The near daunting task had been scheduled for March 21st, at the VGR office. Over 30,000 different tracts had to be carefully counted, and organized into packs with a variety of each of the eighteen different tracts and booklets. The youths showed up, 110 strong. Excited? Yes, but they had their sleeves rolled up too!

After an opening word of prayer, each of the arriving youths was assigned to one of the five groups stationed at different spots around the VGR property. Each group had a table to work from, a chaperone with an instructions sheet for directions, over two hundred fingers to count and reorganize the special tracts, a box of elastic bands and two boxes to ultimately package their work once done!

Stacked on tables in the Conference Hall were piles of 16 different tracts and 2 different booklets. Each group had to take 400 of each tract and 240 of each booklet: that translates to 6,400 tracts + 480 booklets per group! A group was making 80 tract-packs and a single tract-pack would have five of each of the sixteen different tracts, and three of each of the 2 booklets. So among them, the 5 groups made a total of 400 tract-packs and handled 34,400 tracts and booklets combined! A LOT of numbers right! Well, that’s what they did!

Each group took turns to walk into the Hall and count out their share of tracts, then resorted to their spot for the next couple of counting hours! It was so cool to see how each group come up with their unique way of sorting the different tracts and orderly arranging them into complete sets! Some laid twenty or so at a time on their desk, piling each different tract one after the other; others formed a circle around their table and passed the different tracts down the line till the set was complete; others extended their work area and knelt on the lush lawn right near their spot just so they could do their part of the job to perfection.

Piles of loose single tracts and booklets quickly became colorful packs bearing a life giving message for a hungry soul somewhere. While working, the youths echoed the probing questions on the tracts to each other and had some very interesting conversations around the precious cargo they were handling! In about two and half hours, the work was complete and the youths were enjoying a few refreshments. After making a few announcements about the next phase of the project, we had a vote of thanks and a closing prayer and the happy youths dispersed (but not for long).

It was amazing to witness just another part in the sequence of God’s Great machine to get this Message out to the people. Soon the youths will be on the dark streets shining this light. “Hold on searching sailor! Them rays from the lighthouse will soon break through the gross darkness and show you THE way as you navigate through lifes treacherous waters!”

There’s a true sense of excitement & anticipation for the next part of this Highways & Byways project. A little anxiety is undeniable as we will have to give answers on what we believe and what we hold dear to our lives, but we know we have a genuine product, it’ll sell itself. If we’re not very articulate, they will see a sister’s modest dress or a young brother’s polite demeanor, and feel the sweet Holy Spirit around these youths; they’ll know for sure that they need some of that too!

Keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this next bit. God Bless you