Stories from Zambia Part 2: Let the Children Come

“But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

My favorite moments in ministry are the ones in which I can see even a small glimpse of what Jesus' ministry on earth was like. Granted, every moment of serving Him does that in a sense, but I am talking about the moments that are direct parallels to stories of His life. One such moment that sticks out very prominently in my memory from my trip to Zambia in 2022 was a day when my group when to a compound(or neighborhood/village) that AFM teams had not gone to before. We pulled into a large field and were greeted by a ton of kids playing with kites and balls, as well as the pastor and leaders of a local church. We split off into smaller groups and went our separate ways.

My group started to weave between houses, and after one stop about halfway through our morning I noticed two boys had begun to follow us. Their heads would peek out from behind a house or tree, and as we got further away they’d hurry on to the next hiding spot. Eventually more kids joined them and they no longer hid, and soon a large crowd of kids followed behind us. Some carried balls and toys, and most had pieces of sugarcane they were chewing on (which I originally mistakenly thought was bamboo, but that’s a story for a different time).

As we stopped to pray and talk with people, I would turn and try to talk to or play with the kids, but they just ran away giggling. Stop after stop the kids got closer, wanting to play but being scared to get too close to the strange "muzungus" (the Nyanja word for white people) walking around the place they called home. Nevertheless, I kept trying again and again until eventually we were at our last stop of the morning.

As a handful of my team members talked to a couple, asking to pray and share the gospel with them, the rest of us walked over to some steps outside of a pool hall and sat down. We waved a few little girls over and asked  if they wanted to do our hair, and they happily came and began to braid and brush our hair, most of us having 2-3 girls tugging our heads in different directions. Though we barely spoke the same language we spent time talking and laughing, doing our best to communicate using the words we did know accompanied by hand gestures. We talked about their names, ages, school, and most importantly Jesus. 

By the time we had to leave, and large crowd had surrounded us and every direction I turned there was a new person to talk to. Now, in no way do I tell this story to compare my team and I to Jesus. In all honesty there is nothing particularly special about us. However, in that moment I couldn't help but smile for two reasons. One, I knew that it was Jesus these kids were being drawn to. Sure, we were most likely some of the first foreigners these kids had met. Sure, we had a skin tone different from their own and hair that had a different texture from theirs. But to me the big thing that made the difference between them staying hidden behind the closest building and drawing near was Jesus softening their hearts and giving us an opportunity to share Him with them. Secondly, This moment reminded me of Jesus' ministry, specifically the verse I started this post with. Time after time in the Bible we see seas of people surrounding Jesus and the disciples for one reason: they knew and believed in the power of Jesus. To sit in the middle of a crowd drawn to him, especially kids with childlike wonder and so much curiosity, was such a beautiful experience.

The Lord used this story to remind me that the things that we read in the Bible are not just these far fetched stories, or things that once happened but are no longer. No, these stories are not only true, but are still happening today! One of the places I will get to serve on my upcoming trip is a place called Kitwe. While there, my team and I will get to do quite a bit of orphanage ministry. I am excited to not only get to know and love on these kids, but also to sit back and watch the Lord pursue them. I can't wait to see their faith a curiosity! I can't wait to look inward and strive to have my own childlike faith like theirs! I am so beyond grateful and blessed that I of all people get this opportunity, and I pray it is a time of reflection and growth as I lay everything at His feet and trust in His plans to use this experience in my life.

If you’d like to support my trip financially you can do so at https://fcsmnstry.io/mkr/C597PpW82b (this method is 100% tax deductible) or over Venmo at @millssummer . Thanks!