HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW ME?

Suzie Rowan, our National Director in the Republic of Ireland, wrote this at the start of the week - a heartfelt cry of pain for one of her young people that every youth leader can identify with.

"I gave in at last !!! I joined Bebo (an internet site you join for free and can connect to loads of people). I've been determined not to join until Wednesday when I got a regular "how well do you know me?" quiz from Bebo on one of the young people that I've worked with over the past few years when she was a teenager (she is now an adult now). Her questions intrigued me and I had to join in order to find out what her answers were - so I gave in. However, I'm sorry I did now! Sometimes it's better not knowing the answers to some questions. One question and answer in particular left me feeling numb and ill at the same time. It read, "when did I lose my virginity?" and because she's a lovely Christian girl (now), who attended girls bible studies that I led on and off when she was a teenager, I felt the answer would obviously be "not yet" - since we spent many studies looking at purity and I felt sure that she was wise enough not to mess around with herself in this way. Anyway, the answer was 15 !!!!! I felt sick. What is going wrong in this world? I've always known statistics of promiscuity in Ireland, especially among youth, but it's not until the statistic moves onto a person that you care about that it hits home. It made me wonder if things would be different if I'd had more contact with her during that phase in her life. Our teenagers need so much prayer, as satan prowls around looking for those he can devour and our churches and towns need so many more youth workers, who can instill and model values that are no longer common in Ireland. We need a movement of God. Please pray."