In Every Season: hands and feet

Yesterday was amazing. God was so good, and He blessed me so tremendously.

My 6th grade students and I had the chance to go to Hospice Africa yesterday afternoon for a few hours. In my last blog update, I said a little bit about what Hospice Africa was and how we had made Christmas cards in our class to take to the kids. Honestly, though, no matter how many times I've seen children with physical deformities, being with them still makes my heart break for them. How these little small creatures are surviving through their lives, unable to see or eat or speak or walk ... and it's all curable. The doctors we talked to yesterday said that most of the cancer these children are suffering from could be cured with treatment.

My kids and I talked on Friday morning and on the way home on the bus about some of the verses that being with those kids made us think of. We talked about how embracing children and loving them is one of the things that Jesus did. We talked about how Jesus came into our world in order to heal and help those who were the poorest in the community. And he told us to do the same in Matthew 25... whatever we do for 'the least of these' is actually doing something for Christ Himself.

As we were talking, the song, "Prayer of the Children" came to mind, and I shared the lyrics with a few of the kids.

Can you hear the prayer of the children
on bended knee, in the shadow of an unknown room?

Empty eyes with no more tears to cry
turning heavenward toward the light.

Crying," Jesus, help me to see the morning light of one more day,
but if I should die before I wake,I pray my soul to take."

Can you feel the hearts of the children
aching for home, for something of their very own.

Reaching hands with nothing to hold onto
but hope for a better day, a better day.

Crying," Jesus, help me to feel the love again in my own land,
but if unknown roads lead away from home,give me loving arms, 'way from harm."

Can you hear the voice of the children
softly pleading for silence in their shattered world?
Angry guns preach a gospel full of hate,
blood of the innocent on their hands.

Crying," Jesus, help me to feel the sun again upon my face?
For when darkness clears, I know you're near,
bringing peace again."

Keeley (our principal, who also came to the hospice care) and I were talking afterwards, and she made the comment, "Whenever I see that, I can just imagine WHY Jesus wanted to heal people everywhere he went. You see those kids and those men and women and you WANT to do all you can to heal them... I only WISH I could heal them."

A few of my kids were really affected by the kids in hospice care too. One of them, Ella, told me, "I just feel like God has given me so much, why can't I just give some to them? I have two legs, two hands, and my body works... And those little babies are just so tiny..." Amy, another one of my girls, was talking with a little boy and asked, "Would you mind if I pray for you?" She laid her hand on the little guy and started praying over him. I pretty much lost it; the sunglasses came on, but the tears were falling fast. I was moved to tears so many times, not only by talking to the kids and adults suffering from the tumors and cancer, but also to see the students' reactions and their love, care, compassion, and sympathy.

We also had the chance to take all of the gifts that Heritage has been collecting and give them to the kids. We took a few hundred kid's bibles and gave them away too. After dropping off the presents and bibles, my kids were able to play in the bounce-house-thing where a lot of other kids were playing. The director of the program told us that most of the kids playing on it were siblings of the hospice patients, but that a few were survivors who had been able to receive treatment and a few had only recently been diagnosed or were in the early stages, so they were still physically well for right now.