These past two months, I’ve been involved in a lot of kids ministry. More in Botswana than I have in the entire Race. Back home, I’m a nanny and I babysit quite often, so I thought, “Oh kids ministry? It’ll be a breeze.”
Boy was I wrong.
Nannying is one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had. I get to love on kids, teach them things, and immediately have their respect. Transitioning that to the race however, you aren’t just in charge of 1 or 2 kids, but anywhere from 20 to 200. All at once. All different ages.
Definitely a different pace than I’m used to. But wow am I so thankful for the change. Last month in Zambia, I walked the dirt streets to invite children to come play and spend the afternoon with us. Kids were cautious at first, curious as to my pale skin and confused as to what I was doing in their village. But none the less, they laughed, grabbed a limb, and followed along. I say limb, because I had kids hanging from every part of me- arms, hands, fingers, my back, and sometimes even just holding my shirt. By the end of the 20 minute walk, I had a small army around me. My guess is anywhere from 50-75 kids, and that was just from my walk. My other teammates had done the same thing, and in total we ended up with over 200 kids.
200 enthusiastic, excited and hyper kids, ages 3-12. What a rambunctious group. At one point, I had half of them, about 100 kids, playing red light green light. I was privileged to be the caller, to be on the other end of the finish line. To be able to watch their faces as they were tricked into running at a red light and fall into a laughing fit. At the end of each round, they would all gather around me, tackle me and celebrate their victory. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so appreciated by children.
That was just one day. But in Zambia that happened quite a few times. Wherever we went, kids were excited to come and play. What a joy it is to be the adult to play with the kid as a kid, to remind them that it’s great to be young. I have that same privilege in Botswana.
Every afternoon, Monday-Thursday, we have kids ministry. Less drastic in number, but just as high in energy. We usually have about 50 kids show up, anyone from 3 year old Princess to the high schoolers that show up after school. The good majority though, are 8-12. They love to play soccer, jump rope and limbo. Dennis, though, has especially captured my heart.
Dennis is 5 years old, and at first was a little cautious of me. He told me his name was Travisto, which I believed for a solid week. He likes to think he’s fast enough to give me a high five, but I always move my hands faster, which only makes him more excited. By the 4th or 5th time, high fives turn into tickles. His smile is just as big as his eyes, which get pretty big when he’s being tickled. He loves to laugh and be loved, as all 5 year olds should.
I think what I love most about being around kids, is the constant realization that Jesus favors kids more than anyone. He says “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me” and “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:5 & 19:14). We’re also called to have a childlike faith, to have an unending love for Jesus like Dennis does for me. And what’s even cooler, is that yes, I can love Dennis to the best of my ability. But eventually, I’m going to do something wrong. I’m going to let him down. But Jesus never will. He’ll always be a solid rock, a good father, a light in the dark. That love, is the kind of love I get to pass on. Suddenly the easy breezy life doesn’t sound so appealing.
