Save Our Souls

Is there a bigger smile anywhere than on the face of a small child who sees a picture of his or her self on the screen of a digital camera, especially for the first time??

Save Our Souls Day Care is more than just a name, it is words in action.  While the dedicated women working here are interested in saving souls, they also recognize the importance of feeding the body.  These children are malnourished, some mildly, some moderately, some severely.  The phrase used for a child and family in this situation is, “food insecure.”  So every day, parents bring their children here and leave them in the capable, caring hands of these teachers while they go receive training, look for work, and scrounge for food. The children will be fed four times a day through this program; the last meal is packed into a take-home container to be consumed for dinner.  Point Hope has partnered with another organization, “Feed My Starving Children”, working together to provide these meals.

The younger children play with each other, walking, running, laughing, giggling—you know, just being infants and toddlers! The older children are also playing on the playground, but they have schooling and learning to do inside.  They politely greet visitors to their classroom with a song and many smiles.  Hands go out to touch and shake, small voices say, “welcome,” and whisper, “hi,” as shy grins, twinkling eyes and laughter light up the beauty of their faces.  Isn’t God amazing, creating such stunning art and placing it in the form of a child? Isn’t God extremely trusting that such delicate creation is placed in the care of fallible human beings?

So back to the pics!  I was actually at the nutrition center school for a meeting with the medical clinic stakeholders (we were making use of a meeting room available there).  While waiting for everyone to arrive, I got my camera and went outside to the playground.  No matter where you are on the globe, the moment a camera is in sight, children are enchanted and drawn like the Pied Piper is playing their tune!  Of course, the children of West Africa are no different, so over they came with smiles wide, shoving and pushing (we are talking about kids, here!) to jockey up to the front of the crowd.  I assured them they would all get in the picture and told the big sister to apologize to the little brother for punching him in the stomach to get him out of “her” shot.  What fun! What pictures! What memories! For them and for me!  We laughed as they looked at themselves and their friends.  The view screen was soon smudged with little fingerprints as they reached out to touch the images, not understanding how the magic worked, just enjoying the fact that it did!

The disciples of Jesus tried to stop parents from bringing their children to Him (Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17).  Can you see the children, shyly smiling, giggling, laughing aloud, pushing, shoving, reaching their hands out to touch Him?  Imagine those little fingerprints smudging dirt on the Lord’s garments! Jesus tenderly, lovingly looked at the children gathered around Him.  Then He looked at the men who traveled with Him and shook His head.  Jesus told His followers to stop being jerks and to allow all the children to come see Him.  He told them these children were the essence of the kingdom of God.  Unless these grown men were as willing as a child to accept, trust, hold in awe and wonder, believe, and love Him, they were not going to enter His kingdom. 

His message is the same for us today, it hasn’t changed, He hasn’t changed, and, Thank God, children haven’t changed!  I may not fully understand how His grace works, I’m just grateful and enjoying the fact that it does!