No matter where I seem to be serving, the Lord has given me a group of young ladies to teach and influence. I like to call them “My Girls.” Most of my “My Girls” are now grown, married, and enjoying motherhood. Many of them are Sunday school teachers, ministry leaders, or faithful church members who are influencing others for the cause of Christ. The verse, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth,” is very real.
In the month of September, I started our first Sunday school class here for our Karen single ladies. What a blessing the past two months have been getting to know them. I teach the class in Thai, and my friend, Ba Da, translates into Karen since some of them are not yet fluent in Thai. Each month we study a different lady from the Bible and focus on truths from her life. This enables the girls to really know the story and all the details so that one day they, too, can teach it to others. Each month they are given a set of memory- verse cards, and I’m always amazed when the girls come back the very next week and have memorized all of them. They are so hungry for the Scriptures and are loving learning Scripture-verse songs in their own language. The ladies are thriving, having their own class with lessons that directly relate to their lives, and I am humbled that I get to be their teacher. As refugees many of the young ladies have left their families in Myanmar and work hard, labor-intensive jobs to send money back home. Often their bosses will only give them one or two Sundays off each month. On the Sundays they are allowed to come, they spend the 30-minute trip to church afraid the police might stop them and give them a fine for not being in the area where they work, but they don’t let it stop them from coming. For most of them, our church has become a haven and an extended family. Last week after class, some of the girls and I were standing around chatting, and one of them asked me in her broken Thai if I didn’t ever want to have children of my own. I told her I did, but that the Lord hadn’t given me any yet, and until such time as He did, they were “My Girls.” At that, they bombarded me with hugs.
On September 26, 1993, I began raising support to go to the mission field. As the years have come and gone, so have some supporting churches for different reasons, like churches closing their doors or churches getting new pastors who felt their missions dollars would be better spent elsewhere. As I was recently reflecting on that time that seems like just yesterday and forever ago, my heart was full of gratitude for those churches listed below who have faithfully supported me right from the beginning. Thank you for being willing to support a single lady when many would not. Thank you for continuing to support me when the Lord moved me . . . again . . . and then again. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of standing in your place and for investing in the lives of people that you will never meet until you get to Heaven. From me and “My Girls,” thank you!
Shari House
Gospel Baptist, Ohio (22+ years)
Tri-County Baptist, Ohio (22+ years)
Manchester Baptist, Ohio (21+ years)
Kings Mills Baptist, Ohio (21+ years)
Calvary Baptist, Mississippi (21+ years)
Liberty Bible, Ohio (21+ years)
Shawnee Baptist, Kentucky (21+ years)
Lighthouse Baptist, Pennsylvania (21+ years)
Mercy Baptist, West Virginia (18+ years)
Victory Baptist, West Virginia (18+ years)
Maranatha Baptist, West Virginia (18+ years)
Rock Cave Baptist, West Virginia (18+ years)
