CYIA, Christian Youth in Action @ BIOLA University - Awesome

CEF Mid-Cities Represented well! From top left to right we had myself, Savannah, Romina, Ada, my daughter Jalissa, and Nic. On the bottom from left to right we had Carla, Tabitha, and Amilcar.

This week I was able to attend CYIA, Christian youth in Action with Child Evangelism Fellowship. My role this year was setting up clubs in the cities of La Mirada, La Habra, Whittier, and Downey. We also had clubs in Fullerton and Orange, CA. For this year, 2019, it was held in Hope Hall at BIOLA University. We had 9 people represented from our Mid-Cities Chapter. It was an amazing experience getting to know each of these youth. This year I attended as a student and was able to get first-hand experience on what they go through as they train and prepare to minister to young kids all over various cities. I was glad to see their heart for missions and getting the gospel to kids. Nicolas Wong co-lead our team with me and was a great help to this mission overall. His spirit and enthusiasm were amazing.  Each of these youth are doing great things in their lives and their futures look very bright.

As for me, not only did I get a chance to be a part of this mission but I was also able to see some of my professors and friends that I had not seen since graduation on the BIOLA campus. It was nice running into a few people and being able to catch up and tell them about the things I'm doing in my life. It was a very rewarding week.

The Leaders

Our Leaders: Gabby, Olu, Deanna, and Dan

I am thankful to all the leaders who committed themselves to training the next generation of leaders. They were all amazing. They really showed their heart for the mission and for the youth. They took time to speak with and counsel those who needed it and lives were changed because of their commitment. God really used them to minister to us all. Not only did they give us great training, but they were all so fun to be around. I managed to snap a photo of some of them as they prepared to take new leaps! (See Above)

My CYIA Team

Hailey, Sue, Me, McKenna, Angel

It was awesome to be a part of a great team this week. I am glad that I was able to meet each one of them and learn more about their lives. They shared so many unique stories of the ways God has shown up in their lives. God is so good. This past week our particular team reached about 25 kids with the gospel message. Teaching them Bible stories and letting them know all about missions and missionaries. The young kids in our club raised almost $10.00 to give to missions. They brought their change Quarters, nickels, pennies. etc. It was fun seeing each one of them so excited to hear more about Jesus. About 9 of these kids made a profession of faith for the first time. They came to talk to us about being a part of God's forever family.

One of the most rewarding experiences for me was connecting with a young teenage girl who had learning difficulty. I was able to lead her to Christ for the first time. She was so amazing and we often sat next to each other. We danced to the memory verse songs and she loved it. She would always ask me to "play it again." We danced about 4 or 5 times to the song for Acts 4:12. She really warmed my heart.

Everyday the kids met us at the club. They were often there before us and they helped to set up and clean up. On the last day we were able to give many of the kids their first Bible. When we were about to leave, they each wanted us to autograph their Bibles. It was amazing. One of the girls asked me to take a selfie with her. They each let us know that they will miss us and that they had so much fun.

My Daughter and I
One of the other good things about CYIA was that I got to spend some time with my daughter and what better way to spend time with your child than to spend time sharing Jesus with others. I am so proud of the woman that she is becoming. I look forward to many more great moments in Christ. CYIA was amazing!

Blessings to you all,
​Lakisha B.

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