Dear Friends!
Thank you for your prayers for our holiday program. After four long, tiring, and amazing weeks, we are finished!

The first two weeks with our under 12 kids was a bit of a challenge. The kids were very receptive to the message of love, and by the second day, we had about 30 children attending. Unfortunately, by day 3 the kids appeared to come only when they felt like it or not at all. By the end of the two weeks, we were down to about 12 children. Since YMS specializes in teens, we are hoping to now outsource holiday programs for the smaller children from here on out. The two weeks were filled with singing classes, drama, and dance, and the children also did community service projects one day each week. We loved working with these children, but it definitely wiped us out!

The following two weeks with the older kids was not only fun, but educational and fulfilling. As mentioned previously, we did the Beat the Drum curriculum with them. The youth soaked up the information and truly felt challenged. These youth have rarely, if ever, been exposed to topics such as marriage, sex, and HIV in healthy and positive ways. In government schools, they push condoms and safe sex, so abstinence is a somewhat new concept. At the end of the program, many made commitments to abstain, but others are still skeptical and need a bit more encouragement. Please continue praying for these teens!

YMS was fortunate enough to have a group of volunteers from the US during this time. The first group was a group of six ladies who worked in the surrounding community in the morning, and came and helped with Beat the Drum in the afternoons. We were so appreciative for their input and positive influence on the youth! The second group came about a week after the girls arrived, and also helped with Beat the Drum for a few days.

Everyone who participated in the holiday program, young and old, put on a performance this past Friday. The kids loved it and everyone did excellent. The program was packed with lots of dancing, lots of singing, a summary of what they learned from the holiday program, two dramatic performances, and even a rap!
Our weekly youth group will be starting up July 24, so please be in prayer for that as we work out all the kinks in the meantime. Our biggest challenge has been with our leadership team. We are so grateful for those that God has given us, but we are always in need of more volunteers that are committed to African youth!

God bless you all, faithful readers!!

With love,
The YMS team