It was another beautiful day in Oceanview in the Western Cape of South Africa. It was nearing the end of sports ministry camp and my little girls thought it would be fun to play salon with my hair. As I tried to enjoy getting my hair yanked, pulled and twisted into different shapes, I heard a rambling off of curse words. I turned my head to see which teenager or young adult I was to scold for using such words around the little kids instead I came face to face with a young, sweet looking girl! I took the little girl aside and told her those weren’t really nice words to use and why. I asked her for her name and where she learned such words. Nikki said from her grandma. I told her although her grandma uses those words she doesn’t have to. My attention was quickly needed somewhere so I left Nikki with some more encouraging words and a big hug.
Twenty minutes later, I felt a tug on my jacket. It was Nikki. She said “I like you. Can you walk with me?” Without hesitation I took her hand. I found out Nikki was only 5 years old. As walked and she told continued to share more about herself, she stopped abruptly and said, “This is where my daddy died.” She went on to relate the story of how he was shot and killed. There has been a lot of gang related violence in Oceanview and many of the kids I worked with came from broken homes. I was quite aware of this but it all became very real with Nikki. At such a young age she’s had to deal with a lot which forced her to mature quickly. The sports ministry camp were held was on outlet for the kids to come and have fun but they still have to return to their reality. I had the chance to share some truth with Nikki about who she is. I told her she is a precious princess because her Daddy in Heaven is a King. I told her she can pray to Jesus when she’s afraid and has bad dreams. I prayed over her, hugged her and didn’t want to let her go, ever. It was such a divine moment.
For a week I could not get Nikki out of my mind. My heart was so filled with love for this precious little girl. She wasn’t my child but I felt so connected with her in many ways. Everyday I would wake up with anticipation hoping it would be the day she came to camp. Daily the Lord had me praying for her and I continued to hope I would see her again.
A week later, few days before camp was over. I walked over to the field and was embraced with a giant hug from guess who? Nikki! She expressed how much she had missed me and that she's been trying not to curse. Nikki said she still had bad dreams but remembered to call on Jesus as I told her and felt safe. She also said she’s been praying for me! A five-year old praying for me. I couldn’t contain myself, the tears began to stream down my face. My heart leaped for joy to know that she was experiencing the embrace of her heavenly Father. She then asked if I could pray with her before we played. I spent the next few hours with my little angel and while on the slide she said I had to call her Princess Nikki because her Father is a King (wait – I told her that! lol) and here was a conversation that I will never forget.
Princess Nikki said, “You’re like my boyfriend.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“Because you love me!”
“Awww, I do love you very much. But I’m not your boyfriend. Do you know who can be you boyfriend and loves you even more?”
“Justin Beiber?!”
“No, silly. Jesus! He can be your friend, protector, and boyfriend if you want.”
“I would like that. So when a boy tries to touch me I’ll just say huh uh Jesus is my boyfriend!”
The following day it rained so camp was canceled. And just like that I never saw Princess Nikki again. It has been almost 2 weeks and this precious little angel is still on my heart. There have been many times on the race I feel like I’m not making an impact especially when working with children. I quickly realize, children are like sponges, they soak up everything we say and watch everything we do. Everything we do and say matters! This is a glimpse the Lord allowed me to witness of the impact I have made. It’s so important to live in faithfulness to him, knowing that the significance of our lives or actions will extend beyond our lifetime. The rewards will outweigh any sacrifice that we may have made. In one of my favorite movies ‘Furious Love,’ Greg Boyd remarks, “Christians are known for a lot of things. . . but not their outrageous love.” He challenges the church at large, stating that real love ministers to real needs, so we need to let our lives be the message and simply get started loving people. I want to be remembered a someone who loved well and gave my all! Just as God gave His all and sent Jesus to die for our sins and redeem us back to him all because of His outrageous love for us, let us began to L O V E. F U R I O U S L Y! Let’s love till it hurts!
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
My prayer is that the Lord continues to pursue the hearts of those little kids I had the opportunity to invest in at Kingdom Sports in Oceanview!
To view pictures from my time in South Africa click here.
With Love,
Up Next: What’s Next for Me!?
