“Ooooo, mango tree!” …… “Ooooo, mango tree!”
“I sit under the mango tree…” …… “I sit under the mango tree…”
“Oooooo, mango tree!!”
There's nothing like old childhood Vacation Bible School songs, church songs, and school songs coming back to you like a flood, and learning a few new ones while you're at it. If you haven't guessed it, “O Mango Tree,” is a song that I've sang with my team numerous times, with hundreds of African children, over the course of this month. And I have absolutely loved it!
This month, Team Wrecked With Love visited probably over ten different schools in the area, putting on a “program” of sorts at each one. Most schools we visited were primary schools, with the children between three and fourteen, but we visited a few secondary schools as well, which were high school age kids. Working at these schools was such a blessing, and we had a blast doing it.
At the beginning of the month we wracked our brains for every possible children's song we could remember. “Father Abraham” was a big hit, followed by “Our God is So Big,” “Yes Lord,” “O Lei Lei,” and of course, “The Hokey Pokey,” because what child wouldn't want to learn that song?? It took a few go rounds, but we began to build up our song list as we went, and brought some fun stuff to the table.
Along with songs, we would play games with the older kids and the younger kids, which meant anything from Relays, Freeze Tag, Duck Duck Goose, Cat and Mouse, Over Under, Simon Says, to exercises. We did it all, but you never really realize how hard some of those games are to explain until you try to explain it to an interpreter.
After games, we would find a place to sit on the ground, usually under the shade of a large tree, and we would tell them a Bible story. David and Goliath was a top one, Daniel made an appearance, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendigo did as well, and even the Good Samaritan. We took to acting out these Bible stories, or even using some of the older ones to help us act them out.
It was a month of growth for all of us; being able to go to so many different schools, meet so many kids, and step out with a program. Through it, God captured my heart through their smiles, their laughter, and their joy. Looking into their eyes was like looking into the eyes of our Creator. It was so beautiful.
They were always so eager to see us, to hear from us, to just hold our hands. Being able to simply sit with them under the shade of a tree in the heat of the morning, telling them a Bible story and singing songs with them, was beautiful. It brought to my mind the verses again of Jesus telling his disciples how precious these little ones are. How treasured. How He welcomes them and invites them in.
It was a whisper of love to my heart. My Creator holding my hand, telling me how much He loves and delights in His children around the world, and then how much He delights in me. How much He loves and delights in each of us, His children.
How He longs to simply be with us, hold us, play with us. Show us the delights of the world, the joy of His heart through the small and big things. Are we looking for that? Do we slow down and open our hearts to see it? I challenge you to look for His touch today. Look for the ways in which He is whispering His love to your heart. Maybe it's a warm cup of coffee in the early morning. A bird song from the tree outside your window. A green light on the way to work.
But look for Him, beloved. He is there. He calls us to his heart, He is inviting us in with every moment. Don't miss it.
