One of the slums we visit is called 42 Houses. Part of our ministry is bathing the children in the village 2-3 days a week. There is a water pump that someone pushes, another person has a ladle and dumps water on the kiddos heads, another suds up a kid with a loofa and scrubs their heads with soap. Its so simple…but yet…profound and beautiful. Grubby children all over the place stripping off their clothes with their mischievous grins, some squealing and others giggling, some rolling in the dirt minutes after getting cleaned up, or sharing a community towel to dry off. This is life on the field.
New parents often comment about bathing their child…or how special bath time is…and I’m not sure I really got it till now. Its where all the naughtiness of the day gets washed off, a fresh slate wiped clean, innocence meets holiness, and the children not only smell delicious…but they might even get a bit sleepy…and to a parent the word SLEEP is golden!
I have snapshots in my head of this moment…too precious to take the time to photograph and too personal to do so anyway. As a friend once said…some things are just meant to experience…and this is one of those I would totally have to agree with.
When their are moments were I wonder if what we’re doing matters I think of stuff like this. I think of children clinging to me in my arms because the kind of love they get back home looks anything like this. I think of 6 or 7 year olds holding their baby brother who’s buck naked. And I think of a circle of children sitting around two pots of porridge as cups and bowls clank together with excitement. Thank you God for stolen moments like this…moments engraved in my head and heart…and not something I’ll soon be able to forget.
