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During the 2003-2004 school year, I was one of two sixth graders in an eighth grade math class. Although my teachers had warned me that it would be a challenge to keep up with the others, I thought being there would be "cool" because the math I had been doing was much too easy. But by the second week of school, I started to change my mind. The work load had increased, and I was having a lot of trouble doing the problems and getting assignments in on time. My parents tried to help me, but they were having trouble with it, too. Meanwhile, our fall/winter youth retreat was coming up, and I was excited about it. Besides seeing some friends I hadn't been with since summer camp, I looked forward to a weekend away from my routine…and my math problems! Four days before the retreat, I pulled a tendon in my ankle during gym class. I soaked it and put on an ankle wrap, but it still hurt quite a bit. I was afraid it would keep me from going to the retreat, so I prayed and prayed that I would feel better before the weekend. I was also a little concerned that I might hurt my ankle even more in play practice after school on Friday. I planned to be extra careful; but I was involved in a chase scene, and there was always the chance that someone else might not be as careful as I was! So I said a special prayer before practice that everything would go okay. A fantastic thing happened when I stepped on the stage. My ankle stopped hurting and felt normal! I was able to get through the scene acting pretty much as usual. Halfway through practice we had a break, and I went to a quiet place to be by myself. I silently thanked God for blessing my foot, and I also prayed that it would keep feeling good for the retreat. While I prayed, I felt the same Spirit which I had enjoyed at youth camp earlier in the summer. After practice, I went home and told my parents what had happened. Then we packed the car and left for the retreat at Vancouver - about an hour and a half away. The weekend was great! I spent time with some friends, and I had a good experience spiritually, too. One of our activities involved learning how to listen carefully to the voice of the Lord. Each of the campers was blindfolded and had to find their way to Christ by listening for His voice. It was a challenge because other voices came from various rooms located along a hall. The tone of the voices were a lot like that of Jesus, but what the imposters were saying was false. We had to decide what Christ would say and walk toward Him. It was a good example of what real life is like today, with so many voices trying to pull us in the wrong direction. At the retreat, we also talked about prayer and the power it can have in our lives. The discussions we had, and the testimonies which I heard there caused a "light bulb" to come on in my head. I learned that prayer is like some household cleaners - useful for many different types of situations. My ankle injury had been my big prayer focus, but the retreat helped me realize that I should be using prayer for other needs. After I got home, I began praying about my problems in math. I asked God to help me understand my work better and to help me get it done in a reasonable amount of time. Gradually, the assignments became easier for me. They never seemed super simple, but I could handle them a lot better. My grades started coming up, and the first six weeks' grade was a "B". By the semester, it was up to an "A". Praise the Lord! Now I include all kinds of things in my prayers (including prayers of thanks) because I know God hears, and I know prayer works!
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