My teammates and I sat in the window seats facing the city of Kampong Cham.
AHHHH AIR CONDITIONING.
A couple of teammates and myself decided to make a quick trip to the gas station, just a short bicycle ride away. We made the unanimous decision to enjoy our treats in the cool air. As we sat down munching on our snacks, some children came to meet us on the other side of the window. They pointed to their mouths, to our food, and back to their mouths. Their hair was messy and their clothes ripped and dirty. Heartbreaking. Another girl had just collected money from a customer that was pumping gas. I saw the wad of cash as she shoved the change she had just received into the plastic baggy.
I recognized their faces. They are children from one of the slums that my team has visited, the same village as Timothy, the boy that I spoke of from my previous post.
This was their job. Their parents sure do know how to best exploit their children, most likely because they had been forced to do the same thing themselves. As my teammates and I politely smiled and shook our heads I felt disappointed. ‘That’s not showing them any love,’ I thought to myself. I second-guessed my decision to not give them even the smallest bill I had. Yeah, their parents are reaping the benefit of the majority of the money they pull in, but maybe this would help make a beating less severe if they hadn’t earned enough to please their parents. It still didn’t feel right though.
‘How can I best love these children right now?’
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The Bible doesn’t say “The greatest commandment is financial generosity to the needy.”
God commands us to love.
I stepped outside and greeted them with a smile and “hello!” while they returned the greeting with sad faces and open hands begging for some money to add to their growing collection. “Bung Snay?” I asked to see if they really were from the slums that we had visited. They nodded. Sure enough, we loved on these children or their siblings just a few days before.
As they continued asking for money, I held out my hands to play a sort of patty-cake game. They shook their heads and I felt a little discouraged.
'What am I doing? They don’t care to play with me. All they want and need is my money.'
I couldn’t give up on these children. I mean, they ARE children. They don’t want to be doing this dirty work to support their families. Children want to have fun and laugh before they come to grasp the realities of this broken world. Sadly, these children are already familiar with the brokenness of our world. They see it every day. They live it every day.
I held up my hands again and motioned what I was trying to do. The younger girl (about seven years old) gave in. She held up her hands and laughed as I taught her and she messed up. We repeated the pattern until she had it down.
She was all smiles now.
This was just minutes after she put on the saddened face that she knew would make money.
I stepped over to the girl who was a little bit older. A little bit more guarded. I held up my hands and she said something that I couldn’t understand, but probably meant, “Please give me some change. I am so hungry. I need to buy food.” As she finished the recording that she had been playing all day, she grinned and held up her hands to learn. We continued this for a few minutes. As I taught the littlest boy (probably five years old), the oldest girl held his hands to help guide him.
Laughter has never sounded so sweet.
It was time for us to go so I grabbed my bag from inside and we all hopped on our bikes to head home. The kids turned on their game faces and began begging again. We grinned and shook our heads. I was okay with it this time though. As we got to the end of the lot I turned to look at the kids again, expecting them to have already run up to another car asking for money.
They continued giggling and playing.
I smiled and peddled while the squeaky bicycle carried me home.
Thank you, Father, for bringing your kingdom to the parking lot of a gas station tonight. Help these children know that they are loved and valued by the God who created everything. I pray for their safety as they are sent to work each day. Show them that you have created them to be in Your image! You are perfect. Thank you for what you are doing in their hearts. Thank you for choosing me to send your love to these precious children. Amen.
