The first one we traveled to was rather small but impressive nonetheless. When we first arrived, we looked into the classroom of 10-12 children. At first, they were somewhat reserved (some even scared) when we walked in. For many of the kids that attend these schools, they seldom see white people, if ever. SO, it's mesmerizing for some...while frightening for others to see people of a different color than them. However, if you can get just one child to interact with you, the rest of the children follow almost immediately once they realize it is safe! After a few minutes of singing and dancing, they finally loosened up around us and we were able to play, introduce ourselves and take LOTS of pictures. The one thing that shocked/excited me most about this center was their intelligence. As I watched these kids interact with their teachers they were able to count from 1-10, name the seasons, as well as, identify and name body parts in ENGLISH!
The next school center we went to was much bigger, with around 80 kids that attend daily. These kids were much more familiar with seeing white people and nearly ambushed us when we got there. I kid you not, I had about 15 kids attached to me. It was great! We didn't spend quite as much time at this center, but I did get the opportunity to teach them one of the songs from Holiday Club and help with lunch as well.
Tonight, the Reyburn's are having their bible study group over for dinner and devotions. I thoroughly enjoyed the last bible study I attended with them so I am looking forward to tonight's session.
--------
In my reading today, I came across one of my all time favorite verses:
Isaiah 49:16-
"See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands"
As I read it, I immediately had a mental picture of the palms God's hands. Then, not too long after that I thought to myself "Holy cow! God has a tattoo!"
Personally, I've always been pretty petrified of the idea of getting a tattoo. Not just because I hate needles, but because I'm not creative enough to find something worth putting permanently on my body. Plus, the fear of later regretting what you picked is overwhelmingly scary. So as I thought about a tattoo and the commitment you make to yourself when making the life-long decision of getting "inked", I thought about God's promise to us. In saying that he engraved our names on the palms of his hand is pretty remarkable.
I don't know if you're grasping my point but God (the all powerful savior) specifically engraved each one of our names on his palms. That's like way cooler than light up shoes AND sliced bread combined. With full intention, He made a permanent commitment to us that we could trust him and find hope in him all day, every day, forever. He made a commitment that through hard times and desperate circumstances, his love would be never ending and unchanging. He promised that nothing is too big for him to handle, and no mistake is beyond forgiveness as long as you trust and believe in him. And in making that promise, he made it legit by permanently engraving our names on his palms. It's official- like Facebook official.
So as I consider this I think about each and every child that I have met over the past month and a half. I think about how neglected, lost and broken these kids often are. I think about how there are so many, that it is impossible to remember all of their names much less pronounce them right and yet God.... He knows every single one of them by name. He knows their futures, their hopes, their desires and made the commitment to love and care for each one of them long before they were ever born.
I am in awe of how great our God is.
xoxo
Taylor
No comments:
Post a Comment