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In the basement at Goshen Baptist Church in Spotsylvania County, there's a sign-up sheet to volunteer for a Relay for Life later this month.
Kristin Lisk's signature is first on the list.
Upstairs in the church sanctuary, the congregation gathered last night to pray for the 15-year-old's own life.
There's been no sign of Kristin or her 12-year-old sister, Kati, since Thursday.
The Goshen church congregation is hopeful nonetheless. Last night, members filled the sanctuary, which sits off Gordon Road, for a special event planned long before the girls were reported missing. They took that time to pray for Kristin, Kati and their parents, Ronald and Patricia.
They began by gathering in a circle behind the church and releasing about 20 yellow helium-filled balloons, one at a time. Tied to each was a prayer for the girls.
Once inside, the Rev. Clifford Reynolds read from a poem that a member of the congregation wrote: "Fear, dread, pain, hell. We thought life was going so well. Loss, hurt, silence, grief. Please God, help us find some relief."
The scheduled event was a performance by the youth group from Spotsylvania Assembly of God church.
Its message--trust in God, love God, believe in God--hit home for the heavy hearts in the Goshen congregation. Several people left the sanctuary during the presentation, sobbing.
A group of youths from Fairview Baptist Church were there. That's the church Sofia Silva attended.
Sofia, a 16-year-old Spotsylvania girl, was reported missing from her home in September. Her body was discovered in King George County five weeks later.
One girl from Fairview stood up and told the churchgoers that she understood how they felt.
Another Fairview girl left the sanctuary to sit on the front steps of the church. She gasped for air and sobbed in the arms of friends.
"It's happening all over again," she cried.
One woman asked the congregation to remember Kristin and Kati individually to God--and not just pray for "the Lisk girls."
For their friends, that's easy because of the marks each has made.
The honor roll students are popular in school and well-liked, friends say. They fight some, like all sisters do.
Kristin, the older girl, loves animals, especially cats and horses. She has thought about being a veterinarian. She's in the drama club at Spotsylvania High School and participates in just about every youth group activity at church, including a hiking trip to the Blue Ridge mountains last weekend.
"[Kristin's] outgoing, she's very emotional," said 15-year-old Jessica Stapleton. She's been friends with Kristin since first grade. "She never says anything bad about anyone."
Jessica was at the church last night. She also helped in the search on Saturday, climbing through brush along State Route 606 for about four hours.
Kristin doesn't have a boyfriend, but a boy Kristin likes was getting ready to ask her to go steady, Jessica said.
"If someone wanted a perfect student or a perfect kid, [Kristin] would be it," said Stephenie Fellinger, Kristin's English teacher at Spotsylvania High School.
Kati likes to play basketball and swim in the family's backyard pool.
She's not quite old enough to be in the church's youth group. Instead, she's in Girls in Action, a group for younger kids.
"She likes to volunteer to do things like visit nursing homes with GA," her friend Jessica Watson, 11, said last night. "She's very generous."
Kati likes math at Spotsylvania Middle School. She's the Sunday school secretary, which means she's responsible for collecting offerings and taking attendance.
As the teens left the church last night, many hugged and cried.
"I know they're going to come home, I know it," one girl said to her mother. "Maybe they'll be here right with us next Sunday."
