Every evening at 6 pm each of the houses have devotions as a family. On this particular evening, I was walking to Linary House for devotions, and it was a little after 6 pm so the other houses had already begun their devotion time. As I walked by, I heard the children in each house singing different praise songs to the Lord. It was such a beautiful sound to my ears, and I could only imagine how even more pleasing this was to the Lord's ears as His children worshipped Him in song.
During devotions one child leads the others in songs from a hymn book. Afterwards, the child leading calls upon different children to pray. One child prays a prayer of thanksgiving for their lives, food, water, clothes, shelter, and safety. Another child prays a prayer of forgiveness for their sins, while another prays for the house parents, visitors, and travelers. One prays for the Village of Hope staff and preacher. One prays for the sick, and finally one prays for a good nights sleep. The children without hesitation stand up and lead the others in their specific prayer, and when he or she finishes the prayer with Amen, the others all echo with Amen. Following the time of singing and prayer, the house parents share a message from God's Word with their children. If there are guests joining them for devotions, the house parents will ask the guests if they have a message to share with their family. I have been asked to share a word of encouragement from the Bible with the houses I have been at for devotions.
The Village of Hope is training the children in the ways of the Lord. And it is my prayer that as they grow older, the seeds that were planted while they were here, the scriptures they memorized, and the examples of Christian character from their house parents and other adults will altogether grow into a strong faith of their very own.
No comments:
Post a Comment