A couple weeks ago I was sitting outside of our house with my team. Outside the gate, were multiple eyes watching in on us “mazungos”, this was not uncommon. It was windy that day and many of our mangos had fallen to the ground. I got up and picked up some mangos and threw them over the gate until each kid had their own mango.
The following evening I was sitting outside by myself, which is a rare opportunity when you’re living with 16 other people. My alone time lasted about five minutes before the same children showed up to the gate again. They called me over and asked if they could sing me a Christmas song, Feliz Navidad, which I would soon discover is one of two songs they know and will sing it ALL THE TIME! Once they finished Feliz Navidad for the seventh time, I asked them what they liked most about Christmas, expecting the normal response from a child: gifts, food, candy. But what I heard was: the birth of Jesus, celebrating with my family, giving thanks to God for all we have, Jesus being born so he could die on the cross for our sins. I was blown away with their genuine answers and understanding of what Christmas is really about. These children made me realize that Christmas isn’t making a Christmas tree from our laundry, hanging up lights, putting up our socks for stockings, or even having small gifts to give one another. The true reason for the season is the birth of our savior!
My favorite part of every day became 17:00 hours, because that’s when the kids would be finished with summer classes (December is summer vacation in Africa) and would show up at the gate asking for “Auntie Shelby”. We would talk about America, look at pictures of snow, watch videos from the African safari, took turns teaching each other new games from African and America, and played fútbol. One day, one of the boys came up to me and said, “Auntie Shelby, do you know what I want to be when I grow up?” I said, “What’s that?” He replied, “I want to be someone who helps people guys do.” I taught them a tool we learned at training camp that helps share the gospel. One of the boys already came up with a list of people he could share it with including his mom and pastor.
One of the last days, I came home at 17:30, I was late! The kids were all waiting at the gate as I got out of the taxi. They were up to something as one of them held something behind his back. They walked me inside the gate, sat me down and told me to close my eyes. They placed something in my hands and said “OPEN!”. As I’m tearing off sale flyer wrapping paper, I begin to see sticks and dirt and I realize it’s a picture of a house. The boys said, “It’s the village house where we met Auntie Shelby so you’ll never forget”.
I’m thankful for the short time I had to get to know these children and the childlike faith they have given me. These kids were such a joy and blessing for me this month. I admire the faith these little ones already have and am excited for how God will continue to use and grow each of them.
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3
