It all started 31 days ago as we worked at the church scrapping mud off of window bars for hours as rock, mud, and dust flew into our face and we were covered from head to toe. Three adorable children sat outside the gate 500 feet away
sitting on the side of the road as they watched us yelling ”muzungo” (white person) and we would respond Jumbo (hello) they would sit there starring at us and laughing as we would turn around to look at them, they would entertain us as we worked by singing traditional songs, and songs taught in school or church. When we would walk toward them they would run away down the road screaming and laughing.
Day two we begin to work and our little friends came back to keep us company. This time we finally got them to come into the gate and sit around and tell us their names. As they giggled, and whispered to each other, and rolled around in the grass they told us their names were Ivy, Haze, and Dillon. Little did we know they would come to visit us every day we were at the church.
Every day we saw them they would run as fast as they can toward us and jump into our arms hugging us, giggling, and being tossed into the air and spun around in circles. These kids really grew on my heart, you could see by looking in their eyes hurt, loneliness, brokenness, children searching for someone to play with and love them. A chance to just be a kid and break away from their small one room house where they are forced to do chores, cook, and wash clothes by hand. A chance to break free from their everyday routine. I could tell by looking at these innocent kids that they had a story to be told.
As we got to know them more we saw how other kids treat them, belittling them, picking on them, and not making them feel good about themselves saying how they don’t know English though they speak great English and making them feel like they aren’t good enough. We got to love on them and speak over them how the lies they believe and are being told isn’t true. They are so special, smart, loved by God, and how incredibly loved by us they were.
These kids were scared to go home, one time haze lost his sandals at the church, we searched every where and couldn’t find them. They were so scared to go home, cried, were worried, and full of anxiety, if they didn’t find those sandals they were going to get beat. They told us how scared they were and how their mother was going to be very angry with them and beat them.
Though these kids went home that night without sandals they came back to us the next day telling us how their night was, how their mother beat them, but they came to us with smiling faces ready to play.
Follow me as tell you how these children changed in one month…
