A Changing Heart

There is a clipping of one of my student's homework assignment that hangs on my bedroom mirror. It is a constant reminder of why I get up early and head down to a small school inside of the West Bank, Palestine. In fact, I may always keep this piece of paper with me.

We've been learning about hiding God's Word in our heart. I've even "warned" my students about opening the Bible. They know that if they open this special book and read the words, they wont be the same. It's fun to see the excitement these kids have on their faces, so eager to get a hold of a Bible.

To illustrate hiding God's Word in our heart, we've been watering our water pearls daily. Each student has a container holding small water beads. After our Bible lesson and morning prayer students carefully open their container and pour water over the pearls, symbolizing their hearts. Students are thrilled to see the hard beads enlarge into soft pearls. Once lids are screwed on, students sing "read you Bible and pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow" song.

It's cute to see their little bodies crouched on the ground growing tall as they sing their songs, but it's that one piece of paper hanging on my mirror that encourages my heart the greatest. This particular Muslim student copied his Bible verse of the week, Psalm 119:11, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Underneath he illustrated the verse with a stick figured character with outstretched hands and a smile on its face. Next to the figure are the words..."his heart is changing."