I realized years ago that I’m good with kids.
As soon as I turned 12, I was signed up for the babysitting course that was offered at the community centre in a nearby city.
I began picking up babysitting jobs for families we knew in town and at church.
I loved it, and I was often recommended by satisfied parents for other babysitting jobs.
When I entered high school and began going to youth group, I was signed up to lead at every VBS that was put on.
I went through training to be a counsellor at the camp I had been going to every summer since I was 7.
Working with kids was just a natural thing for me, but after a while it became just a thing to do and a way to make money.
To be honest, it became tiresome and not something I looked forward to at all.
2 years ago, I went on a 2-week missions trip to India.
We did several different ministries while there, including painting at an orphanage for girls aged 5-18.
We would paint during the day, and when the girls came skipping up the lane from school at the end of the day we would spend a couple hours playing games with them in the yard.
I really, really enjoyed this, I truly did.
But it wasn’t sparking any passion in me – at the end of the day I would feel tired and ready to be done.
When I signed up for the World Race, I figured at some point during the 11 months I would end up working with kids.
I was excited for it, but also a little bit apprehensive.
Would I find true joy in serving them, or would I just end up exhausted and “over it”?
This month in Ukraine, we are spending the majority of our ministry time working with/playing with/loving on babies and kids.
And you know what?
It is my passion.
At the end of each day, I am sad to leave the kids that have stolen my heart.
I don’t feel exhausted or drained – I feel alive and filled with energy.
The funny thing is, I didn’t really ever admit my fear of not having enough to give the kids we would be serving (until now…).
Which is such a strong confirmation to me that the Lord knows my heart so much better than even I know it.
This month, we’re spending our mornings holding abandoned babies at a hospital and I feel as if I’m overflowing with love for those sweet little ones.
Every Thursday, we go to an orphanage that has newborn babies and children up to the age of 4.
Every Saturday, we go to another orphanage for children aged 11 to 19 – many of these kids have mental or physical disabilities and are absolutely desperate for love.
Without me even asking for it, God has filled me with overflowing love and joy and energy so that I can fully love these babies and kids well.
I have opened my heart to each of them in a way I never knew I could and never had the capacity to do in the past.
And best of all, I’m learning that God works in me for things that I don’t even have to ask for, in ways that I didn’t even realize I desired to grow in.
He knows me, His child, better than I know myself.
What more could I ever ask for?
