Love Challenge accepted.
Good ol’ Africa.
Where you can walk around barefooted.
(and i do 🙂
Where the circus is in your front yard.
Where you have to push the cart all the way home from the store then take it back because there is no other way to carry your food for the next week.
Yep, this is Africa.
I am in a school with children who have disabilities. Anything could be wrong with them. These kids first went to the regular schools until their teachers booted them out because they are not physically able to keep up or focus on the same other as the same students their age. Every classroom has bars on it so that the kids are not able to escape, although sometimes they manage to get away somehow. Kinda scared me at first but then I realized they are much needed.
In my class, we have about twenty 10-16 year olds who are still on the first grade level. MOST of them are boys. They hardly ever do work. There is constantly fighting, throwing of chairs or any objects they can get their hands on, running away out of class, even the school, just anything and everything that they are not suppose to do..THEY DO IT ANYWAYS. Its literally like the worst nightmare ever. You can not turn your hear for one minute or you will get hit or someone is gone or there is another fight starting up.
Yesterday, my teacher, Mr. Baba, he got angry with one of the only girls Esethu. She is 13 and can’t even write her name, cut with scissors, or color. He told her to color this page of shoes and follow the pattern to put them in the correct order. She just looked at him and stared. He came to me screaming saying that he cant do anything with these kids. The thing that I saw was that he didn’t give her TIME. He didn’t take the time that she needed to sit with her for a second and try to help her. So I said "Mr. Baba I will take care of her." So I sat beside her and I showed/explained to her what he wanted her to do. So she understood and we began to work together. I held her hand and we practiced writing her name and it was the most beautiful messy ESETHU that I have ever seen. When we were done.. she put a big smile on her face and did our handshake and took that paper with all the happiness she possible has ever had and gave it to Mr. Baba. I was so proud, he was as well.
Once he saw it.. he said,
"You have a gift. How do you do that with them? I need you to do the same with all of them. They just don’t understand when I tell them."
I said,
"Mr. Baba if I was them and you tried to explain that to me, I wouldn’t understand it either, but if you took the time to sit with me and direct me in the process of it, it will start to register. It’s not about explaining, its about the time you spend with them. "
He said in his deep African voice..
“ Ahh Very Good Nah.“
So three months is a LONG time to offer my personal time with these kids. It already is the most challenging thing I have ever done, but I know already God is moving in this class because their attitudes have already changed just because of the presence that I bring. And that the lords presence. Yes its sad, but there is HOPE. Yea they are aggressive, but there is a deep thirst for LOVE. I have that love and I will be pouring it out on every single one of them each day that I’m in there. After all, that is why I’m here nah?
so proud on you. just love them. one day at a time. you look like jesus – and it makes a difference.
love you.
Oh, Cherub Grace, you are so beautiful showing the love of Christ. My heart is bursting with tears rolling. We think of you often and pray all is well. Keep loving and teaching. He will teach you how.
Love you.
Keep up the good work of God’s kingdom! If anybody could do it, It would be you, and keep that beautiful smile going for them . I’m pretty sure it brightens their day to see you coming.