We Will Remember

Monday was Independence Day…in America. Nonetheless, we celebrated here with a group of our fellow Americans. We made a trip to an amusement park called Wonderla with a family from America that has been living here for the last 6 years, the Mirabellas. Amidst the roller coasters, the water slides, wave pool, and rain disco, we had a great July 4^th! I will let you know; however, that these awesome experiences did not come without a tinge of awkwardness. “What’s more awkward than being the only white people in the park?” one might ask. And I answer, being the only brown person with the white people. I’ll spare you the details so that we can move onto a much more interesting story.

We returned to the slums on Tuesday to teach. Daniel and Alex spent all of their time with the second oldest group while I went straight up to the top floor. In my mind, I had prepared to teach math as I had become accustomed to this routine. Entering the room, I was greeted by the familiar, “Praise the Lord, uncle!” by every student. I returned the greeting and took a seat on a nearby stool. About five girls had surrounded the stool. I, thinking that they needed help with homework, asked them if they had any questions. They nodded their heads and just smiled. Asha, one of the girls, told me that they had already finished their homework. Another girl, Sindhu, approached me and said, “Uncle, we have memorized the verse! Can you test us?” I had completely forgotten about the memory verse and yet these girls had not only remembered, but went home and actually memorized them! I responded with a smile and asked her to recite the verse. She stumbled a few times, but got the general gist of the verse (Galations 2:20 in case you forgot). The next girl, Meena, said it almost perfectly, in English! Deepa recited the verse perfectly in the local language. Each one was so excited. Their hunger for the Word was not only prevalent, but also contagious. They said, “Uncle, can you give us another verse?” Oh, I was so happy! Each of them gave me their notebooks and I copied down Ephesians 2:8-10. Delighted, they asked me to explain the verses. So they were told about salvation through our Father’s grace, about our inability to be saved through works, about our Father’s gift, and about the good works that come about as a result of faith in JC. Honestly, my heart leapt for joy and I’m not even really sure what that means.

Another boy came up to me and said, “Uncle, John 1:1 talks about ‘the Word’. I don’t understand this. Can you explain?” Overwhelmed with joy at his curiosity I started to explain some very complicated theological viewpoints on the matter. I went back to Genesis 1 with the creation of the world and discussed the creative nature of our Father’s word. I then took it a step too far when discussing the Greek terminology of “Logos” and its ties to the principle of reason. Luckily, Tori and Chelsi were there to stop me because I probably would’ve kept going. I finally told the boy that if he really wanted to understand more, he would have to read the Word and pray. He seemed satisfied by that. Next, they wanted to hear a story from the Word, the story of JC’s birth. Man, I loved this day!

Blessed be the name of our Father! Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”. Psalm 119:130 says, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” Our Father has taught me, through these children, the meaning of these verses. My brothers and sisters in JC, I want to encourage each and every one of you to seek earnestly the meaning behind our Father’s words. Seek and pray for only then will your hunger be filled and only then will your thirst be quenched. Praise be to our Father, for our prayers have been heard and answered! Praise be to the son, JC, and may the children of this slum believe that he is the Son who has redeemed all those who believe. May you be blessed, reader, for your continual support for this journey over the past month. Our journey has nearly come to an end. Remember, however, that for many of these children, their journey has just begun. Thus, as new brothers and sisters in JC, they need our continual prayer.

Grace and Peace.