by Mabel Tse

I’ve had the privilege of serving in the Fireflies’ Ministry since 2005.  For the past seven years, the Fireflies’ Ministry has gone through many changes and it’s been so neat watching God shape this ministry.  I initially joined nursery because I love children of all ages and wanted to practice sharing the gospel with infants and toddlers.  It’s been such a humbling experience, to say the least.  At times, I found myself focusing too much on how cute the babies were and how I just wanted to have fun with them, rather than seeing them as lost souls in need of hearing God’s truth.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the external behavior rather than addressing the heart issues.

Since having Abigail, I’m thankful to have another perspective towards nursery… the perspective of a parent dropping their child off into the care of others.  It is difficult letting go and trusting someone else with someone so precious to you.  One of the things I love about nursery is that we have ladies from all walks of life… from collegians to singles, from married ladies without children to married ladies with children.  Recently there have been a lot of ladies who have stepped down from staff but God has provided many more ladies who’ve joined.  I can understand how with so many new faces, it might make it more difficult letting go of your child.  But the thing that reassures me is knowing the commitment that the Fireflies’ staff has to sharing the Gospel to our little ones and focusing on addressing the heart.

I’m thankful that Fireflies provides opportunities for infants and toddlers to learn about God.  It’s also wonderful seeing the ladies on our staff encourage one another and learn from one another.  This ministry is not only an opportunity to teach infants and toddlers but also an informal discipleship ministry between the ladies on staff.  Within our staff, I’ve witnessed many conversations where collegians will ask singles and married ladies questions on how to be a godly woman.  I’ve seen how the older women took on Titus 2:3-5 roles and made the most of opportunities to teach the younger women how to love children.  Likewise, I’ve heard from many singles and married ladies about how encouraged they are after talking with the collegians and experiencing their zeal and passion for God.

God continues to bless the Fireflies’ Ministry with more children…by the end of this year, there will be twenty new babies!! Despite all the new changes, the goal of Fireflies staff remains the same…planting seeds of truth in the hearts of the little ones and ultimately praying that God will bless them with salvation.  Let us continue to pray for the Fireflies’ Ministry to pass on God’s Word to the youngest members of our congregation and pray for the salvation of these souls!