A Love That You Can't Leave

When we arrived at the one-room church made of gray cement blocks and concrete flloor, we saw thirty smiling faces through the doorway. The children at La Concordia had heard that we were coming to do VBS, so they were there to greet us with bright smiles.

We had been expecting to do VBS in the afternoon, so we were planning to use our time in the morning to prepare and practice. However, we couldn't keep these excited children waiting, so we changed our plans. In thirty minutes, Emily and I trained the VBS workers to act out two skits, perform a puppet show, make the crafts, play the games, and sing the songs. Talk about flexibility and improvisation!

In no time at all, VBS was swinging in full motion, and the children loved it. They laughed with us as the good Samaritan bandaged the wounded man with toilet paper. They sang with us as we taught them Father Abraham and the Hokey Pokey. And they listened quietly to every word we said as we explained that God is the Father who always welcomes his lost children into His arms.

As soon as the last activity was complete and our vans were loaded, we told the children that they were free to go home. But they didn't. They did not want to leave! So instead of going back to Jinotega early, we stayed to play. We read books, played catch with tennis balls, took pictures, and had a tickle fight. After two and a half hours of VBS, we stuck around an extra hour to just play.

I strongly believe that part of the reason that those kids did not want to go home was because they were attracted, not to us, but to the love of Jesus that radiated from us. The compassion that we showed, the care that we gave, and the program that we brought to them all demonstrated the amazing love of the Lord. Because of that love, they wanted to stay.

When the love of God shines in us, people will be drawn to it, and they won't want to leave it. I am challenged by these children to always carry that kind of love - the kind of love that makes people want to stick around.