We have been in Zimbabwe a little over a week now and have enjoyed exploring a culture foreign to us. We have led kids clubs, visited a home for abandoned babies, and successfully learned to walk across the street, which is surprisingly difficult when cars drive on the left side of the road and pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way.
Even though we have not been here long, one orphanage has already impacted my life. Last Saturday we went to an orphanage about 10 minutes from where we are staying. We had been warned of the poor living conditions and the lack of nurturing that these orphans received but i could not fully understand what the meant until we got there and experienced it for ourselves. These children acted as any other children would. They played. They laughed. They sang. However one thing stood out, unlike other schools and orphanages we had visited, these children did not crowd our feet waiting for a visit from the tickle monster, or tug on our clothes just to receive a loving smile from a "Makiwa" (native name for a white person). Here the children had not received much love so they did not know how to accept our attempts to build relationships with them. We would try walking to them and they would quickly respond and then continue speaking Ndebele (their native language) with their friends.
After this visit I prayed that God would take down any and every barrier that separated us from showing these children the love of God. I prayed that through our visits these children would understand that God loves them and that Jesus died for each on of them so that they could spend eternity with Him. As I hope you all know.. GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS!
A week later we returned to this orphanage. At first they were hesitant to let us talk and play with them, but after we played a few games with them they began to open up. Unlike last week they were very enthusiastic about singing, receptive toward the scripture we taught and accepted our involvement during crafts. They did not cling to us like we had experienced with other children, but they were much more receptive to our attempts to build relationships with them. I cannot wait to see how God continues to reveal Himself while we are in Zimbabwe.
Please pray that these children will be receptive to the Word of God and
understand the sacrifice and love of Christ.
For the Word of God is LIVING and ACTIVE. Sharper than
any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. -Hebrews 4:12
-Lindsay