This past month I have been working in the beautiful country of Swaziland at an orphanage called El Shaddai. El Shaddai is located on top of a mountain, surrounded by beautiful landscape, surreal sunrises and sunsets and the sound of laughter 24/7. We have been working with 60 kids here, tending to the garden, playing with the babies, teaching at the preschool and doing whatever other manual labor that they needed.
The first day we arrived at El Shaddai at 8pm after 12 hours of overnight plane travel and another 7 hours of driving from Johannesburg to Swaziland. To say the least, it was a long travel day. My squad arrived dark with cars full of baggage, groceries and 42 people. As soon as we arrived we were surrounded by kids looking to help us with our bags and food. Immediately these kids start grabbing our hands, asking us for our names and helping where they can. There was this immediate connection that I couldn't explain. The kids were so willing to show their hearts, to love on us and help where they could.
One of the coolest ministries that we do at El Shaddai is buddy time. Each racer is assigned a buddy that we get to hang out with everyday, tutor and just love on. On our first day of ministry we had an opportunity to hang out with the kids, to see who we connected with and just kind of see what ministry was going to be like. After helping out a variety of girls, going around chatting with them, I met this girl named Bongiwe. As she was working on homework, we started chatting and the only word that could describe her was SASSY. She was messing around, trying to get a reaction out of me and every sass that she gave me, I handed it right back! After I spent about 20 minutes with her, I started wondering if there was that "connection", if this is the girl that God had chosen for me that month?
I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with different kids and at the end of the hang out time, the racers started to get ready to go to dinner. As we said goodbye to all the kids, Bongiwe also known as Bonni, came to give me a hug and she never let go. We started to dance, we started to sing, laugh and just had a good time. Though its my job to show her that she is loved, she showed me that I was loved. She gave me her heart so freely before I even asked for it, even before I "earned it".
The love that Bonni showed me that day and ever day since reminds me of the hunger we should have for God. So vulnerable, so honest and with so much desire for love that we sprint towards God every single day. Bonni's instant love for me demonstrated the love that I need to have for other people. People don't need to "earn" my love, people don't need to "earn" my trust. Just as God gives his love freely to me each and everyday, I need to be giving my full love to the people I encounter each and everyday. Whether it is the clerk at the grocery store to a close friend, the love that we are given is not meant to be contained or suppressed rather we are to let it flow freely just as God does for us.
