It happened at the old Emmanuel Faith church on 7th street during the 1970s! I was helping in the AWANA Wednesday night club program with 4th-6th grade girls. Someone asked me to teach the main lesson to all the girls on 2 Corinthians 5:17, becoming a new creation in Christ. I was terrified! This was an evangelistic message and I had never led anyone to Christ. As a school teacher at that time ( 2nd graders at Bonsall elementary), one would think it would have been simple. No, teaching school is vastly different than teaching about God’s forever family! So pleading with God for help, I said yes and prepared.
I remember making a perfectly awful poster with a drawing of a girl on it (I cannot draw at all) and I prayed that God would make His message clear. I don’t remember a thing I said but I do remember perspiring profusely! In the end, after giving an invitation to trust in Christ as Savior, I looked up to see THIRTEEN girls come forward. There was an overwhelming sense of God at work, showing up in power, to welcome these girls into His family.
It was the beginning of a new vocation in my life, though I did not realize it at that time. Over these many years, it has been wondrous to see His hand in big, small, and everyday ways! Thank you, Father, for the journey You have led me on!
Francie Overstreet