Write His Answer

Sheri Schofield is an amazing lady! Really, that’s not surprising since she serves our amazing God.

Last year Sheri received the Writer of the Year Award from the Colorado Christian Writers Conference for her persistence not just in getting her children’s picture book in print but for turning a mistake into a blessing.

The Prince and the Plan: Leading Children to Jesus in 24 Memory Making Lessons is an interactive  picture book written for children ages 4-8 that helps parents lead their children into a lasting, saving relationship with Jesus.

Sheri is the author and illustrator of this 218-page full-color book. Can you imagine her dismay when it came off press and she opened the box to discover the books were mistakenly printed in black and white? She had a tough choice to make. She could allow the books to be destroyed or purchase them at the deeply discounted price of $4,180.

Sheri didn’t have $4,180, but God’s people did. As a result, 2,000 black & white copies of The Prince and the Plan were not trashed but instead are in the hands of children on Montana Native American reservations! And this is just the beginning.

“So many children in Helena and across America have never heard of Jesus at all,” Sheri wrote in a recent newsletter. “The Lord has spoken to my heart about a tidal wave of children who are growing up in America without any knowledge of Jesus or God’s ways whatsoever.

“Do you remember watching the tsunami hit Japan in 2011? It rose and rolled over the land, destroying everything and everyone in its path. That’s what is coming toward America spiritually: darkness pouring over a land without Jesus.

“It is for this reason that Tim and I have gone all out to provide The Prince and the Plan for the children. It is our attempt to stem the tide, to turn it to a flood of Jesus’ light instead. We are even doing billboards to let people know about this gospel presentation.”

But Sheri has a vision that extends beyond Montana and the United States.

From March 3-12 Sheri will be in Mexico. Part of her work there will be teaching a seminar on children’s ministries to church teachers in the mountain towns. She will be taking the Spanish translation of  The Prince and the Plan so they can use it to lead children to Jesus.

Sheri writes, “I’ll be doing multisensory teacher training, like I’ve used in the book. For instance, in the story of David & Goliath, Jesse sent David to take BREAD and CHEESE to his brothers – that’s how David managed to be in the army camp. When I tell this story, I give each child a small amount of bread and cheese. This stimulates multisensory learning, and they remember the stories a whole lot better. (I’ve had older children tell me in detail the stories they had heard from me years before!)

“The problem is this: Good wages in Mexico are about $8 per day – for a man. Poverty is rampant. The Christians cannot even afford to have potlucks, for they barely have enough food for themselves. As I have prayed about this, the Lord has put it on my heart to ask them to pray for the provisions they will need to teach multisensory Bible lessons. (I’ll be taking some non-food equipment for them, but they will need ongoing food and supplies for this type of teaching.) I believe the Lord will do so, but it will take great faith for them. After a lifetime of poverty and barely scraping by, this will be a HUGE challenge for them.

“To help them step out in faith, I feel that I should ask God for a sign they would recognize as an indication of His blessing on this. I know very little Spanish and there will be an interpreter for the classes I’ll teach. But I feel I should ask God to give me the language gift of Spanish while I teach. I am friends with these people. They know I barely speak Spanish at all. If the Lord were to give me the language for these classes, I think it would make them bold in asking the Lord to provide for multisensory Bible teaching.

“Right now, the youngest children attend church, but they stop coming as they grow older – much like in the USA. I have found that this way of teaching draws the older children, too. It could make a huge difference in leadership development in the churches of Mexico.

“So, though I’ve never asked this of God before, I’m asking for the gift of Spanish for the times when I am teaching and communicating with these women. Would you please pray this for me, too?

“Also, we are going into drug cartel country. The cartels run every town. Please pray for our safety, too!”
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Father, thank You for Sheri’s faith that challenges me to have more faith. Thank You that I know You can do exceedingly, abundantly beyond.

Friends, will you join me in praying for Sheri and believing God for miracles?

For more info about Sheri and her Faithwind 4 Kids ministry click here.

Sheri will teach the workshop, “Writing to a Child’s Heart,” at the May 15-18 Colorado Christian Writers Conference. You’ll learn the basics of writing for children and preteens, how to determine your audience’s age, and how to develop characters and plots, as time allows.