So what have we been doing?!
This past week we have been leading a sports ministry. We taught games to and played alongside schoolchildren. We then related the game to the gospel and invited the kids to ask us any questions that were on their hearts. I am honestly one of the least athletic people on Earth. My parents love to tell the story of me at five years old, refusing to play on the soccer team that they were both coaching because, “Running makes you sweat!” I did not think I had anything to offer sports ministry, but boy, was I wrong!
Yes, I wasn’t the teacher playing soccer or rugby, but kids of all ages love schoolyard games and I am a boss at schoolyard games. Sharks and Minnows, Big Daddy, Human Knot, Ninja Tag, Duck Duck Goose, we’ve played them all! The best part is that once you play alongside with the kids, they will listen intently to your ending devotion in order to know more about God. They see you as a friend and care about what you have to say.
The kids are amazing and they are truly searching after God. They have asked so many questions about heaven, God’s existence, Jesus, forgiveness, sin, etc. Some of them are leading pretty difficult lives and need Jesus to help in the pain.
One boy in the fifth grade who had asked me many questions about the existence of God, I later found out had been a child soldier. He was leading a regiment in the army, with younger boys and older men following him. He escaped one year ago with his little brother and older brother to live in South Africa and go to school. They live in a shack, where the 12th grader takes care of the two younger boys. Their mother sends them money to go to school, but cannot get out of East Africa to see them or help take care of them. He is 13 years old.
Another little boy, wets his pants every single day. This leads to isolation at school, and as he told me, suicidal thoughts. It is a well-known fact that he is physically abused at home, but in South Africa, it takes years to get a child out of a bad home. He meets with a social worker and child psychologist every week, but still goes home to his father every night. He is 11 years old.
There is a great deal of pain in the lives of the children at the school, but they know joy too. They are the most affectionate and loving children I have ever met. They chant my name, run to give me hugs, beg to braid my hair. They are stronger than many adults that I have met and it has been a blessing to get to know them, play with them and talk to them about Jesus.
