NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–In the midst of thousands of teenage girls and their leaders at the National Acteens Convention, numerous grandmothers shared their love for missions and help instill missions lifestyles in their granddaughters.
Phyllis Foy of Mooresville, N.C., said she and her granddaughter, Allison Saleeby, 15, of Troutman, N.C., share a kindred heart. “To see her pick up my love for missions is such a thrill,” Foy said with an enormous smile during the July 29-Aug. 1 conference in Nashville, Tenn.
“I had the honor to watch her as she sang, worshiped, laughed and then watch as a speaker moved her to tears,” Foy said. “This has absolutely been one of the most incredible times in my life. Because of this experience, my precious Allison will be forever changed and motivated to become involved in missions.”
Other grandmothers echoed Foy’s sentiments, underscoring a responsibility to pass down a heart for missions to future generations.
Donna Hill, an Acteens leader from Edmond, Okla. brought six Acteens to NAC including her granddaughter, Britany. Hill said her experience at NAC completely reenergized her enthusiasm in Acteens and in missions.
“If we don’t raise up the next generation to share their faith and serve others, where will we be as Christians and where will missions be?” Hill asked. “It all has to start at home.”
Hill’s commitment to missions prompted her to work an extra job just to be able to bring her group to NAC. “This week has been a real encouragement to all of us,” she said.
National WMU President Janet Hoffman participated in NAC this year with her 12-year-old granddaughter, Lauren, of Shreveport, La. “The blessing of our experiencing missions together affirms my conviction that my generation is responsible for leaving a grandparent’s missions legacy,” Hoffman said.
“Seeing firsthand Lauren’s eager response to missionaries and missions involvement with her peers has been thrilling and has further cemented the bond we share,” Hoffman continued. “What a privilege to see my granddaughter in the process of discovering the joy of missions.”
For some grandmothers, it was their first NAC experience. However, many others reported they had participated with their daughters and with other groups of girls in earlier NACs, held about every five years.
Roena Day, president of Arizona WMU, and her daughter, Amanda, participated in the National Acteens Convention in Kansas City, Mo., in 1979. “Because it [NAC] made such an impact on Amanda, I have really been looking forward to bringing my granddaughter this year.” Traveling from Fayetteville, N.C., 11-year-old Mariah joined both her Aunt Amanda and grandmother in Nashville for the missions convention for teens in grades seven through 12.
“To observe her in the worship service was an awesome experience,” Day said. “[Mariah] was so focused on everything. This week has been everything I prayed for and more.”
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: GRANDMOTHER’S PASSION.
