How Far You've Come

Yesterday, I mentioned finding some posters from Ka'iulani's Kindergarten year, and below are a few of the photos from the collages I found. I was taking pictures of pictures which is never a great idea, but I think they came out clear enough.
 One of the things I love so much about our church is what a great job they do reaching out to the children of the church and providing awesome learning and ministry opportunities for the kids to be a part of. I never have to beg the girls to get ready for church, they are excited to go! It is a place they truly love to be!


 Five year old Alyssa. I think Rebekah looks just like Alyssa did in all these photos.


 Hard at work in Daisies Class. All the kid's clubs at church are held on Wednesday nights which sometimes means being out pretty late on a school night, which in turn leads to some very sleepy Thursday mornings. Alyssa recently had to take a test over all the memory verses her Stars class has studied for the past three years. As I helped her study for the test, I was so encouraged to hear her demonstrate knowledge of all the units she has been studying in class. She was reciting all these amazing verses about salvation, making right choices, the armor of God, integrity, the Fruit of the Spirit, being created in His image, Esther, and the list goes on. The most challenging Thursday morning with the girls could never outweigh the security of knowing she has those words in heart to draw upon as she grows older.


 




















Alyssa still carries this same pink Bible to church every Wednesday and Sunday. A long time ago, she lost the strap that makes it a purse. She saw this picture and it was a sudden memory that the Bible used to have a purse strap, and she remembered how she carried it everywhere across her shoulder like she's doing in this photo.


 Although there are some of these girls that no longer attend our church, and there are new friends that have been added since this was taken, as I look at this picture, I'm so happy that Alyssa has this group of girls as her friends. In just a few weeks, they will "graduate" through the first level of the MPact Girls Clubs, and there will be a crowning ceremony for them and many other girls who will be recognized. It's awesome to think about both the group as a whole, and the individual walks of faith that are being developed in these children. I'm excited for them and finding these pictures was such a sweet surprise and a tangible reminder of how far they've come in the last few years.