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10 Teen Heroes
For Teens |
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 HopeAfghanistan.net |
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"I won't be labeled as
average." This quote was written on the cover of the journal in Rachel's backpack she had on when she died. She was a girl who wanted to touch lives, and not be your 'average' high schooler, while at the same time living life to its fullest-and enjoying it. In the three years since Rachel Scott's death at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, she has touched millions of lives, and has reminded us all that life could be gone from us in a second and that we should make the most of it. It is here that we, those who knew her and those who didn't, remember Rachel. Rachel the actress. Rachel the Christian. Rachel the sister, the daughter, the friend. Rachel the missionary. Ultimately, Rachel the martyr. Her parents read her journalsf when they travel the country speaking about their daughter's life, and her values, encouraging all of us to 'pick up the torch' and start a 'chain reaction' of compassion and kindness. Rachel was the kind of girl who was friends with anyone and everyone. There wasn't a soul who wasn't important to her. She loved her family, her friends, and was on fire for God. Her love for, and faith in, the Lord was evident in her face and in the way she lived her life. Eventually, she would die for that faith. Although she sometimes spoke to her non-Christian friends about Jesus, in one of her journal entries she wrote, "I don't have to say anything, they just see you in me". Rachel loved life, and everything and everyone. She loved being herself. In a journal entry she wrote before she died, she asked God, "I want you to use me to reach the unreached". In the three years since her death, 'Queen Rachel's' prayer has been answered probably beyond her wildest dreams. Millions of people have come, and continue to come, to the Lord because of her legacy. A girl from Littleton, Colorado, who was shot and killed when saying 'yes' to the question 'Do you believe in God?'. A girl who wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in. A girl who wasn't afraid to be herself. A girl who was far from average. A girl named Rachel Joy Scott. |
Operation Mobilization (OM) traces its roots to the persistent prayers of
Dorothy Clapp, a housewife in New Jersey who prayed for 15 years that God
would save the students in the high school across from her home -- and
that from their midst would rise up a missionary force to evangelize
around the globe. Along with her prayers, Dorothy and her family
distributed simple literature to the students. George Verwer was one of those students who became a Christian after reading the Gospel of John that was given to him by the Clapp family. From there he went on to establish Operation Mobilization, initially to do short-term mission work. Now in its 43rd year of ministry, OM focuses on evangelizing and distributing literature to the people all around the world. OM has distributed over 500 million pieces of Christian literature, spreading the good news of Christ to 1 billion people. Could the fervent prayer of one person really bring about all of this? Yes, and it still does, insist the people of OM. That story should be enough to convince you of the value of prayer. And the beauty of it is that you can pray anywhere -- the shower, in bed, over breakfast, while walking, roller blading, biking -- you name it! You'll never know the true effect your prayer life has had until that first day of eternity, but you can be sure it'll exceed your expectations. Estimates place the Christian population of the world at 1 billion. If all of us were praying like Mrs. Clapp, who knows where we'd be! I could go on (one of my spiritual gifts is the ability to get carried away on a topic I feel strongly about), but I'll stop here with this challenge: Simply spend five straight minutes a day -- it doesn't matter where or when -- praying for the world (there are many places to get prayer requests and suggestions, if you keep your eyes open; one of the best prayer guides is Operation World, a large encyclopedic volume which outlines the spiritual condition of every nation in the world and gives prayer requests for each day of the year). You will inevitably grow closer to God and the world as a whole will benefit.
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Dayna
Curry grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and
attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she majored in social
work. She has been active with humanitarian work for several years in
different countries, including Uzbekistan and Guatemala. Heather Mercer, originally from Vienna, Virginia, also attended Baylor University, studying secondary education. She loves learning about and traveling to other countries and cultures. Before going to Afghanistan, she traveled on humanitarian missions in Central America, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.
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Teenager
Bruce Olson set out as a missionary with very little money, no support
from a mission agency, and an intense desire to win an previously
unreached tribe to Jesus Christ. He was was broke, starving, shot by
arrows, tortured, had almost 5 or 6 almost lethal diseases, lived in
filth, and only personally led one person to Christ among the tribe that
he was called to share the gospel.
But God had called him there, and the result of the one person he led to Christ led to revolution of love among the Indian populations in Colombia. Then he spends his life among Motilone Indians that few white men had ever seen and even fewer had lived to tell about. How God used the simple ministry of this dedicated young Christian to eventually lead seventeen tribes to Jesus is one of the greatest missionary accounts of the century.
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