For the the past three weeks, two teammates and I have been heading up the Bible class. The goal here is to teach these young men to be men of God, so we’ve been talking about the traits of different men of God in the Bible. We’ve taught them that men of God are righteous, full of faith, courageous, etc.
Friday was our last class on the men of God. My teammate, Megan, was teaching about Jesus, emphasizing that men of God serve. She told the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet and planned to end the class by the three teachers washing the boys’ feet as an act of service. We got through the lesson and the boys giggled a little as they agreed to let us wash their feet.
We were almost finished washing all the feet when Angie came out and said she needed someone to explain what was going on for her to translate to the boys. Something must have been lost in translation because the boys just thought we were washing their feet because they had dirty feet. Megan and Kate explained again as Angie translated. This time they made the connection and understood the purpose.
We concluded by praying over the boys that they might grow to be holy men who follow God, like the ones we’ve been teaching about the last few weeks. After we prayed, we were standing around and the next thing I know one of the boys was calling Megan over, telling her to sit in the chair so he could wash her feet. Another boy called Kate over so he could wash her feet. One of the boys I’d gotten to know grabbed my arm and pulled me over to wash my feet. One by one, they washed the feet of everyone on the team. It was, quite possibly, the sweetest gesture I have ever experienced.
These boys know how to serve! They serve and they do it with joy. They serve while they are singing and laughing. I can’t think of one instance in which I’ve seen someone working with a scowl on their face or a rotten attitude. I haven’t seen anyone who is above helping out. They don’t seem to have the sense of entitlement that is all too common in the places I’ve lived.
I love that God has taken these handful of teenage boys here in southern Mozambique and used them to grow me.
In just three days, we head to Malawi. I’m not looking forward to that. I have fallen in love with all of the people here! As hard as it will be to leave, though, this I know: I am better for being here!
Next month, my team and I will be serving at Butterfly Space in Malawi. You can check out that ministry at http://www.butterflyspacemalawi.com
