over. So I’m asking you to please forgive me.”
“Please forgive me for stealing things. Please have my dad not abuse me anymore. Have my family forgive me. Please, O Lord. Please, Father, take away all my bad sins and forgive me. Thank you.”
-Anonymous Prayer Request from inner-city teen girls
Where does a young girl in the inner-city turn for answers– about relationships, about love, about intimacy, about forgiveness?
Sixty-six teen girls attended the 5th Annual S.A.Y. Yes! Purity Retreat in March. Through music, dance, skits, art, recreation and relevant lessons, girls learned about God’s love and forgiveness. It was amazing to watch as God began to heal the girls’ broken lives and hardened hearts, as they received His Spirit in their lives. The tough attitudes that showed up on Friday night disappeared by the time Sunday rolled around.
During our Sunday morning service, girls brought their concerns to the foot of a cross: I want to make the right choices; I want to stop lying and cursing; I don’t want to get pregnant again; I want my mother to love me. I tearfully prayed with girls as they confessed sin and burdens. What a privilege to love these precious girls and watch God powerfully transform hearts and minds.
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