So today was "Our Day" at the school. "Our Day" is the last day of school before kids go for break. It is a big celebration, full of food and plenty of dancing and playing! The kids get to bring food from home and wear jeans and an OLHCS polo shirt. :) This is the first year with the shirt, for in past years the kids wore their own house clothes. I am told this was half of the fun, since many kids wore ridiculously funny outfits (I vaguely recall someone mentioning a girl who came with a wig, can you imagine?!). Maybe it wasn't quite as funny as in past years, but the children sure looked cute/nice with their shirts today! Anyways, after all of the kids had arrived, we sat oustide (the tables and chairs had been put there under 3 big tents) and everyone ate their lunches. Afterwards, we danced while the music was still playing and then the kids just played until it was time to go home. :D
The day was long and hot, but Lizziey and I managed to clean most all of the garbage randomly thrown about, and we even put the heavy tables back in the dinning hall. Though the day came with its share of frustrations, I can't help thinking back to when the kids were dancing with me. At one point I must've had like ten kids crowded around me, each trying to dance just with me. So I decided to have them hold hands and make a circle; we would dance by walking to the middle and then walking away from the center. This worked for all of two minutes before they were fighting to get to hold my hand! After a while though, most left and I had a smaller more manageable group with me. Eventually I had only 4 kids who basically followed me around for the rest of the day ( at least until I managed to hide out in the library at the end of the day)! Oh yeah, and one of the kids was a girl who had made it her mission, since she saw me in the morning, to never leave my side for the whole day! I think she did really good, considering that the only time she was not with me was when they were all eating and when I manage to hide from her. :) Now don't get me wrong, I love her, she's a pretty good kid, but I did not want someone following me around for the whole day...Those kid mob-attacks have become very frequent lately, a lot of the kids just randomly come up to me and hug and hold on to me for long periods of time. I don't mind the hugs, honest, but it is problematic when 10 kids are all trying to hug you at the same time, and you can barely stand from the pushing and pulling of it. Also, telling them to "stop" and to "let go" doesn't seem to work. I don't know what to do about it yet... Of course part of me loves that they do that (it's cute and sweet), but I can't do much of anything when it happens, so we shall see how I find a balance...
Often times when this happens I tend to think about Luke 18:16-17.
"But Jesus called to the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
I know what it feels like to have kids practically mob you, so I think I understand where the disciples were coming from a little better now. Having grown up with this teaching, as a child I could not understand why anyone would not want children to come near Jesus. It seemed obvious to me that the disciples were a little dumb because children couldn't hurt Jesus, and in the end it was one of them who betrayed and hurt Jesus. Now, I don't know if there was a cultural norm about children and where they could/couldn't go (and if this is why the disciples protested their presence), but I do know how annoying they can sometimes be, even when their intentions are good. However, I don't think that's what Jesus meant when he talked about the kingdom of God belonging to children...
In my time here I am quickly learning how special children really are! Did you know that a child will most always believe ANYTHING you tell them? They don't really question it or try to figure out how it works, they just believe you because they trust you. Also, children who believe they can do something very well will do it "on their own" but forget to pay attention to the directions of what they should be doing. Those who don't feel like they can do the work will ask you to do it for them, or for you to help them (and consequently will pay better attention to the directions). Children are also very loving, they always want to be with you, and even when it's only been one hour, they will miss you when you are not near. Children learn by example (monkey see, monkey do); if you pick up the trash, they will eventually pick it up with you, even without you asking them to. Finally, children are very sweet (eye de paj*), they are so sweet that one cannot help but love them even when they are doing things we don't necessarily like or enjoy. I think this is because they unabashedly show and share their love, so one can't help but love them back even when they are doing things you don't like. Granted not everything a child does is "good", but there are some valuable lessons that we can learn from them. Most of them reflect how we should interact with God : Do we trust and believe Him like a child would?; Do we long to be near Him at all times?; Do we recognize we cannot do anything without His help?; Do we follow Jesus' example and model it for others? Are we as sweet and loving as a child, sweet and loving as Jesus?I hope that as my time here passes I may better learn to be more like a child.
God bless
Jamie
*With spanish pronunciation, "eye de paj" means very sweet... The english would be something like "eh-jay day pah"
