WOW! That is the perfect word to describe the week that we spent doing Beat the Drum in Somerset. Actually, I ended up joining a group that trekked to a neighboring town (tiny, tiny town) called Pearston. We were welcomed with open arms. Our team was privileged enough to get to spend the week in the "Pearston Hotel." The owners (a middle-aged couple) welcomed us into their hotel sized home and turned away all other customers for the week. Crazy! On top of that, all the local farmers donated the food that we were fed all week. God provides!!

So, Beat the Drum. Doing this program was nothing less than intense. We ended up showing the movie in the primary school, secondary school, and the town hall in Pearston. We were also given the opportunity to show a short film called "In Your Face" in the clinic and the police station. (The film is an outline of all the truths surrounding HIV/AIDs and, let me tell you, it really is IN YOUR FACE!!)

After showing the movie Beat the Drum in all the schools, we were sent to their classes at the end of the day to go through a curriculum about HIV/AIDs. Something that we really wanted to emphasize was that we were NOT just another AIDs campaign. The Lord really lead us to speak truth into their lives, but as well communicate the importance of hope and LIFE. God really was faithful to us in all of our endeavors in Pearston. The task was not easy: we had to speak to 6^th graders about the dangers of premarital sex!!

But God was really and truly faithful to us and we really feel that he is NOT finished in Pearston or Somerset. Here are some amazing things that God did while we were ministering.

Many of the students in the beginning of the week told us that the only way to express love to their boyfriend/girlfriend was to have sex. Some of the boys said that to be a real man, you must have sex. The girls were similar in their thinking about relationships. By the end of the week, we had many girls decide to leave their life of sexual immorality and chose abstinence. The boys, on top of choosing to respect women and abstain, also chose to leave their lives of drinking and getting high. It was an amazing sight to see! God really worked in these kids, and many accepted Christ as their savior. God really spoke through us this past week, and it was very encouraging and powerful.

Many of the students actually wrote us thank you notes saying things such as "Thank you so much for coming and telling us the truth, for telling us things that we didn't know!!" It was crazy finding out some of the lies that these kids believed about abstinence and the prevention and spreading of HIV/AIDs. To be able to stand in the gap for them was such a blessing. Believe it or not, many told us that we were the first American missionaries that had ever been in Pearston!!

On top of all this, God really worked through our group as well. Seeing how each of us grew so much was so cool, for lack of a better word. I learned so much this past week, about myself, and about listening to God-He is ALWAYS speaking, whether I chose to listen or not!!

To close the week, our group decided to make an altar laying down a rock to represent each stronghold that the town of Pearston is held under. We chose to lay the stones behind the township at the top of the hill looking down on the city. The view from the top was breathtaking-with the mountains in the background!! Never before in my life have I seen such beauty. (At some point, I will be uploading pictures... sorry!!) We also decided to plant a seed at the secondary school to symbolize the life that God wants to bring to the town. We planted it in between the school sign and the cross to unify the students with God. It was a blessed way to end the week.

So, something that I learned is that God is SO faithful, and that he can work through ANYONE, even me, haha. Without him, I am nothing. Without him, I can have no impact in anyone's life. Without him, I am nothing but a fading flower. And without him, the town of Pearston would have no hope, and no life. Praise God for his mighty works!! Praise God for new life, and for HOPE in Him =]