You Did For Me

One of my favorite memories of Kenya was simply playing with a little girl. The first few days, I had trouble playing with the kids and loving them, because I was afraid to attach myself to children I may never see again. I hate loving people and then leaving them. One night I realized this and asked God to help me with it.

The next day was Seminar day so they had canceled school and there was not a child to be found. I was a little disappointed, especially since I didn't have anything to do until the youth arrived in the afternoon. Finally I saw one little girl wandering down the hillside. I ran and got one of our children's crafts, went up to her, and just handed it to her (remember I can't verbally communicate with her at all). She looked skeptical, so I sat down, took it out of the bag, and showed her how to do it. Still unsure about me, she sat down and began to do it, but looked up every few seconds to ponder who in the world I was.

After she finished, she held up her work to show it to me, and I indicated that I thought it was great. She immediately lit up with a huge smile and giggled with the cutest laugh I've ever heard. After that we started playing. We began with peek-a-boo esque games that eventually progressed to a stampede of children, who had gathered to watch us, trying to catch and tackle me.

Now, I've played with children a lot before, but this time still stands out in my mind everyday. What was so amazing about this particular instance was what it was like to sit with this girl. It has proven incredibly difficult to put into words, which is why I have avoided posting a blog about it until now. The best I can come up with is that sitting and coloring with this girl was like being with Jesus - like physically. My sudden love for her and connection to her was so intense I barely believed I wasn't dreaming. I couldn't figure out what was going on, so I asked God. Right then, I remembered the parable in Matthew 25 where Jesus says that whatever we do for the least of his brothers and sisters, we do for him. I hung out with her almost all day, and all I can say is that it was one of the best days of my life.

 ³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
 ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
 ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'