Father's Day

June 19, 2011
Fathers Day.
Today was children’s church. Last year we did house church with the adults, but this year the Boersma’s have felt that God has called them to be ministering to the children. Church is for the kids. We started off the morning with singing and an assortment of instruments that the kids played. Following some incredible rhythms and voices was an activity meant to help the kids learn about prayer.
Each child was given a piece of paper with a drawing of a kid praying and a thinking bubble above the kid. They were instructed to color what they wanted to pray for—it could be one of the tias, their friends, a new house, whatever they wanted.
As we finished each child gave their prayer requests. Some were for a new house, some were for their friends or family that they missed or couldn’t find (some of these kids are lost), and others were for the tias and Papa Pieter and Mama Rika. Pieter gave a short lesson on how we can pray and why we pray. We should pray for the Holy Spirit in our lives and that Jesus will always be with us. It doesn’t matter where we pray or how we pray, God hears us.
After the lesson, one of the girls, Aida, came to Rika and said, “I want to go home.” She gave a list of information—her parent’s names, an aunt’s name, her school’s name, which neighborhood she lived in—and said she wanted to go home today. Aida has been at All Nations for a year and a half. It takes kids a long time to process when they get lost. At one point last year Aida had told Rika that she never wanted to go home. Today, she gave all this information. Something in the message this morning clicked in her mind. It was time to go home.
All the children that are here are not here by choice. They are either abandoned or lost or given over by social welfare. Some of them don’t know where they came from. Others forget and then remember. Some will be here for life, and others will be adopted. God has a plan for each one.
The thing is none of us did anything to get Aida to explain where she was from or what her house looked like or who her parents were. God spoke to her, and in her heart she finally felt ready to say she wanted to return home. Most parents give up on finding their lost children—they’re either dead or have been sold into the sex trade. To get a child back after a year and a half is a miracle. Rika and Pieter have seen it happen a couple times and the families are full of joy. God does something in each of our hearts when something happens like this. I see God being a master planner, a healer, and a gift giver. Who knows how God touched Aida, but she’s ready to go home.
The plan now is to get in touch with her family and hopefully they will be there. I’m overwhelmed by how great God is and how much He loves each one of us.
Each night I make myself dinner and hang out with the Boersmas while the kids are taking baths/watching a movie/falling asleep. From time to time I’ll head downstairs to hang out with the kids. I usually go down to give them a kiss goodnight too. Tonight I went to hang out with them while they were watching Barney.
Joao, who was brand new when I was here last year, was sitting quietly in his chair when he fell out and bumped his teeth. I picked him up. Joao is an interesting kid. He’s probably around 2, and very quiet. He doesn’t really play with the other kids and almost never smiles. He hangs out in the kitchen while everybody else is playing outside and he will NEVER stop crying when Mama Gloria (one of the tias) is around. Mama Gloria isn’t around on the weekends, but you never hear Joao crying then. Since the last time I was here it looked as though Joao had made no emotional progress whatsoever. It is rare when his face is not drenched in tears. So, as per usual, he was crying again. I don’t know why, but this time he let me pick him up. Usually he doesn’t want anybody to touch him. I picked him up and I brought him upstairs.
The upstairs of the orphanage is home to the Boersmas, so most of the kids are not allowed upstairs unless they’re called up or brought up. It’s a real treat to have time upstairs.
I brought Joao into the family room where Pieter, Rika, and Pedro were playing Catan. I gave Joao some stacking rings and a squeaky turtle to play with. He stopped crying and all of a sudden was stacking rings. I started to play with him. A smile grew. Then laughter. Then he started to share the toys with me. We made lots of noise together.
Sometimes all we need is a hug or someone to play with. With kids, attention is such a necessity and Joao’s attitude completely changed with some one-on-one time. Finally he started to get antsy and I asked him if he was ready to go to bed. With a smile on his face, he shook his head “Yes”. We walked downstairs, and I tucked him in. He closed his eyes with that smile still on his face.
God is good. All the time.