After days of practice, it was time to load the kiddos up into the decrepit old van we had rented from Red Light. It’s a vehicle intended for 16, but you better believe we packed it to clown car capacity with a whopping twenty-three passengers. It was hot. It was uncomfortable. It was a vehicle full of anticipation, enthusiasm, and joyful excitement for what was to come.
Leading up to this day, we had been meeting with a small group of kids from the Children’s Rescue Center to plan a trip out to Peter Sayklon’s Orphanage in a village about two hours away. The purpose of this trip was to allow our children to take on the role of spiritual leaders, serve others, and fellowship with children from another mission. The kids had decided to share the story of David and Goliath in order to share the message that God can use small people to do big things. They prepared the story and questions to work through with their small groups, developed a sweet drama, brought a treat to share, and a craft project to work on.
When we pulled onto the orphanage property, we could see the kids out in the field with the mother of the orphanage. When they heard the rumbling vehicle, they began to run toward us, waving excitedly and shouting their greetings. They quickly sat us down in their open air gathering place, shared a welcome song with us, recited 97 Bible verses (that they practice at both morning and evening devotions), and led us in some praise and worship. One of the sweetest moments was when two of the youngest boys, Bright (4 years old) and Jonas (5 years old) were called forward to present us with a song. They looked at us timidly, peeking back over their shoulder for direction. After being gently prompted, these two sweet boys--children who had lost everything . . . parents, family, had next to no earthly belongings--came in with one of the most blessed sounds I have ever heard. They sang “It Is Well,” beautifully articulating every word to every verse. With tears in my eyes, I smiled as these two little guys, the future of this broken country, sang with voices that seemed to start down at their little toes a song of hope--”It is well with my soul. It is well. It is well with my soul.” As they sang, it was my prayer that this song would resonate in the spirit of each person present--that each of us, no matter what our circumstance, would be touched by these words and echo them in our hearts.
And this was just the beginning of our sweet time at this sweet place. Our kids broke off into their small groups, leading Peter Sayklon’s children through the story from I Samuel 16. They did a fantastic job in their leadership role, causing me to walk around grinning like a proud mama watching her kids thrive. It was a thing of beauty to be able to step back as a team, equipping the kids, but allowing them to lead and watching how God was using them in this place. Seeing the children fellowshipping, learning, and laughing together was a most incredible thing for us to take in. Our kids nailed their parts in the David and Goliath drama, with the other children giggling as our big, masculine Goliath was brought down with a hacky sack to the forehead and as David danced for the Lord! We closed in a time of singing and prayer. The sound of children’s voices being raised together in praise is one of the greatest things to behold. I could almost feel Jesus smiling as the songs were sung.
When it was time to go and our children had said their good-byes to their new friends, Peter Sayklon’s bunch began to sing a song of gratitude and farewell as we drove away, waving until we were out of sight.
One of the sweetest things that came out of this was the conversation I was able to have with the kids on the way home. They immediately asked when we could come back to this place. Then, quietly, Deborah tapped me on the shoulder, “Miss Whitney, you know the clothes you all brought for us. It shouldn’t be for us, Miss Whitney. Please can we give it to those children?” This sentiment was then echoed by others in the van. “Yes, those clothes should not be for us.” “Can we get shoes for them, too?” My heart was set to burst. These kids, who, through Western eyes have next to nothing, were recognizing a need in someone else. They knew that these children were wearing their very best for us, and it wasn’t much . . . torn and stained clothing, mismatched flip-flops, a misshapen barrette. They wanted to give something good to these kids to bless them. What a beautiful way to end this trip, echoing our Father’s heart to care for those in need and give good gifts to his children!
