Yay! Nikki's Back!

Nikki is one of my young employees. She is such an encouragement to me because Jesus shines through that girl! I just love to be ble to work with her! Anyway, she spent the week at a retreat and I was anxious to hear all about what God did in her life this week and as expected...HE DID GOOD!



Nikki shared all about how it was praise and worship non-stop the whole week. She said that a lot of it focused on bettering her relationship with God and a routine was developed for "campers" to have quiet time in the morning. To be alone with God. To pray. To worship Him. She found that time and was able to strengthen her relationship. She is so in love with God.



She also was excited to tell me that she had the opportunity to share her testimony with some younger girls at the camp. She and her best friend both had the opportunity to share the "stage" as they talked all about how God has changed their lives. Nikki said that God worked it out perfect because together they ended up with one big testimony that could show how God can do miracles in all lives...Nikki came from a background of a bad relationship and a problem with drinking (not alcoholic, but getting out of control). Her friend has suffered through an abusive bad realationship and they both got to share about the heartache, the trouble, and the restoration God brought to them. SHe said their talk had a positive influence on the girls there and that it is possible that Nikki and a few others may start a group to talk to young teens and pre-teens about their issues. Nikki feels that since she is still a teen and just graduated high school, that she may have more respect from the young teens than many of the older adults do. (Adults are so out of touch and don't understand! LOL)



It was awesome to hear about all that and then she shared about Matthew. Matthew is a young man who Nikki is dating. He is a good young Christian man. He suffered the loss of his father a few years ago and that broke his heart and almost his spirit and in fact, led to a broken body. He shared his testimony at the camp and I understand it was powerful. Through tears he shared about how God restored his soul and has healed his body. He almost died in a wreck with a 4-wheeler trying to cross a highway following after a friend who made it across successfully. He was raised in a Christian home with a father who spent a lot of time and energy on him. When is father suddenly died, Matthew's life was shattered. He started to care very little about life, becoming reckless maybe? I don't know all the details, but I hope that I can one day hear about it all. Matthew was in a coma for three weeks, suffered lots of broken stuff and today still has a diminshed mental capacity, most notably with his short term memory. He turned to God and rededicated his life. He realizes God has given him another chance and now he shares his story. He told the audience that he wasn't crying because he was sad, but the opposite. He was rejoicing that God gave him the opportunity to share it all! IT REALLY STINKS THAT I MISSED IT!



I feel so blessed that Nikki is working at my store. She was so excited to share and I couldn't wait to hear all about it! God showed me again today how much He loves me.