Let the Children Come
"Jesus said, "let the children come unto Me..."
One of the "tricks I engage the children with is a drawing of Jesus sitting on a rock with disciples around Him. I explain how many people followed Jesus to see and learn from Him. He was healing people and the crowds of adults kept growing larger. But I also tell them children wanted to be around Jesus. The disciples would tell them to go away (and I then make a lot of shoo-shoo's at the gathered gazing group). Then I pull up the picture and there in color surrounding Jesus are children!
Ooooh's are heard as they try and figure out where the children appeared from and how did the color come into view?
As you have read, we are traveling some distance to reach the "unreached". Pastor Benhur explained how the children's program at ONE location we did in November resulted in THREE churches being planted in the surrounding villages.
Here, first come the children, maybe a few mothers and then God raises up a church! It is such a picture of fulfillment of Christ's words, "unless you come as a child".
When the villagers see a white woman arriving they come with childlike curiosity. As they listen to the stories and hear the love of the Savior He draws them in.
I watch the older men standing on the outside of the building peering in with folded arms across their chests and questioning glares, break into smiles and open their hearts to laugh and clap as loudly as the young children inside. It is amazing to see what God is doing here among the people.
When I was planning the program the Pastor gave me an approximate number, "you will see around 1000 children.". With the help of patient friends, we sat and counted beads, cut yarn and sorted for the days ahead. But... the numbers are NEVER what you can anticipate. One village the Pastor said, "expect 30 children.". There were close to 100! I thought of the verse in Acts "the Lord was adding to their numbers daily."
Numbers are off,the heat is unbearable, sweat dampens every article of clothing I am wearing, and there are new hurdles and challenges constantly emerging.
Friday night's program was at a small church building on the outskirts of town. Not a far drive, but no electricity. This means no fan circulating air among the packed in people and no lights. As the sun goes, so goes the show!
Talking as fast as I could be translated - trying to cover all the important parts like a good Baptist preacher with a three point sermon, the dusk quickly turned to darkness.
The children were restless in the heat. Soon, I could barely distinguish the mass of chocolate faces set apart only by the whiteness of their eyes. I closed the program, they clapped and clamored to get the candy, pencils and balloons the Pastors passed out as they left.
One of the "tricks I engage the children with is a drawing of Jesus sitting on a rock with disciples around Him. I explain how many people followed Jesus to see and learn from Him. He was healing people and the crowds of adults kept growing larger. But I also tell them children wanted to be around Jesus. The disciples would tell them to go away (and I then make a lot of shoo-shoo's at the gathered gazing group). Then I pull up the picture and there in color surrounding Jesus are children!
Ooooh's are heard as they try and figure out where the children appeared from and how did the color come into view?
As you have read, we are traveling some distance to reach the "unreached". Pastor Benhur explained how the children's program at ONE location we did in November resulted in THREE churches being planted in the surrounding villages.
Here, first come the children, maybe a few mothers and then God raises up a church! It is such a picture of fulfillment of Christ's words, "unless you come as a child".
When the villagers see a white woman arriving they come with childlike curiosity. As they listen to the stories and hear the love of the Savior He draws them in.
I watch the older men standing on the outside of the building peering in with folded arms across their chests and questioning glares, break into smiles and open their hearts to laugh and clap as loudly as the young children inside. It is amazing to see what God is doing here among the people.
When I was planning the program the Pastor gave me an approximate number, "you will see around 1000 children.". With the help of patient friends, we sat and counted beads, cut yarn and sorted for the days ahead. But... the numbers are NEVER what you can anticipate. One village the Pastor said, "expect 30 children.". There were close to 100! I thought of the verse in Acts "the Lord was adding to their numbers daily."
Numbers are off,the heat is unbearable, sweat dampens every article of clothing I am wearing, and there are new hurdles and challenges constantly emerging.
Friday night's program was at a small church building on the outskirts of town. Not a far drive, but no electricity. This means no fan circulating air among the packed in people and no lights. As the sun goes, so goes the show!
Talking as fast as I could be translated - trying to cover all the important parts like a good Baptist preacher with a three point sermon, the dusk quickly turned to darkness.
The children were restless in the heat. Soon, I could barely distinguish the mass of chocolate faces set apart only by the whiteness of their eyes. I closed the program, they clapped and clamored to get the candy, pencils and balloons the Pastors passed out as they left.
I gathered my things, took a long drink of water and smiled as the Psalmist song (139) came into my head. "Then I said to myself, "Oh, He even sees me in the dark! At night I am immersed in the light! It's a fact, darkness isn't dark to You".
Let the little children come
I watched them as they hurried into the night to homes with no lights, no running water, and certainly no air conditioning. Although the village church was without electricity tonight - the Light it represents couldn't have shown brighter!
Pray the Light has come! Pray for the Harvest is huge. Pray for more workers for the fields.
Pray and then some!
Expecting fresh wind - and new fire! His of course
Let the little children come
I watched them as they hurried into the night to homes with no lights, no running water, and certainly no air conditioning. Although the village church was without electricity tonight - the Light it represents couldn't have shown brighter!
Pray the Light has come! Pray for the Harvest is huge. Pray for more workers for the fields.
Pray and then some!
Expecting fresh wind - and new fire! His of course
