A Contrast of Children

Today was the end of the Jr. High ROPES program. The parent dinner was held tonight at the camp. I was sad to see the students go, but I’m hopeful that many of them will come to the ROPES camp the first week of June and I will see soon. I was hard for me to watch as some of them left to go home to a broken life and a broken home. They are going back to the daily routine of verbal abuse and stifling. We hope to have been a light in a dark and dreary world full of despair.

On a lighter note Takemore, Wilford, Lesbin, and Anyway are four of the seven students that arrived at the camp today from Eden Children’s Villiage. They are from Zimbabwe and are here in the states competing in a home school competition. They will be competing in running, photography, singing, and knitting. We got to have lunch with them today as a staff. Sandi and I sat with Wilford and we had lots of questions. Anyway and Wilford both said they liked eating American PIZZA! That just goes to show you can never go wrong with pizza. This afternoon they climbed outside on the tower. Takie and Chepo went on the cat walk and a few of the others did the zipline. There facial expressions were very funny. In addition to the ROPES dinner we also invited some of the Eden Children (Fry’s) sponsors to also have dinner with us at RCC. The students gave their testimony and sang a few songs for us. They shared with us their hopes and dreams of what they want to study and do when they are adults. Anyway wants to come to JBC next fall and study preaching. Not to stay here in the states where life is good, but to go back to Zim and change their country. He said tonight that he wanted ZIMBABWE to be represented in Heaven. There are many lost people in Zimbabwe, people who don’t know anything of the Bible or Jesus and His love.

I saw Christ tonight in the love those students have for their fellow people, and also in their genuine gratitude for their sponsors and for the Fry’s. I feel God tugging at my newly mission minded heart. Will a Zim trip be in my future? Only God knows, and I’m okay with that.