PaoloPunzalan.com

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Never really grew up reading.  Never liked it.  Never enjoyed it.  I know, I’m such a bum.

While my classmates would read Hardy Boys and Sweet Valley High (yes, they were boys… I know, weird, right?), I would be out playing basketball, tumbang preso, baseball and getting smelly.

However, through the years, I’ve ‘forced’ myself to like reading because I realized I can’t grow (spiritually, intellectually, leadershipically… making up words now) if I don’t read.  Started as a “have-to” but now becoming a “love-to”.

I still read veeeerrrrryyyyyy sssslllloooowwww, but I think I’m making progress.  Much of reading is a discipline, not really a natural inclination, at least for me.

But if I read 250 words a minute, this would mean that in 20 minutes, I could read 5000 words.  An average book has about 400 words to a page.  So in 20 minutes, I could read about 12 1/2 pages.  So if I discipline myself to read 20 minutes a day, six days a week, that would be 312 times 12.5 pages for a total of 3,900 pages.  If an average book is 250 pages long, this means I could read 15 books in one year.

Achievable?  Definitely.  Now all I need is discipline.  So help me, God.

Bernard Marquez introduced me to a young girl who’s story gripped my heart.

Arlene (not her real name) is 12 years old.  A couple of years ago, her mom was stabbed with a knife.  Unfortunately, the knife went in too deep that it reached the heart that caused her death.  Sadly, the man she got into an argument with was her husband.  Now, Arlene has no mom and dad’s in prison.  She currently lives with her grandmother.

But since then, she has found hope.  She met Jesus.  At a very young age, she gives her life to Jesus.  With the KC bucks she gets as prize in Kids Church, while everyone saves up for a nice toy or gadget, she saves it to buy her very first Bible.  She devours it and reads it day after day, walks to church every Sunday and gets her life radically changed.

She attended our Boot Camp (preteen camp for 10-13 year olds) a couple of weeks ago.  While her situation remains the same, her faith has been amazing, focusing on her relationship with Jesus who alone can bring hope, security and identity.

Reaching the next generation has never been easy but hearing testimonies like these inspire us to continue to do whatever it takes to bring the gospel to young people like Arlene.