If you knew me before the race, you’d know that I wouldn’t really call myself a kid person.
And it’s funny because before the race, 3 different people got the same vision for me:
I see a bunch of kids around you reaching up to you to hold them. You are so full of joy playing with those kids, like a motherly love is radiating out of you onto those kids!
EVERY TIME I heard that vision, I would straight up laugh and think “pretty sure you have the wrong person.”
Before the world race, I was praying for anything but kids ministry because “kids ministry just isn’t my thing.”
Jokes on me because month one, we were placed at a children’s home for kids with special needs….(double whammy right there)
But even then, I managed to make it though that month with minimal child interaction. While all of my teammates were on the ground with the little kids, I was usually in the kitchen hanging out with the caretaker moms. Or I would be goofing off with the older kids that could walk and talk. I grew a ton that month, but I somehow made it through without picking up a single baby….
In Nepal, I did slum ministry once and I only hung out with the the older, cleaner looking kids that day.
In Thailand, we had to babysit for an hour every day and to be honest, I usually slacked hard core during that time. I would sit on my phone while the boys would punch each other to the ground….(it’s all fine as long as nobody’s crying, right?!)
So finally, we get to Cambodia and I’m praying yet again that my ministry is anything but kids. Like I literally prayed the prayer “Lord, let there be older kids at this ministry.” But, Lord had different plans in mind…
During team time the first night, Regan was reading off the list of different ministry options and asked us all to pick one. There were a lot of ministries that would usually stick out to me–working at a coffee shop, mentoring women, etc.
But to my surprise, when she said “outreach to kids in the slums” I felt this instant pull on my heart.
For 5 minutes I debated to myself:
Lord was that really you??
“C’mon you know kids ministry isn’t my thing”
“Are you sure?!?”
And I couldn’t explain it at the moment, but I just felt the small voice of the Holy Spirit in my heart saying “take a step out of your comfort zone, Mikayla.”
So I reluctantly said yes.
And as I walked into that slum day one, something completely shifted in my heart.
Within 10 seconds, this little girl came running up to me and reached her arms up to me. Without a second thought, I scooped her up into my arms and held her tightly. Everything around me seemed to pass away and my only focus in that moment was making her feel loved and cherished. I started running around the street with her to make her laugh and smile. I didn’t even notice that she was half-naked until one of my teammates pointed it out…
Because when you’re truly loving someone, you don’t care about their flaws or insecurities or really anything external.
When you’re truly loving someone, you look at their heart.
When I looked into those beautiful brown eyes, I didn’t even notice that she probably hadn’t had a bath in a few days. It didn’t bother me that she was half naked and could pee on me at any second.
All I wanted was for her to feel seen and loved in that moment.
And that’s all Jesus wants for us! He doesn’t care what we look like on the outside, he cares about our hearts. He embraces us in the midst of our mess with open arms and unconditional love.
And on top of that, he died on the cross to set us free from all shame, sin, and unworthiness.
When Jesus looks at us, he sees a new creation, pure and clean!
Every day that I’ve been at those slums, I’ve just pictured Jesus walking down those streets and staying for awhile to play with the kids. When I’m holding a half-naked, lice-infested child, I just remember that the Father never left me in my filthiness; in fact, he drew closer to me, picked me up, and made me whole again.
The Father raised me up and called me his own, and I want to do the same thing to those kids!
I want them to know the immeasurable value that the Father sees in them. I want these children to feel the love of Jesus every time I pick them up or run down the street with them. I want to lavish them with a God-given love!!
Remember those prophecies I mentioned at the beginning? Yeah, I didn’t remember those until today. God is SO FAITHFUL in his promises and I’m SO EXCITED to see what He continues to do in my life!!! He just continues to blow me out of the water.
“Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” [Luke 18:16-17]
