At the beginning of the summer, some of our youth group from Juarez, Mexico, attended a retreat. The youth really enjoyed the music there, and several of them expressed their desire to learn to play instruments and form a choir. They shared this with the youth group leader, who invited them to say a simple prayer asking God for this blessing.
Soon after they prayed, one of the choir members at the retreat spoke with our youth group leader, stressing the importance of getting the youth involved in music ministry. She shared with him the desire the young people had just expressed to her, and the choir member agreed to ask a benefactor to donate instruments for our community. A month later, we received news that the instruments would be arriving at our center!
We contacted a friend who is a music teacher, asking if she would help teach the teens. She immediately said yes – that she would be happy to give the kids music lessons, specifically teaching them how to play the guitar and the piano.
So, within weeks of the kids praying, we now have a music class led by a skilled teacher, with plenty of instruments for the children to learn on. We told the youth, “See how powerful prayer is! The Lord tells us to ask and you will receive. You asked, and God answered.” They were so happy about that.
The psalms say to “make a joyful noise to the Lord,” and at this point, noise is about all that is happening. But the group is committed and excited about learning to play and sing songs of praise.
We thank God for hearing the young people’s prayerful desire and moving hearts to provide the gift of more music to our community.