As soon as I heard the name, I knew I wanted a lifetime membership. The Joy Club meets once a week on the roof of the building across from the church. The meeting agenda is focused on getting to know the president of the Club. His name is Jesus. The esteemed members of this club are 200 street kids and the grown ups they share this Joy with.
Thursday afternoons the doors of New Life Church are opened wide and kids arrive from all over the city to spend 3 hours learning about God and just being kids. These kids are the poorest of the poor. They spend their time taking care of younger siblings and helping their parents make money. They smell from not bathing. They show up in an array of clothing…. all clothes are dirty, most have holes in them. Wearing pants and shirts at the same time seems to be optional. They don’t have refined social skills. They hit you and then expect to climb into your arms. They pick their nose. They the pits of the fruit eaten during snack as weapons to throw around.
When they walk through the doors to the rooftop all of that melts away.
They are kids; God’s kids, and they are loved accordingly.
Someone helps them cross the street and they get washed up. They play with blocks and color, they learn bible stories, and there is an awesome puppet show. They eat a snack and they get some food and soap to bring home with them. But most importantly they are loved.
I have been slow to write this because the sights and smells and experiences each week on that rooftop are very unique and I want to do a good job explaining this ministry to each of you.. It’s like nothing I have experienced before.
When I got back from my first Joy Club I was asked to describe it. I thought about it and the only adequate answer I could think of was, “It was Jesus.”
Joy Club stinks of a place Jesus would be hanging out: Jesus loves children. He loves their simple yet huge faith. He loves their joy and laughter. Jesus loves when people love each other as they are. He loves when we see Him in people before we make a judgment based on everything the world sees.
Nothing done at the Joy Club is a great feat. Helping a child wash their face, picking up a kid for the 50th time, sitting and coloring, watching a puppet show… nothing big. It’s just those little act of love that add up to a ministry that is overflowing with Jesus.
When we come home from Joy Club there is a very distinct smell that lingers on us for several hours after hugging these kids for 3 hours straight. There is also a feeling of contentment that I hope lingers within me for a lot longer than that.
I pray that more and more we all find places where we can come just as we are and receive love. I pray that God will put safe places in our lives where we can be kids again. I pray that we can be that safe place for others. And I pray that Joy Club isn’t just something that happens on Thursday afternoons in Phnom Penh but that it becomes our way of life.
