We’ve been spending our month here in San Felix, Panama with a ministry called ICJesus with our hosts who have been so incredibly fabulous! ICJesus does such a variety of different projects here, and I have been blessed in being able to get a taste of some of them.
We’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of projects, a lot of which are focused on kids’ ministry. It has been everything from helping with Sunday school, to kids’ clubs, to doing whatever is needed at a children’s home.
In Matthew 18:3, Jesus tells us that the only way to enter the Kingdom is to become like a child.
It was in watching how these kids interacted with us strangers and each other, that God showed me a bit more what this is like.
1) Acceptance
At church this Sunday I met a Ngobe girl who inspired me. She came right up to us new gringos, started to give us all hugs and sat herself right in between two of us. She poured out her love. She didn’t care if we looked different or if she had never met us before, but rather she saw new people to love. I’ve found that kids don’t exhibit judgement as much as adults do. Some kids are unsure of new people but once they get to know you a bit they don’t seem to care or notice the differences. In our team Bible study we recently read Galatians 3, where it talks about how we’re all equal in the eyes of God. He doesn’t see the differences that give one person a higher status over another, so much so that he doesn’t even differentiate between genders!
How would the way we act to those different from us change if we embraced diversity as a gift?
2) Thirst for God
We’ve had the opportunity to do ministry in numerous places around the Comarca here in the San Felix area, and every time I’m amazed at how eager the kids are to learn about God. They take in all they can get and want more. They’re thankful for all that they receive of him, but they are never satisfied and always want more.
What if we sought God with even a fraction of the relentlessness with which he pursues us?
3) Determination
Many of the Ngobe people live in the mountains and walk everywhere. On our first day of ministry, here in Panama, we hiked up a mountain to visit a local pastor who had been injured. Our guide was a 67 year old Panamanian who whooped our butts to say the least. He told us that the hike would be about 10 minutes…it took us over an hour. Our host Danny told us that our guide walks for something like 5 or 6 hours to go to church. When asked where they live, kids often say that they live close, but when asked to point to their home they say it’s over that other (giant) mountain. It’s common for them to walk up and down these mountains weighted down with 10 pounds of rice or carrying younger siblings. None of these obstacles deter them from getting where they want to go. We’re bushed after doing it once, but they do it many times a day and don’t even appear winded. I think that we need to have vision and determination like this in our lives.
God has specific callings for each of us, what if we trekked towards them with this same determination?
4) Energy and passion
Children are full of life! The world is theirs to discover with wonders to behold just around the corner. Their imaginations are at full power which allows for creativity to blossom. They play hard, cry hard, crash hard, etc… For a child moderation is rarely even considered.
What if we started to live life with passion in all that we do?
What are some lessons that you’ve learned from kids? How could you apply them to how you live your life?
