HOPE
“How God? HOW?� “How can they
smile when they live like this; Poverty, hunger, sickness,
abandonment?â€� – Noe
“Because it matters not more.â€� –
God
“Not more than what?â€� – Noe
“Not more than hope. Hope in
life, in joy, in smiles, in friendship, in Me. Hope matters more.�
– God
I saw hope in Africa. I saw people
shine hope. Smiling beyond their circumstance, and smiling knowing
there’s something more. More that drives their joy. Smiles of Hope.
LOVE
Mostly nameless they were, but it
didn’t matter. Traveling through East Africa, I would look at the
child, look at the face, and lock eyes with beauty, lock eyes with
LOVE. As I walked by on the street, as I sat in a Matatu taxi, as I
ate dinner at a restaurant, as I spoke to a crowd…HER EYES…HIS
SMILE…
I saw LOVE. They deserve it, they
were created to receive it, and they gave it out. Their smile, their
eyes, their face, it shined…LOVE.
I felt loved by them. Their LOVE
jumped out of their faces, dancing towards me from across the road,
across the room, from one face of love to another. I saw LOVE in
Africa.
The eyes, bright as Christmas
lights, the smile, warm as a comfortable blanket.
I saw Jesus in their faces.
Jesus, the comforter. Jesus, the
light. Jesus, the Person.
I saw the creative genius of God,
the friendship of Jesus, the warmth of the Holy Spirit, all of it, in
their deep black beautiful eyes.
“MZUNGU, MZUNGU!!!� (white
person, white person, foreigner, foreigner)
the kids would shout…
Excitement would light up their
faces, from solemness to joy. And I would see Jesus, their Father,
their Creator, in each of their eyes.
There is Hope
There is Love
There is Jesus
in their faces.
