More than 50 middle-school aged girls flocked to the grounds of the Kaua‘i Christian Fellowship this past weekend to attend a BABE seminar led by former model Andrea Stephens. The BABE — beautiful, accepted, blessed and eternally significant — seminar
More than 50 middle-school aged girls flocked to the grounds of the Kaua‘i Christian Fellowship this past weekend to attend a BABE seminar led by former model Andrea Stephens.
The BABE — beautiful, accepted, blessed and eternally significant — seminar actually lasted longer than expected with the girls enjoying the afternoon.
Seminar coordinator for KCF Glendy Gore said the seminar was a complete success.
“Two vans from the North Shore came. They got along so well with the South Shore girls, and seven girls were ‘saved,’” she said.
Gore said a group from the North Shore ordered copies of Stephen’s book “Boyland,” a book about understanding boys, to teach in their youth group meetings.
Twelve-year-old Liana Beyer led the opening prayer for the seminar.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “She taught us we’re all BABEs and how to accept who we are. God loves us for who we are and ‘He’ made us who he wanted us to be. We’re all perfect in his eyes.”
Fourteen-year-old Jessica Crane’s favorite part of the seminar was Stephen’s motivational talk.
“It was motivational for all of us girls, when she talked about what a BABE stood for,” Crane said.
Crane said this seminar was different from any of the other youth group events or Bible studies she has attended.
“It was different because it was all of us girls and we could open up to her. I was interested in what she had to say,” Crane said.
Eleven-year-old Hunter Rogers said she attended the seminar because she thought it would be a good opportunity to learn a little more about her religion and what Stephens was all about.
“I liked the part when she said how you don’t have to meet the beauty standards that the economy puts on us and you don’t have to be a certain way to be beautiful,” Rogers said.
Rogers acquired two of Stephens’ books last weekend: “Boyland” and “Girl, You are a BABE.”
Rogers said she also liked the creative mix the girls from different churches were able to provide.
“It created not only knowledge from what our church teaches, but also what the other churches taught,” she said.
Talks are also underway between Stephens and youth group leaders for several of the churches to host another seminar as a joint unit so not one church has to foot the bill. There is no word yet on when that will be.
For more information on Stephens, visit her Web site at andreastephens.com.
• Lanaly Cabalo, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
