last weekend, our church had an awesome opportunity to minister and reahc kids of all ages. We had around 150 kids from ages 2-18 from group homes (meaning they have come from or getting ready to go into Foster Care)coem to our church and we had planned a whole day for them. We had gotten all of them Christmas Presents and had a bunch of activities planned to do with them. Just a day to show them the unconditional love of God they probablyt don't get to see on a day to day basis.
The first half of the day was with all the little kids. Man, they were so cute, and I had to fight back the tears thinking about how these little kids don't deserve a life like this- being tossed around, not even knowing when their real birthday is, being robbed of their innocence. They were ecstatic when they opened their presents, and I fought back the tears. When it was their time to go, they all gave me big hugs and kisses from the tiny ones, and as I watched them drive away, I cried, praying that the real love of Christ would be so deeply rooted in their hearts they would never forget and embrace His love for them.
The second half was the teens, and I was prepared to face some hard, rough kids, that had emotional walls built up. We were there to show them that no matter what they have been through, what they say or how they act, it wouldn't phase us, and we were going to show love that would break those walls down. I had a group of about 10 girls, from 13-18, and they were the best. God opened their hearts, and we all seemed to hit it off right away, except one of the older girls, Sarah. she seemed a little skeptical, and so I tried to think of any common ground to start a conversation on. I noticed she had a tattoo on her neck and i asked her about it. Then I told her how I want to get one and I want it to be a guitar and all that. Who knew that was all it was going to take! Her eyes lit up and she said, "Really? I play the guitar too! Well I try, but that's really cool!" So that was a great connection we made. We ended liking the same secular bands and at the end, I was able to run out to my truck and give her my Hawk Nelson CD (christian punk band) and she was really appreciative. All the girls and I had os much fun being silly, and they all gave me hugs and took their picture with me. I can't contact them, but I did give them my cell number and told them if they needed anything to give me a call.
One also cool thing that happened was we served them food and stuff and I was teasing my girls by saying they better give me a good tip. Well they got a peice of paper out and wrote TIP on it and all signed their names and gave it to me as a joke. We all laughed, but I inside I was saying, thank you God, this way I won't forget their names, and I can pray over that every night that even though these girls have been robbed of a normal childhood and gone through so much, they can still meet God face to face and exsperience His amazing presence. I think I was more impacted by all these kids lives, than they were mine. I'm really going to look into volunteering for group homes like these, because these girls will get passes that let them go shopping or go different places and as a volunteer I could take them to those.
God, do not give up on these kids, big and small! Place them in loving homes and place people that love you and show your character in their lives. Give them a second chance so they get to know you and all you're about. May these kids cling to you when they don't have anything else to hold on to. Let them not give up, but to keep seeking you until they find you!
