At least twice now, my dad has told me that he is praying that I leave a legacy in Eagle Butte. He is praying that 20 years from now, we will see a strong movement of God that started now, that people will look at what God has done and will see how God used me in that work for His glory.
Over the past semester, as God has taught me to pray big, He has challenged me to pray ferverently and regularly for the salvation of my students. Imagine if God got ahold of such young hearts! I have been praying for this and have been praying for opportunities to share my faith. I have been praying every year for my students, and though I have opportunities to share my faith with them, I very rarely see any lasting fruit from my conversations.
But now things have changed. God has allowed me just a taste of the fruit that He has been producing through my life in Eagle Butte. If you received any of my e-mail updates from before I started raising support to return to the Philippines, you know that God has brought a young girl into my life. She was my student for one semester about four years ago. She was in the children's home in Eagle Butte, after which she went to a different home, a foster home, and now is in a girl's treatment facility awaiting return to one of the previous homes. I have had contact with her since she left Eagle Butte, sometimes more than others. Until about a month ago, it had been a year since I'd seen her and I also hadn't even heard from her since July.
She wrote me a letter recently, and then I have been able to call her regularly since then. She is in a home that was right on my way to Brandon, so I stopped in to see her on Saturday. It was such a blessing to talk to her, hear how she is doing, and see what God is doing in her life. She is going to church regularly and has a Bible that she reads. She told me that when she got my letter in which I told her I would be moving to the Philippines, she and another girl whom I also taught were saying that maybe God was having me move to the Philippines to meet my husband. :) I have had many opportunities to share with her about God, and I have also shared the gospel with her a few times.
When I met with her, she gave me a Christmas gift, and along with the gift she gave me this card.
God has shown me that I already am leaving a legacy. He is working in the lives of those whom He has brought into my life. I don't know if I will ever know this side of Heaven how God has used me to touch lives, but I rejoice in the way He has chosen to use me, and I am thankful for how He gives me glimpses of His work.