I have been a Vocal Music teacher in Oklahoma for 38 years. I love teaching! I have had approximately 5,000 students in my teaching lifetime, and I have appreciated and loved them all. They are treasures in my life that I will never forget.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of each school year, I anoint my classroom chairs and say a prayer for every student who will be sitting in that chair during the school year. I believe that God hears my prayers. 1 John 5:15 states,<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him\u201d (KJV).<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Students have so many issues affecting their daily lives, and they are looking for answers to all their questions. They are trying to find someone to help them understand all the pressing issues happening to them. As a Conference GM Director and Educator, my heart is deeply moved for these students. I am continually looking for opportunities to witness to my students successfully.<\/p>\n
In 2008, I had a student who came to my choir room and told me that she enjoyed being in my varsity choir and enjoyed having me as her choir director. However, she did have a small problem in that I spoke a lot about the Bible and information in it. She informed me that she was an atheist.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit rose within me and I knew that she was NOT an atheist, but that Satan was clouding her vision and causing her to believe his lies. I invited her to bring her lunch and talk. In four weeks, I learned that she had been molested at a young age by a grandparent. She was broken and for years, she lived in that brokenness.\u00a0 I began to gently speak the truth of who God was and who He wanted to be in her life. The atheistic walls started to break down and one day, God delivered her from all of Satan\u2019s lies. She left my room born again! That was a successful witness!<\/p>\n
In 2015, I was enjoying my vacation from teaching vocal music at my school in Stilwell, Oklahoma. I had an appointment for my yearly medical checkup.\u00a0 A few days following the appointment, I received a telephone call from my doctor telling me that I would need some further testing. Within a few days, a large mass was discovered in my colon and within a couple of weeks, I was scheduled for major surgery to remove a portion of my colon. \u00a0I was upset because it meant that I would not be able to attend Power Chicks \u201915. So, I decided to send my daughter, Nancy, to the event in my stead. Following the six-hour surgery, I stopped breathing and was placed in ICU. During that evening, everyone at Power Chicks had special prayer for me. She told me that she felt a strong presence of God during the prayer time. I woke up the following morning and was moved to my hospital room. I knew that God was with me. I was told that I was diagnosed with colon cancer. The surgeon said to me that she removed approximately 18 inches of my colon which contained the mass of cancer.\u00a0 But my faith was strong, and I continued to believe that God was with me. I was reminded of how much God loved me and cared for me by a friend\u2019s gift of a sparrow statue. Matthew 6:26 states,<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?\u201d (NIV). <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He cared for me. I then had to endure chemotherapy. I still believed! I was pronounced cancer-free in November of 2015 and four years later, I STILL am cancer free! Throughout this journey, I have had numerous times of successful witnessing to others who are going through this horrible disease.<\/p>\n
Successful witnessing, however, is not always verbal. The entire student body at my school has seen me throughout my recovery. Students that are not even in my classroom have noticed my improvement. They can see the physical difference.\u00a0 Students continually ask me, \u201cHow do you feel, Mrs. Still?\u201d \u00a0I always respond with, \u201cI serve a great big God who is my Healer. He has been so good to me. And by the way, I\u2019m CANCER FREE!\u201d I know that they realize that there is a God who is a Healer because they physically see the result.<\/p>\n
Lastly, successful witnessing does not always happen instantly. In 2019, a former student attended the church that my husband and I pastor. My daughter invited her to attend church because of a social media post she read, and it stirred her Spirit greatly. This young lady was a former vocal music student that I met in 2005. I taught her for seven consecutive school years. I witness to my students as often as possible, and I look for opportunities to pour Christ and His teachings into their spirits. She graduated in 2012, and I did not see her for seven years. But the Sunday that she attended church was life-changing for her. She made the important decision to receive God\u2019s Plan of Salvation. After the service, she told me that I had always set an example of being a Christian throughout her high school years. She thanked me for setting that example. Successful witnessing can even happen years later.<\/p>\n
Whether in the past or the present, successful witnessing is what every Christian should strive to achieve.\u00a0 John 4:35 states, \u201c\u2026Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest\u201d (KJV). People are watching and waiting for you to present a successful witness. It could lead them to God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":6203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,27],"tags":[940,1245,251,1206,1247,1205,1246],"class_list":{"0":"post-6202","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-discipleship-ministries","8":"category-girls-ministries-childrens-ministries","9":"tag-940","10":"tag-frances-still","11":"tag-girls-ministries","12":"tag-quarter-4","13":"tag-sharing-jesus-with-your-whole-life","14":"tag-successful-in-witness","15":"tag-teacher","16":"entry"},"title_es":"Borrador autom\u00e1tico","content_es":"He sido profesor de m\u00fasica vocal en Oklahoma durante 38 a\u00f1os. \u00a1Me encanta ense\u00f1ar! He tenido aproximadamente 5,000 estudiantes en mi vida docente, y los he apreciado y amado a todos. Son tesoros en mi vida que nunca olvidar\u00e9. Al comienzo de cada a\u00f1o escolar, unjo las sillas de mi sal\u00f3n de clases y rezo por cada estudiante que estar\u00e1 sentado en esa silla durante el a\u00f1o escolar. Creo que Dios escucha mis oraciones. 1 Juan 5:15 dice:\r\n
\"Y si sabemos que nos escucha, cualquier cosa que le pidamos, sabemos que tenemos las peticiones que deseamos de \u00e9l\" (KJV).<\/strong><\/blockquote>\r\nLos estudiantes tienen muchos problemas que afectan su vida diaria y est\u00e1n buscando respuestas a todas sus preguntas. Est\u00e1n tratando de encontrar a alguien que les ayude a comprender todos los problemas apremiantes que les suceden. Como Director y Educador de GM de la Conferencia, mi coraz\u00f3n est\u00e1 profundamente conmovido por estos estudiantes. Estoy continuamente buscando oportunidades para testificar a mis alumnos con \u00e9xito. En 2008, tuve una estudiante que vino a la sala de mi coro y me dijo que le gustaba estar en mi coro universitario y que me ten\u00eda como directora del coro. Sin embargo, ella tuvo un peque\u00f1o problema porque habl\u00e9 mucho sobre la Biblia y la informaci\u00f3n que conten\u00eda. Ella me inform\u00f3 que era atea. El Esp\u00edritu Santo se levant\u00f3 dentro de m\u00ed y supe que ella NO era atea, sino que Satan\u00e1s estaba nublando su visi\u00f3n y haciendo que creyera en sus mentiras. La invit\u00e9 a traer su almuerzo y hablar. En cuatro semanas, supe que un abuelo la hab\u00eda abusado a una edad temprana. Ella estaba rota y durante a\u00f1os, ella vivi\u00f3 en esa ruptura. Comenc\u00e9 a decir suavemente la verdad de qui\u00e9n era Dios y qui\u00e9n quer\u00eda ser en su vida. Los muros ateos comenzaron a derrumbarse y un d\u00eda, Dios la libr\u00f3 de todas las mentiras de Satan\u00e1s. Ella sali\u00f3 de mi habitaci\u00f3n nacida de nuevo! \u00a1Ese fue un testigo exitoso! En 2015, estaba disfrutando de mis vacaciones ense\u00f1ando m\u00fasica vocal en mi escuela en Stilwell, Oklahoma. Ten\u00eda una cita para mi chequeo m\u00e9dico anual. Unos d\u00edas despu\u00e9s de la cita, recib\u00ed una llamada telef\u00f3nica de mi m\u00e9dico dici\u00e9ndome que necesitar\u00eda algunas pruebas adicionales. En unos pocos d\u00edas, se descubri\u00f3 una gran masa en mi colon y en un par de semanas, me programaron una cirug\u00eda mayor para extirpar una parte de mi colon. Estaba molesto porque significaba que no podr\u00eda asistir a Power Chicks '15. Entonces, decid\u00ed enviar a mi hija, Nancy, al evento en mi lugar. Despu\u00e9s de la cirug\u00eda de seis horas, dej\u00e9 de respirar y me colocaron en la UCI. Durante esa noche, todos en Power Chicks tuvieron una oraci\u00f3n especial por m\u00ed. Ella me dijo que sinti\u00f3 una fuerte presencia de Dios durante el tiempo de oraci\u00f3n. Me despert\u00e9 a la ma\u00f1ana siguiente y me trasladaron a mi habitaci\u00f3n del hospital. Sab\u00eda que Dios estaba conmigo. Me dijeron que me diagnosticaron c\u00e1ncer de colon. El cirujano me dijo que elimin\u00f3 aproximadamente 18 pulgadas de mi colon que conten\u00eda la masa de c\u00e1ncer. Pero mi fe era fuerte y segu\u00ed creyendo que Dios estaba conmigo. Me record\u00f3 cu\u00e1nto Dios me amaba y cuid\u00f3 por el regalo de un amigo de una estatua de gorri\u00f3n. Mateo 6:26 dice:\r\n\u201cMira las aves del aire; no siembran ni cosechan ni almacenan en graneros, y sin embargo su Padre celestial los alimenta. \u00bfNo eres mucho m\u00e1s valioso que ellos? \u201d(NVI).<\/strong><\/blockquote>\r\nSe preocupaba por mi. Luego tuve que soportar la quimioterapia. Todav\u00eda cre\u00eda! Fui declarado libre de c\u00e1ncer en noviembre de 2015 y cuatro a\u00f1os despu\u00e9s, \u00a1TODAV\u00cdA estoy libre de c\u00e1ncer! A lo largo de este viaje, he tenido numerosas oportunidades de testificar con \u00e9xito a otros que est\u00e1n pasando por esta horrible enfermedad. Sin embargo, el testimonio exitoso no siempre es verbal. Todo el alumnado de mi escuela me ha visto durante mi recuperaci\u00f3n. Los estudiantes que ni siquiera est\u00e1n en mi clase han notado mi mejora. Pueden ver la diferencia f\u00edsica. Los estudiantes continuamente me preguntan: \"\u00bfC\u00f3mo se siente, se\u00f1ora Still?\" Siempre respondo con: \"Sirvo a un gran Dios que es mi sanador\". Ha sido muy bueno conmigo. \u00a1Y por cierto, estoy LIBRE DE C\u00c1NCER! \u201dS\u00e9 que se dan cuenta de que hay un Dios que es un Sanador porque ven f\u00edsicamente el resultado. Por \u00faltimo, el testimonio exitoso no siempre ocurre instant\u00e1neamente. En 2019, un ex alumno asisti\u00f3 a la iglesia que mi esposo y yo pastoreamos. Mi hija la invit\u00f3 a asistir a la iglesia debido a una publicaci\u00f3n en las redes sociales que ley\u00f3, y conmovi\u00f3 mucho su esp\u00edritu. Esta joven era una ex estudiante de m\u00fasica vocal que conoc\u00ed en 2005. Le ense\u00f1\u00e9 durante siete a\u00f1os escolares consecutivos. Testifico a mis alumnos con la mayor frecuencia posible y busco oportunidades para verter a Cristo y sus ense\u00f1anzas en sus esp\u00edritus. Se gradu\u00f3 en 2012, y no la vi en siete a\u00f1os. Pero el domingo que asisti\u00f3 a la iglesia le cambi\u00f3 la vida. Ella tom\u00f3 la importante decisi\u00f3n de recibir el Plan de Salvaci\u00f3n de Dios. Despu\u00e9s del servicio, ella me dijo que siempre hab\u00eda dado el ejemplo de ser cristiana durante sus a\u00f1os de secundaria. Ella me agradeci\u00f3 por dar ese ejemplo. El testimonio exitoso puede suceder incluso a\u00f1os despu\u00e9s. Ya sea en el pasado o en el presente, el testimonio exitoso es lo que todo cristiano debe esforzarse por lograr. Juan 4:35 dice: \"... Levanta tus ojos y mira los campos; porque ya son blancos para la cosecha \u201d(KJV). La gente est\u00e1 mirando y esperando que presente un testigo exitoso. Podr\u00eda llevarlos a Dios.","author_name":"Frances Still","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/01\/GM-Q4.3-Article-Background-Still.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-1C2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}