Children are Golden

We do not get to choose how we start out in life. We do not get to choose the day we are born or the family we are born into, what we are named at birth, what country we are born in, and we do not get to choose our ancestry. -Konyenikan

Hidden World was in Costa Rica the past 10 days. We were hosted by Teen Challenge. It is an organisation that focuses on rehabilitation for drug addicts and prostitution. It has intensive Bible courses and support. Teen Challenge is spread over the world. God told the organisation in Costa Rica to focus on children in the line of prevention rather than rehabilitation. It changed from a rehabilitation center to a school.

The children range from the age of two until twelve. Some of the children comes from homes where they are lucky to get one meal a day, with little attention and cases of drugs and molestation.

At the school they get food twice a day and they are showered with love from the teachers and cooking staff. It's inspiring to look at the teachers. The teachers gets here early in the mornings and leave late in the afternoon. Obviously they are not paid a lot and children rarely have something to give back. The teachers are pouring themselves out for these broken and special kids. They must have a passion and a great love for the kids, because it is definitely not the money keeping them here. They use all their energy on the children. They help them eat, play, sleep and teaches them. They do Bible sessions with the children and teaches them how to pray, worship, think about and know God. They just serve and serve and serve and serve, day after day after day after day.

We've been having devotions with the children twice a week, and twice a week we had 30 minutes of class time with them. They grab at all the attention we give them. When we were close in their breaktime some of the team members would run around and play touch or rotten egg with them. The thing I loved the most about Teen Challenge is that we got to build them a play hall. We built a fence for the small children's play area and painted it. I never knew about all the things we had to think of when working with children. Every nail should be in so properly, because it can endanger a little kids life! We build a jungle gym and fixed a basketball net. Outside we also built a railing for the children to hold on to. There is just so much effort going into every bit of preperation, like making sure the wood is smooth because you don't want one of the children to get a splinter. Futher we just did the normal cutting grass and pulling out weeds. I can't believe the teachers feels inspired by us when it is them showing us so much of Christ! That's how the body of Christ works. Supporting and encouraging one another. Both parts has such an effect and influence on the other. 

Through it all I realized firstly what a huge work it is looking after children, how restless they are and how much detail goes into taking care of them. I also realized how much the teachers must pour out in working with these kids. They give their lives to show them love.

These children can't choose their circumstances and the conditions they are growing up in, but there are women who realized God loves each one of these children and He wants the teachers to show it to the children. Unconditional love is when the one receiving the love cannot deserve it. The teachers are actually blessed to be able to understand more about God's love for us.

But if there is one thing I know it's that these children are golden to God.