“Has anyone here ever been bitten by a snake?”

Several of the kids’ hands shot up. Not surprising when you consider that our school is in a semi-rural farming community. Most of our students’ homes are ringed with lush rice paddies and thick foliage, and many species of snakes make their home here.

Teacher Ming and Teacher Keren had just finished telling the children at Kid’s Church the story of the fall of humanity when Teacher Ming asked this question. She had told the kids how God promised that one day the serpent would bite the heel of Jesus, but that Jesus would eventually crush the snake’s head.

We could see that one of the girls in the group was listening intently to the story, her eyes fixed on the felt board. Only the week before, she had been bitten by a venomous snake on her leg just above her heel. Her family had rushed her to a nearby hospital, and she had received antivenin and spent two days under observation. The experience was painful and scary for her. As she sat and listened to the story of how our first parents flirted with temptation and ultimately led the whole human race down a terrible path, we could see that she was beginning to realize that the choices made in that garden so long ago were impacting her life today.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us and for the kids we minister to as we work to help them form a biblical worldview where they each can find their unique place in God’s plan to redeem our world.

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