The screams echoed through the cement building. It was nap time, but that little one obviously had something else on his mind other than relaxing on his personal, kiddy-sized mattress. I put my paint brush down and walk towards the cries. They sound very familiar. I peek my head into the nursery, only to confirm my suspicions. It’s my little one. I had picked him up not even an hour earlier because he was just sitting on the ground crying.
After watching the teachers aids attempt to calm him down, I slowly walk over to him and put my arms out. Through his tear, he looks up at me and shoots his chubby hands up in my direction. I bend down and scoop him up in my embrace. To my surprise, the cries subside immediately. His heart beats wildly into my chest. My heart feels like it is going to explode. He takes a deep breath. Not even a second later, another hiccup breath follows. I can feel his body begin to relax. His hands slide down and rest upon mine. His head ever so slowly succumbs to the battle and lies against my shoulder. He takes one last deep breath before his body totally succumbs to my touch.
I look around the room, at least 10 little pairs of eyes are watching me intently. The rest have quickly fallen victim to “nap time”. One little guy has even fallen asleep with his butt up in the air. I wrap my arms even tighter around my chunky 1 year old.
The mural makes sense for me now. It’s not just about slapping color on a wall at this preschool. It’s about the precious eyes that will be gazing upon Noah’s Ark, the lion or the giraffe silhouette. Part of our ministry while here in South Africa has been painting murals on the walls of a preschool. I must admit that our artistic teamwork turned out quite impressive! Noah’s ark fills the wall in one room while African animals inhabit another.
CARE is an organization that comes alongside individuals who have shown initiative in helping out their own community. They will provide financial backing, manual power and/or schooling to help see the dream come alive. Each day around 150 kids are dropped off at this preschool. Before we arrived, CARE had built additional rooms to provide space for the growing number of kids, tilled a garden and sent Ella (the director) off for more schooling. It is now time to brighten up the walls!
Ella, the lady who has started this preschool out of her very own home, picks up a beautiful little girl and places her in my lap. She is a true orphan. Both her parents have died of AIDS. My heart beat picks up again. It’s about the faces. Not about causes and stories you read about in a magazine. It’s about putting faces to the stories. It’s about loving individuals, not issues. It’s about fighting for a face, not necessarily a cause.
To be honest, it’s the faces that will “haunt’ me long after this trip is finished, not the issues…or the murals. Yes, I will always want to fight against AIDS, but it’s not for the sake of AIDS. It is for the little children that fall asleep in my arms. Those whom have been orphaned before they are even able to speak. Living life, living the journey…letting God personalize the issues that this world struggles with. For that I am grateful for the World Race – murals and all…
