Kings & Queens

Yes, I am going to start this blog with song lyrics.  Why?  Because I love the song, but more so because it really came to life for me last night, and I hope that it helps you to get a better picture in your mind of an awesome experience I had.  Enjoy…

Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me
Will we leave behind the innocent too brief
On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun
These could be our daughters and our sons
And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating
I know my God won’t let them be defeated
Every child has a dream to belong and be loved

Boys become kings, girls will be queens
Wrapped in Your majesty
When we love, when we love the least of these
Then they will be brave and free
Shout your name in victory
When we love when we love the least of these
When we love the least of these

-       Kings & Queens, by Audio Adrenaline 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U64bongHqYU

Sundays can be a little long sometimes.  We get up early to head to our district churches to serve in any way we can.  This includes setting up and tearing down chairs, parking cars, ushering during service, and helping out in children’s church.  Most Sundays we leave our house at 6:30 AM and arrive home around 4:00 PM, which makes for a full day.  Needless to say, the most appealing thing to do upon arriving home again is crash on a couch and not get up until dinnertime.  Yesterday, I was doing just that when my housemates Natalie and Jack headed out to the street to play with our little neighbor friends.  After a few minutes of listening to the screaming, laughing, and singing that was coming from just outside our gate, I unglued myself from the couch and headed out to join them.  Silly me, I wasn’t quite prepared for what awaited me… as I opened the gate and slipped through, I was ambushed by an army of noisy little people, running towards me and hugging me all at once.  This mass hug generated enough force to slam me back into the gate, and all I could do was stand there laughing until they decided to lead me up to the street.  After playing some games involving singing, dancing, some version of duck-duck-goose, and an attempt at Simon Says, one of the girls asked us to tell a story.  We decided that Jack would narrate, and Natalie and I- a.k.a. King Saul and Goliath- would be the actors.  All the kids (30 or so) sat down on the pavement, looking up at Jack with eager anticipation.  I was a little nervous when “David” took off like a bullet to find the perfect stones to hurl at me- er, Goliath- but luckily he decided to just pretend.  The story of David and Goliath was followed by others, and I alternated between acting them out and sitting on the ground with my sweet little friends, listening to Jack and Natalie bring the bible to life.  My friends hold my hands, play with my hair, and listen attentively.  They love spending time with us mzungus.   Little do they know how much we treasure them.

The story of David and Goliath is such a simple one.  If you’ve ever been to Sunday school or Vacation Bible School then you’ve more than likely heard it.  But to these children, it was brand new.  The story took about five minutes to tell, but the message was clear- God is powerful.  He is faithful.  He is good.  These precious neighbors of ours come up to visit us from a slum just down the hill.  They haven’t been born into an easy life, yet they the joy they have is contagious.  When I look into their dark brown eyes and hold their hot little hands, I don’t see slum children.  I see little world changers- full of love, intelligence, and potential.  I see future leaders.  I see Kings and Queens.