We Are Called to Serve: "Finding Christ in the Face of a Child"

Even if I have never met them before I look down and see a look of love.

The motto for the Salesian Lay Missioners is, “Finding Christ in the Face of a Child.” I really didn’t think much of this motto as I was getting ready to leave for South Sudan. In fact, I have never really been a big fan of children. I’ve just never really known what to do with them. I never really knew how to play or interact with them until I started dating Ashley (a person who absolutely loves children). Actually, growing up, I would avoid children like the plague and always hang out with the older guys. Knowing this, I am pleasantly surprised that this is the topic I chose to reflect on in my first month in Gumbo.

In the gospels, we hear Jesus claim, multiple times, that children have a special place in the kingdom of heaven, or that we should be like children in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. In Mark, Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Mark 10:15). Then, in Matthew, we also hear Jesus proclaim, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). I never really understood the hype about the children. Why are they so special? Why does the kingdom of God belong to them and not the poor or the humble? I have seen some pretty spoiled and bratty children, does God mean them? Why? How? How is it that we have to be like children to enter the kingdom of heaven? None of this really made sense to me until a couple weeks into my mission.

Just like the children have here, we must embody and live out Christ’s love

When I first got here, I felt a little lost. There were so many new people and new faces, but they were not as welcoming as I expected them to be. Later I realized how many volunteers come through here that maybe the people were hesitant to get to know or remember another one only to have them leave in a couple of days or weeks or months. However, this was not how the children acted towards me.

For example, everyday after oratory (youth center) we have rosary in front of the church, which is a 2-minute walk from the fields. Since I am in charge of oratory, I have to collect all the balls and put them back into the storage shed, so I am always slightly late and always trying to round up the children who are still playing. Every time, one or two of the little children run up to me from behind and hold my hand and we walk together to church hand in hand. Even if I have never met them before (or don’t remember meeting them) I look down and see a look of love. Even though I was new, they still trusted in me and sought me to hold their hands on the way to church.

After the rosary, as everyone is heading home, I try to play with the children a little bit. I like to run around and chase them and try to catch them. Their laughter and their smiles are contagious. Without fail, there are always a couple of kids who run up to me with their hands up yelling “Arf ana! Arf ana!” which means, “Carry me! Carry me!” in Arabic. So I pick them up and throw them up into the air (and then catch them of course). Then more kids inevitably want to be thrown up into the air, so I play with them until I have to force them to go home because it is getting dark.

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3)

Even more, every time we leave the compound and pass by the neighborhood where people live, there are always kids playing outside. Once they see us, they will stop what they are doing to wave at us and say hello with huge smiles on their faces. Sometimes they may even go out of their way to run towards the car and make sure that we see them and wave. So even when we are not playing and I am just seeing them from the car, they can still show me how much I am loved for just being me and being present to them.

I know that when I have a bad day or when I am really frustrated with school, I can always go to oratory and to rosary and know that the children will put a smile on my face. I know that the children will make all my frustrations disappear from my mind. It is with the children that I feel most loved. It is these interactions that make all the frustrations and struggles worth it. I have never found it so easy to see Christ and Christ’s love.

So what is Christ calling us to when he says that we must be like little children to enter into the kingdom of God? He is calling us to love without condition. He is calling us to hold the hand of the stranger. He is calling us to walk with the lost and ensure that they feel welcomed and loved wherever they are. He is calling us to play, to laugh, to be joyful and happy, because that laughter and joy is contagious to everyone around. He is calling us to run into His arms and let Him throw us up in the air and trust that He will catch us when we fall back down.

"Arf ana! Arf ana!"

Just like the children have here, we must embody and live out Christ’s love. It is not enough to just receive the love of God, but we must share it with everyone whom we encounter. I am still a foreigner here; I am just another volunteer who has come and who will leave, yet these children still welcome me and love me regardless of all of this. In the same way, we are called to be God’s love to everyone we encounter. I have learned that it does not matter whether it is another volunteer in a string of many, a stranger that we walk by on the sidewalk, a homeless person who is dirty and sits begging for money, a friend or family member, it is our responsibility to make sure they feel God’s love. It could be acknowledging them with a short “good morning” and a smile, or even having a short conversation with them. It could be the only positive conversation they have all day! It could be the only sign that someone realizes they exist. We never know what is going on in a person’s life, just like the children do not know what is going on my mind and the frustrating day that I may have just had, but a simple smile or running up to hold my hand, or just wanting me to chase them and throw them up in the air can instantly brighten my day.

In Danielle Rose’s song “Be God’s,” the chorus says, “Let your life change the world, one person at a time. Let your life be the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” We are called to change the world by the way we live our lives. We are called to be Christ’s love and presence to everyone we meet. We must be like these little children in our interactions with everyone who we encounter. It is only when we learn to act like a child that the kingdom of God may come to fruition here on earth.