LOVE

In the 11th chapter of John there is a story about Jesus raising Lazarus to life. I believe if you asked anybody they would consider this a miracle. I like miracles! I like looking for them. Sometimes, I find myself disappointed. Other times I am overjoyed to hear of someone’s miracle. Each day at The Covering, I am surrounded by miracles. I find myself thinking back to the intake photos for most of the kids. I think about what they looked like and where they are coming from, the stories behind their eyes. Each day the darkness fades more and more from each one of them.
I like to look people in the eye when I am listening. I found out this week it is a sign of disrespect here. I was talking with Sam and he wanted to know why I stare in His eyes. I am always looking. Looking for what isn’t on the outside. Looking for what is fading. I am looking for the miracles in their lives, and I find Jesus. I find hope. I find LOVE.
Sunday, after Cari had finished her message and worship was over, we again invited the kids who wanted to talk more to stay. This week our crowd was bigger. You never know where the conversation may go after the initial discussion is finished. On this day it did go somewhere deep, somewhere behind those eyes. Safienatu mention that she worries about bad things happening. We quickly asked everyone else is they felt the same way knowing their pasts. As we talked, more and more of them opened up about their fears and how could they overcome them. I was so excited to see these children open themselves up and let Cari and I in. However, I believe it was God who was breaking down the barriers on this day. As we talked through ways they could help each other, help themselves, and allow God to help, you could see them relax. We decided to pray for each person in the circle. They immediately jumped in and allowed everyone to pray and lay hands on them. God’s power and healing could be felt. The little miracles that call me Uncle every day, were receiving their own miracle as God removes the darkness from their eyes. I am so thankful to be part of it.
Oh you thought that was it too, didn’t you? Well, Sunday wasn’t over. One of my favorite things is when the kids all gather together and dance. Sam usually leads this. The kids form a large circle and Sam will call one child into the middle who will then dance. The beats are usually provided by Amidu, Big Dauda, Fallua, Joseph, or Abdul. Sunday we danced because was on hour 13 of 16 straight hours of rain. First, I love how this builds self-confidence in them. Can you imagine 80 American kids just calling each other out to dance in front of their peers? Second, I love the family atmosphere. The kids all clap, cheer, encourage, support, and love on each one who is in the circle while they are there and after they are done.

Sunday, one of our miracles struck me. In that same story in John, Jesus says in verse 40 “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Maybe, well OK sometimes, I just don’t believe. In I John 4:8 it states that God is LOVE! So love can bring about miracles. Clearly it was shoved in my face Sunday. Who was brought into the circle first and second you ask? Lucy and Moses were the first to be cheered on. Each one was lovingly carried in their chair to the center of the circle as everyone cheered. Moses and Lucy are both children with special needs. We all know that is something to overcome anywhere, but in Sierra Leone, it is even worse. I watched as Moses drooled! Then I watched Lucy concentrating, as all the other girls do, on the motions she made with her hands and her head. The older girls got real excited and laughed with pleasure. Each day I watch the girls pop into the nursery to love on these two. Lucy gets better every day. Can God, I mean LOVE, perform a miracle in her life? As the next to last beat was laid down and everyone was invited to dance, there was one more dance to be had. Isatu picked Lucy out of her chair and helped her walk to the middle for one more dance, this time on her feet. With the love of Isatu’s hands holding her, and the encouragement of the other girls, Lucy shook it for God!
It is nice to know that miracles are around us all the time. And thanks to the LOVE, I mean God, in those who work with The Raining Season and those living at The Covering there are many more to come. May you choose2 believe that you will see the glory of God in the miracles around you today.