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Sweet Redemption

There’s a boy at Asha. We’ll call him Sanji. When we arrived at the home he was quiet and withdrawn. He had only been there a few months. He cried often, didn’t respond to questions, and spent much of his time alone, staring off into space. He got picked on by the other boys a lot too. After weeks and weeks of different Aunties spending time alone with Sanji, holding him, telling him we loved him, wiping his tears away and praying for him, something happened. It was settle at first.

He started to come alive.

He would approach the Aunties with a smile on his face, excited to tell us something. He’d walk around singing or dancing. He started to joke with and wrestle with the other boys. And he no longer withdrew into himself. That spirit was always inside of him. But it took him awhile to believe the words that we told him, to believe he was loved and he was special. It took hugs, time spent, and much attention and affirmation. But once he started to believe he was loved, he came to trust us more, and his confidence grew. And I am confident that, even though we left, he has tasted love and come to see that he is worthy of love. That lesson will far outlast our time there.

The thing about Sanji’s story from these past two months is, it’s also my story. Over the past two months, the head knowledge that I am loved by the most high God has finally transferred to my heart. My confidence in Him and my trust in Him has grown. I know here His voice. Anytime I am being attacked with the lies of Satan, I stop and ask God to fill my mind with truth. And he does every time.

And through this, I have come alive.

I cannot sum up for you one thing I learned this summer. I cannot put into words what He has done in my heart. But just like the confidence Sanji has gained from us pouring love into Him, this change, this life in me, is going to last.

I love India. And I love all the people we have met here. It has been such a blessed season of life. But I am so excited for what is ahead. Because I have seen my God work. And He has told me He has great things ahead. For me, for the boys, for India. And I really do trust my God.