Ms Kimberley Ritter’s key message to participants of the Follow The Movement (FTM) Show Love Seminar was that despite the challenges the students may have experienced or will in the future they only need a tiny bit of faith to rise above them. Photo: VINO

When keynote speaker at the closing ceremony of Follow the Movement's (FTM) ‘Show Love’ seminar, Ms Kimberley Ritter, told the high school young ladies that dime bags are only for mustard seeds and buttons for clothes purchased, they knew quite well what she was saying to them. Photo: VINO

The young ladies were challenged to remember that they are awesome and that they need hope and faith just the size of a mustard seed to succeed in life. Photo: VINO

In one corner of the room some of the girls were overheard saying in low tones "weed too…you hear what the woman saying? No more weed…the green leaf miss".

Hope the size of a mustard seed

Ms Ritter’s key message was that despite the challenges the students may have experienced or will in the future they only need a tiny bit of faith to rise above them.

Each young lady was handed a dime bag containing one of the world tiniest seeds, the mustard seed, which Ms Ritter used to illustrate her message to them.

"It might have people in here who have been raped, it might have people who have been abused, it might have those people who created those videos, ‎it might have people who would have been taking certain pictures and passing them around and some of you might be lesbians, you are not exempt from success.”

She challenged the young ladies to remember that they are awesome, that they need hope and faith just the size of a mustard seed.

According to Ms Ritter, while preparing for the seminar several persons were contacted for ideas on what she should speak to the young ladies about and among them were the topics of drugs, Facebook and lesbianism.

Adults were children too

This she told the young ladies about but said, "The thing that amazes me about adults is that they forget that they were children too." This attracted the loudest round of applause for the closing ceremony.

The keynote speaker further said, "The other thing that amazes me too about adults is that they act like the things you are doing is so much different from what they were doing when they were children." She, however, did not fail to acknowledge that today technology has advanced, allowing persons to do certain things at a much faster pace.

Ms Ritter said she is an adult and so were others who addressed them, "But I feel if you all know how special you are certain things you just wouldn't do‎."

She let them know also that because they were created in the image of God and by God they too should be creating things. "Now that you know that you are unique and special, there are going to be some people around you that are going to show you something different ... so when I tell you now there are people around you, the people who are supposed to be influential in your lives are going to be some of the same ones who are going to put you in an uncomfortable place but I am here to tell you nobody can stop your shine.

‘You are your own brand’

“You have to first think that you are authentic, you got your finger print and you have your own brand,” she said.

“Young ladies, when somebody tells you something that breaks you down to your core that makes you feel bad or when you decide to love somebody and they don’t return that love to you and it breaks you down to your core… all you need is hope the size of that mustard seed, because you got to keep going,” she said, having given the young women a dime package that contained mustard seeds.

Ms Ritter additionally challenged the young ladies to take everything that would have happened to them as preparation for the future.

“Everything that happens in your life is preparation for later. I don’t care who you are, I don’t care where you’ve been, I don’t care what you’ve done, I don’t care what has happened to you – you are created for something awesome.”