Learning Again Important Things

I missed writing these notes last week. I was on Mission with my Church. We delivered Vacation Bible School – lock, stock, and barrel – to a small Church and shared our lives with a bunch of wonderful kids and teen-agers.

The main difference I noted was that “snack time” consisted of much more than a couple of cookies and a glass of cool-aid. Rather, the ladies prepared sandwiches – peanut butter and jelly, turkey, ham, cheese, etc. sandwiches, and some of the kids ate two or three sandwiches and all the cookies they could get. A local teacher told me that the kids get breakfast and lunch at school during the academic year, but during the Summer they might not get more than one meal, if any meal, during the day.

On the last day, as we were giving away everything we could (since we won’t use these VBS materials again this year), the kids were snapping up the posters, the hanging signs, even the “press-on” stuff on the walls.  One shy, quiet little boy, who had eaten a couple of sandwiches, clutched his sack with the crafts he had made, and the “take home” materials he had acquired, as now the teacher was offering him his choice of several items in the room. He chose those he wanted and asked if he could really take them with him. When the teacher said “yes, they are yours now,” he leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “this is the best day, ever.”

It was just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was just simple crafts, inexpensive and easy. It was just “throw away” stuff – good for the week, and then pretty much useless. But for this small boy, in an out-of-the-way wide spot in the road, it was “the best day – ever.”

I’m sad he has had so few days to pick from. I pray his life will be filled with wonderful things in the years ahead. We all learned a lesson from this child. It is going, caring, lloving, and sharing that are the really valuable commodities in life. He heard the Good News, and perhaps he will come to faith. He was lloved, given the opportunity to learn Truth, and saw that there are people who care about him.

That may or may not change his life. One thing for sure – it changed ours.