"Do you want us to pick you up, Cindy? You are right on the way."
"Would you mind if I meet you there, Jo?"
"That's fine."
"I'll meet you in the back parking lot." (Cindy was familiar with the church due to her days as a Girl Scout. The club used the church as a meeting place.)
"OK. 5 Bells!"
"See you then."
Cindy obviously did not want anyone to see her attend church that night. JoJo wasn't sure the reason.
"Hey Cindy," Dan practically yelled from the window of the car---5 feet away.
"Hi, Mr. Smith."
"JoJo, I will be back at 8:00."
"Thanks Dad!"
"8:00? I thought you said this got over at 6:45?"
"It does. But, we have Band practice after."
"Cool," Cindy said with relief.
As JoJo and Cindy entered the Youth Room, there was music playing. About 10 youth were there and 2 adults. Mr. Faith had been there for about 5 years, but there was a new Youth Lady. Her name was Patsy Passion. Ms. Passion introduced herself to Cindy and JoJo right away. JoJo turned and began talking with Mr. Faith. The next thing he knew, Cindy and Ms. Passion were seated on the side talking. They were smiling and already drinking a soda water. To which, JoJo excused himself and got a drink himself. JoJo grabbed a Grape Soda, and moved over to talk to some of the guys. Greg and Robbie were band members. So, right away they discussed the new songs they would learn as a band.
At 5:16, the group had grown to 35 Youth.
Jr. High and High School met together on Sunday nights. JoJo was glad to see Cindy had made new friends, plus she already knew LaDonna and Tristan.
JoJo approached the group of five girls that included Cindy.
"Ladies, I hope you are ready to worship with some dynamite music!"
LaDonna shot back, "Oh, are we having a guest-band tonight, Jo?"
"HaHa, LaDonna. I think you will approve of our sound. We've been practicing!"
"JoJo, you know I love our group! I couldn't help myself," LaDonna backed away from further quips.
"It's all good! Well, time to worship," JoJo rang out. Then, he whispered to Cindy, "Is everything going alright?"
"Going great. But, do I have to sing?"
"Besides your solo? Just kidding! No, you don't have to sing. But, please listen to the words."
"I can do that. You better go rock!"
Everyone sat down. Mr. Faith made a few announcements. Then, Ms. Passion introduced herself.
"Hi everyone. I'm Patsy Passion. It is great to be a part of this Youth Group. Let's pray. Lord, you are soooo good to us! We love you. Thank you for every person here. NO one is here by accident. Guide, direct and inhabit all we do tonight. Amen."
Without a warning, the band began to play. Most of the kids new the words and began to sing. Cindy was unfamiliar with every song, but she listened intently.
After 17 minutes of singing, Ms. Passion led a devotion. She read from the Bible. Her text was
Ephesians 4:29; Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ms. Passion told the students to watch the words that came out of their mouth. She talked about the power of words. At the end, Cindy thought to herself: I want to live like this, but I am afraid I will fall back to my old ways.
Before she left, Ms. Passion gave Cindy a brand New Bible. It was a new translation, called The Living Bible. Cindy was grateful. After LaDonna gave her a ride home, Cindy read her Bible for an hour. It was 8:05. She thought about calling JoJo, but she was afraid he had not made it home. About that time, HER phone rang.
"So what did you think about Youth Worship tonight?" JoJo asked.
"It was wonderful. Ms. Passion gave me a Bible, and I just read it for an hour."
"Wow! Hey, I thought you had a Bible."
"I do...well, it's my grandmother's Bible, and it's hard to understand. I really can understand this Living Bible!"
"I've never seen one of those.......
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