The basic "program" is simple. Drive to McLaughlin. Make lunch. Clear the sanctuary. Set up tables for lunch. Prepare a lesson. Practice music. Clean up here and there. Send out vans to pick up kids. Love them. Feed them. Teach them. Play with them. Create with them. Drive them home with a lunch sack filed with healthy snacks. Clean up some more. Stop at the gas station for a soda. Drive home.
I have done quite a bit of children's ministry in my day, so being in charge of curriculum for this event did not phase me one bit.
But, it should have!
You see what I did not realize is that the approach I have ALWAYS used in children's ministry (and it has worked) was to assume all the kids came into the room knowing certain things. Simple things like - the Bible is truth, God made them, God loves them, etc... I have also always been ministering to kids who are having all their needs met. Some have more than others, but the kids that I have worked with in the past have all eaten before they arrive. They have clean hair and clean faces. Someone drops them off, making sure they arrive safely. Someone picks them up. They feel loved and cherished by someone in their life.
For "those" kids it is easy to happily proclaim scripture like "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Which just happens to be the central scripture from the VBS curriculum we had planned on reusing in McLaughlin.) It is also easy for our white, middle-class, North Dakota kids to believe. The things that they are taught are basic needs - food, shelter, and clothing - are plentiful.
However, as I tried to prepare that same lesson for the kids in McLaughlin, my stomach hurt for days. How do I cheerfully tell kids who are not having their "basic needs" met consistently that God will meet all their needs? It IS scripture. Scripture IS truth. Yet sometimes it is all so terribly difficult to comprehend. Does God really meet all our needs when there are Christians dying of starvation each and every day? Does God really meet all our needs when momma's don't have medicine for their sick babies? Does God really meet all our needs when their is no water for miles?
I am still wrestling with all that - trying to reconcile in my mind and heart the Truth within the scripture alongside the unfairness I see in the world. It is hard.
I hate hurt.
I hate when children are hungry.
I hate more when children are abused, neglected, and unloved.
I DO NOT understand why God allows it.
I DO KNOW that He sent Jesus because of it.
If there were no pain, no hurt, no sin - there would be no need for Jesus. We could "save" ourselves.
It is the sin, the hurt, the pain, the brokenness that causes us many times to realize our need and beg for help.
And Jesus is always with us. When we ask, He helps. Sometimes He rushes in and fixes things in a mighty miracle moment, sometimes the fix is nearly unbearable slow as inch by inch His path becomes clear. But always. Always! He is with us.
I still do not have that verse fully reconciled. I continue to struggle. A lot. There is so much that I do not understand. (and I really HATE not understanding)
But, what I have decided is that our greatest need is to know Jesus. So while I do not have many other answers, I WILL do my best to show the love of Jesus to everyone I can. (And to choose curriculum that is
I am going to close with a couple of photos of my kids. Sierra and Jamison have been going with me on these mini missions. I am so proud of them. They know just what to do to help out - bags made (check), tables set up (check), chairs moved (check), play with the kids (check), pretend to LOVE the music, games, and crafts (check), show kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE - even when they are too clingy, or need a bath or say unkind things (check, check, check).
This beautiful girl was totally attcahed to Jamison.
He did not get out of her reach all day.
And rather than hide in the bathroom (smile), he treated her like gold.
He listened to her words, praised her art, and allowed her to sit really, really close.
And Sierra - she is all sweetness, grace, and energy.
She does such a good job drawing kids out of their shyness and into whatever we are doing.
She loves to play, encourage, and be silly.
I have served with a team of many, many, many other people as well. I see Jesus in each of them each week. Whether they are coloring pictures, serving food, wiping tables, cleaning cupboards, vacuuming floors, handing out hugs, removing gum from hair, driving the bus, or playing a game - Jesus is shining through. I am so thankful for the talents, gifts, and willingness in which each of them have served! Each servant has inspired me, taught me, grown me. I am truly honored to serve with you.
