On Friday Night,
2/10/2023, our newest Campus Life Private Schools Site hosted their first large vent! Over 40 girls from 6th through 9th grade attended GALentines Girls Night. The event’s theme was “True Love. True Beauty. God’s Perspective.” . For five hours, these girls hung out with their mentors learning about their identities and how deeply they are loved.
They started the night by sharing a meal. Then they split into teams for a glow in the dark scavenger hunt with, of course, winners and prizes. Next, the girls assembled care packages for women connected to Pregnancy Solutions who had had miscarriages. Josie always makes sure to include a service project in activities with her students. So, as they worked on the packages, she shared a story of impact from a past project.
Impact
The year before, a few girls wrote encouraging letters. A volunteer brought one of these letters to Kenya on a Missions Trip where she shared it with a young girl there. The girl was over joyed because of the encouragement offered in the letter. The letter’s author, Ginny, happened to be at the GALentines event, so the leaders celebrated her and shared the story. One of the freshmen was moved to tears. The story inspired her to paint a watercolor and write a letter for Josie and the team to pass along when they felt led.
Ginny then prayed for the speaker from Pregnancy Solutions. The leaders were blown away by her wisdom and maturity.
Journal with Jesus
After the speaker, the girls were given space for quiet reflection. During this time, one of the 7th grade girls came up to the Josie holding a journal Josie had given her months ago. Turning to a page, she explained God had been showing her this picture regularly. In the picture, a valley connected two hills with the sun shining between them. She hadn’t understood the meaning until now. As she journaled, God explained that there is light and beauty in the valley. God had personally revealed himself to her!
Free to Love
From reflection, the night moved on to other activities like hair and nail stations, making bracelets that said “salt and light”, and finally ending in a message and goodie bag from Josie. She reminded the girls that to love others they need to know they are loved. Afterward, each girl received a mirror that says “Beloved” across the top and “free to love” around the bottom. This special gift was designed to serve as a reminder of all they’d learned about who they are and how deeply they are loved. When the night ended, the leaders were in awe of tangible presence of God in the space and excited for all He would do in the girls’ lives.
