Sometimes I have a hard
time fitting in… the world can be a tough place you know. Afterall, we aren’t of this world, we belong
to another… we are born from on high, and are merely passing through,
sojourners in a foreign land. And one day we’ll all be going home…
But there is one place that comes awfully
close here on earth. A place where I do feel like I
fit in… and hopefully that’s a good thing.
A place where confusion, doubt, fear, and worries give way to a place
of peace… where I never cease to find a little slice of heaven here on earth.
It wasn’t on the intinerary
for this month’s ministry, wasn’t in the preaching, or the 4 and 5 hour church
services, nor was it in the door to door evangelism, and neither was it in the
abnormal amounts of food we stuffed ourselves with, or the world’s greatest
pineapple (no kidding… from Rwanda, who knew?)… it came in one of those most
unexpected ways. I love that God loves
giving surprises!!
I believe it was the
first day, we were sitting outside under this amazing tree, a tree that always
seemed to bless the relationships and many conversations that took place
beneath it.
So we’re sitting out
there, its free time, we can use this however we choose. And outside the gate I hear a wonderful
melody, the sound of kids playing… we look over, not only are they playing, but
several of them peaking their heads through bushes to take a look at us, like
we are in some sort of exhibit… none of them sure of us, all of them buzzing with interest.
I remember thinking to
myself, “I have a choice… I can sit here in my bubble of comfort and
predictability … or I could venture beyond the gate and see what happens.�
Honestly, I wasn’t all
that excited, and maybe wouldn’t have even gone if it weren’t for my teammate
Ashley… I didn’t think anyone loved children more than myself until meeting her. She’s definitely become my “play-with-kidsâ€� buddy…
So we both head out and
end up having the most awesome time… connecting first with a family
directly across the street. Initially all
the kids kept their
distance… but you could see the honest desire and curiosity… it was funny, they
would move a few steps, then stop, then a couple more…(that is, the older
ones).. then the youngest, Cedrick, comes flying by them… he’s too innocent to
know better… like leading a charge in battle, the other ones then found their freedom
to approach… can’t let the little bro show ‘em up.
It took no time at all
and they were in our arms, on our laps, on our heads, being dragged along in
old empty water containers, sharing bracelets, peeing all over us- no joke..
they found some sick humor in peeing and farting on us.. (so I guess the two
universal languages around the world are love and body functions that make noise).
And so began our
relationship, (pictured below…from left to right), with the Joy-filled Maxim, the Humble Cedrick, the Beautiful Sabri, and the Loving
Fabreeze. And so
also began the best part of the month, and the strongest memories I have of
Rwanda.
After some time they
grabbed our hands and dragged us to their home… we had earned their trust and
what they would call, their “welcome.�
We entered through a wall of strange plants into their dirt yard, next
to their house, also made of sticks and patches of dirt. Momma was in the yard crushing up some type
of plant… she would do that for a couple hours, while she wasn’t spending the
other hours peeling beans or making crafts.
Other relatives came out, all of them so welcoming to us, full of smiles
for us.
From then on we
continued to hang out with them when we could.
As much as we were falling in love with them… they were also falling for
us. Soon we could not keep them
away. It was not an uncommon scene to
see them by our gate, peeking in, or even crawling through the fence, traveling on
forbidden territory, risking punishment, just to be near us. I’d see them out at the gate, then I’d go
inside, come out 30 min later and they were all still sitting there! What perseverance!?
Although we felt closest
to these four (God definitely gave us hearts for them), we couldn’t help but
also reach out to the rest of the kids.
For we were swarmed with kids.
All it takes is for one to yell out, “ma-zoon-goo!� (“white man�) when
you are walking by, and like nothing you’ve ever seen, out of every door and
window and bush and tree come little African kids running up to you!
I’ll admit, I lost a
little bit of control in most of these gatherings… I mean im surrounded by 25
kids. Out came all manner of immaturity…
the crowd favorite was the fish face…which was funny, cause obviously I
couldn’t remember all these kids… and I’d be walking around some other time and
a kid would come up to me trying to imitate the fish face doing it all
backward... but it was their way of communicating, of saying hello, saying i recognize you. Later came a couple chants and
dances that I think the Holy Spirit just gave us all in the moment.
Okay, speaking of
moments… one of the coolest moments of my life happened. So we had just traveled back from some walk…
along the way amassing a crowd of children… with each new kid in the pack, the
energy increased, and more came running.
The intrigue and joy of hanging with the white people took them far from
their homes and well past curfew (dark).
Well we get to our gate and its time to go… I think it was just Ashley
and myself at this point… energy was just too high to call it a night… and so,
with about 25 kids around us I break out into a dance… squat my legs, do a
chicken wing something with my arms, and a little rhythmic chant came out of my
mouth… and no joke, without one beat getting skipped, and in complete, perfect
unison, every kid had their knees bent and arms out, with smiles stretching
beyond their ears, all joining in together in what felt like was a huge celebration! Of what? I am not sure… perhaps of life, or of fellowship, or maybe it was a celebration of God. There was a corporate
joy that was more than contagious!! My
goodness! I still can’t get over the
strangeness of the event, their unison, their timing, their laughter and joy!… And I praise God for it!
So yeah, heaven may be far off in the distance… beyond that ole’ river… but then again… it just might be closer than we think!
“Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of Heaven.” matthew 19:14
