More than 400 Alabama Acteens and leaders experienced the National Acteens Convention (NAC) in Nashville July 29–Aug. 1.
“Every second while we were there, we were learning and we could feel God’s presence,” said Andie Bell, Acteens leader at Hep-zibah Baptist Church in Talladega. “The girls and I put faces with the numbers and countries that we study about and we were reminded that God loves the children in other areas just as much as He loves us in Talladega.”
Bell, a former Acteen and now a leader, says she had always heard that attending NAC is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “And it truly was,” she said. “Each girl enjoyed the prayer walk to the Capitol, the Global Village and the ministry project.”
Throughout the four days of the convention, 6,500 girls and leaders from throughout the United States and 19 countries gathered at the Nashville Convention Center to spend time with missionaries, to pray and learn more about missions.
After the opening session, the girls and leaders from Alabama gathered for the Alabama Party. The girls sang “Sweet Home Alabama” while watching their leaders participate in various contests.
The next morning proved to be the favorite part of NAC for many girls. “My favorite part of NAC was the prayer walk to the Capitol,” said Sara Neville, an Acteen from Hep-zibah. “It was so touching to pray for people you don’t even know and to see bunches and bunches of girls walking together and praying.”
Elizabeth Martin of Montgomery’s Morningview Baptist Church agreed.
“It was neat to see how God works through prayer when we all prayed together,” she said. “And seeing all those girls praying together was amazing.”
While at the state Capitol, the 6,500 girls and leaders were welcomed by Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell and then sang praise songs, heard from a missionary and gathered in small groups to pray for their communities, state, nation and world.
Throughout NAC, participants heard from 181 missionaries as well as the National Acteens Panelists and Top Teens, several New Hope Publishers authors and many more employees of national and state Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU).
The girls also witnessed a Zambian vocal group who taught the girls a Zambian praise song and explained how they minister in their own country.
In addition, participants heard from Nancy Giddens and her daughter Joanna.
Joanna talked about what it was like to grow up as a missionary kid (MK) and then this mother-daughter duo told of their family getting kidnapped and how God taught them several lessons throughout the experience.
“It was neat to see the mother and daughter share,” said Bell. “And I enjoyed seeing how they grew with God together.”
While at NAC, participants also heard from Janet Hoffman, national WMU president, and Wanda Lee, national WMU’s executive director.
“My favorite part of NAC was the ministry project where we actually got to go out and do missions,” said Morningview’s Martin. She and others from her church helped a teacher at Gateway Elementary School get her classroom ready for the school year to begin. But this teacher’s story touched the heart of Acteens who worked with her.
“Mrs. Bargner’s husband was diagnosed with spinal cancer this summer and she told us that she had been praying that God would help her in some way so that she could spend time with her husband but still get her room ready,” said Martin. “She said that when we walked through the door, we were an answer to her prayer.”
“Ministering at the school really opened the girls’ eyes to the needs of the world,” said Bell. “It helped them see past their school, church, community and state and helped them realize how God is at work around the world.”
NAC’s Global Village led participants into more than 10 cultures, including an illegal Chinese house church, and the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Outside each room, the “Jesus” film was played in the respective culture’s language.
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