God must be an Africian.
This appeared in our church bullitian last week. It was written by Jill Brown one of the adults (and moms) that came on the trip.
God must be an African.
The first orphanage that we drove up to had dozens of orphans singing, dancing and banging on a makeshift drum to celebrate our arrival. To see their rhythms, their music, their joy was like looking at God. I was so humbled by that welcome. The hospitality of the food they served us, which had taken them hours to prepare, was one of the most generous meals I’ve ever had.
Most of the orphans had never seen a true reflection of what they looked like, so when we would take pictures of them on our digital cameras, they loved to see the captured photo. They don’t have mirrors at the orphanages, and they don’t need them – they are all beautiful.
Close to the end of our visit at the second orphanage, the older orphans sang for our group. Morgan Neale and I were sitting on the floor with tiny orphans in our laps and listened while the older orphans sang hymns to us about their hope in God’s promise of a better life. God’s voice in my heart that said, “be filled.” I closed my eyes and listened to the songs they were singing. I let the rhythm fill my heart and fill my soul. My eyes overflowed with tears. Then, I looked down at my hand and there was the tiny black hand of the orphan girl sitting in my lap. Her hand just resting in my hand….one of the most content moments in my life. My heart was full.
Cary and I both came away from Africa witnessing pure joy from tremendous pain. The orphans have had terrible tragedies in their lives, and yet have so much joy and hope for their futures. They have a hope in a God that they can’t see, but get to experience Him everyday when they eat a meal and sleep in a bed that was given to them by God through the “donors of Golf Course Road.”
God must be an African.
The first orphanage that we drove up to had dozens of orphans singing, dancing and banging on a makeshift drum to celebrate our arrival. To see their rhythms, their music, their joy was like looking at God. I was so humbled by that welcome. The hospitality of the food they served us, which had taken them hours to prepare, was one of the most generous meals I’ve ever had.
Most of the orphans had never seen a true reflection of what they looked like, so when we would take pictures of them on our digital cameras, they loved to see the captured photo. They don’t have mirrors at the orphanages, and they don’t need them – they are all beautiful.
Close to the end of our visit at the second orphanage, the older orphans sang for our group. Morgan Neale and I were sitting on the floor with tiny orphans in our laps and listened while the older orphans sang hymns to us about their hope in God’s promise of a better life. God’s voice in my heart that said, “be filled.” I closed my eyes and listened to the songs they were singing. I let the rhythm fill my heart and fill my soul. My eyes overflowed with tears. Then, I looked down at my hand and there was the tiny black hand of the orphan girl sitting in my lap. Her hand just resting in my hand….one of the most content moments in my life. My heart was full.
Cary and I both came away from Africa witnessing pure joy from tremendous pain. The orphans have had terrible tragedies in their lives, and yet have so much joy and hope for their futures. They have a hope in a God that they can’t see, but get to experience Him everyday when they eat a meal and sleep in a bed that was given to them by God through the “donors of Golf Course Road.”
posted by Paul at Thursday, September 10, 2009
0 comments
