One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left. –Matthew 19:13-15
Often times when we work with children, this is the verse that comes to mind. Jesus loved children. And I love what my teammate Steve had to say earlier this week about kids. He said that he loves to be around kids because when he looks at them, he sees the face of God. Their innocence and joy remind him of how God intended for us to be. They’re so pure and full of life. As Jesus said, the Kingdom belongs to those of us who are like them in these ways.
This past week has been full of wonderful experiences, but for now, there is one place that has been placed on my heart to share with the world – or at least those of you who are following my world. Looking back at that story of Jesus blessing the children, I get to thinking…what about the children that don’t have parents? The ones that have been abandoned. And of those children, what about the ones that don’t know how to take themselves to Jesus to be blessed?
In the past week, we have visited two different orphanages. One, called Mother and Child Orphanage, is for little youngsters under the age of 7 that were full of fire and energy! The other, however, is my focus today. An orphanage in Gomotartsi (about twenty minutes away) for children/people with disabilities. I wish that I could have carried each of you along with me during our two trips there, because I’m kind of at a loss for words as to how to explain. The children there have mild to very severe disabilities. While some were fairly interactive and energetic, others were confined to wheelchairs and many had a hard time connecting with us. Pictures and videos were not allowed – the result of a situation years back when someone took footage of the conditions of the orphanage and let them go viral, causing an uproar in Europe. The good thing was that as a result of the publicity, money was poured into the facility to improve living conditions for the children there. Still, it was incredibly difficult to see the children so dirty, so abandoned, and so helpless. So I had some options of what I could do. I could shut off and get angry at the world, not understanding how this could be the life these children were given by fate. Or…I could choose to put on my “God goggles” and see these children the way that God sees them. Precious. Beautiful. Beloved. And in need of some joy.
And so my teammates and I danced around to worship songs we didn’t even understand (Bulgarian is not so easy to pick up), we put on puppet shows about the good Samaritan and Daniel and the lion’s den. We walked around with a bubble machine and hand stamps with paint. We played with a parachute and tossed balls back and forth. And in my favorite moments: I twirled round and round with one of the girls until I was about to fall over. I did a hand clap game with a guy confined to a wheelchair that by the end of the day may have considered me his new girlfriend (sorry Nathan). I just stood next to another kid in a wheelchair that didn’t speak or make eye contact, but seemed to find so much peace in just holding my hand. And then there was Bobby, a little girl who I assumed was around 2 years old and had a bad cleft palate. She was such a sweetie, and would just cling her arms around your neck and wrap her legs around your body and wouldn’t let go of the little Lambchop puppet we had brought along. It was as I was rocking her back and forth that Sarah came up to me and said, “She’s 23 you know.” Talk about stopping your world. She and I were the same age. How do you even attempt to wrap your mind around that? I’m not sure.
What I do know is that I’m sure that we were meant to bring love and joy to the orphanage in those two visits. After the first visit, a man who works there told his wife who told her friend who just happens to be one of the guys that has opened up his apartment to us this month that a group of Americans had come to the orphanage and that he didn’t know what it was, but that something had changed. That there was so much joy that was brought to everyone there. I smiled when I heard this, because of course I know what it was – it was God. It was Jesus showing up to bless His children. And it wasn't just the orphans that He blessed, because He taught me so much about what true love looks like and how to live with joy no matter the situation.
Before we left for the last time, some of us had the opportunity to go into the building to visit with the children that were confined to their beds because their physical conditions were so bad. Pastor Yavor brought in his guitar, and as he played worship songs, we just walked around to the beds and held hands, offered smiles, and rubbed arms and backs. I can’t say that I fully understand why these children are living as they are, but in that moment, I was able to look into the eyes of the least of these, and I was able to give them blessings from Jesus. Because something inside of me was bursting to tell them who God said that they were and the promises that He had in store for them. And so as I sat down on their beds, I looked into their eyes, and I just knew, this child will be one that dances in the streets with Jesus. And this one, this will be the child that is beating a drum in celebration. And this one, he will be singing praises. And this one will just be happy. And so I made sure and told them those things. Because the Kingdom belongs to children such as these. And no matter what their lives may be now, I can say with confidence that God is desperately waiting to have His children dancing, singing, and playing in the streets of Heaven. And so I look forward to those days with them and I smile. And until that day comes, I can only hope that God spoke love and joy to them through me and my team. I can only hope that when these children couldn’t make their own way to Jesus, we brought Him to them so that they could be blessed.
And His name will be the hope of all the world. –Matthew 12:21
