A whole army of my countrymen

I love epic movies, you know those wonderful cinematic events that stir your soul and remind you that there are things in this world worth fighting for. I will never forget the first time I watched the Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. This part isn't in the book but still I loved it. (I am assuming at this point that everyone has watched this movie, if you have not, please drop everything and go do it now, it is for your own good). Darkness has set in, the rain comes, and the massive army of the enemy does not seem to end. The army for the good guys is meager. The best soldiers are not there. Old man and young boys are being forced to fight. They are about to fight not only ugly creatures known as Orcs but despair as well. They are doing their best to muster up every ounce of courage they have but you can see the fear on their face. At that point, there is a bang on their gate, and in walks a whole army of some of the best trained elf soldiers. They are known for the bravery and skill as soldiers. The spirits of the others soar. They can do this. They can fight. My conditions are nothing like that but recently I had one of those moments, one of those what I have done moments. Can I really do this? Can I make it? Who am I that God would use me? Am I alone? Not to mention several others. My army that God sent to remind me of His faithfulness was a team from Perimeter. My spirits soared. They were such an unbelievable blessing to me. There are so many stories and memories from this trip.

And, to keep up the epic theme, I thought I would share one of the major things the team focused on. In the village of Karansi, we have established a wonderful school that is thriving and changing the lives and futures of all the children involved. This team wanted to reach out to the kids that do not go to that school. So, we had a sports camp. Our effort took quite a bit of blood, sweat, and tears to prepare. On the third day, we had things well organized. A couple hundred of students were rotating through out the various stations of sports and games. We knew that there was another school close by that was due to dismiss soon but we were not sure if they knew that they were welcome to come to the camp. So three of us, including Colin one of my former students, went up to the school to talk with the teachers to invite all of the children. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. The school had about 300-500 children roughly. At dismissal, they are lined up and began to chant. They got louder and louder and the energy was building. Colin held up a soccer ball and had them all follow him to the field. He ran with all of the children following down the hill. A whole army of chilren unleashed unto the unsuspecting American teenagers! But it went so well! The children got T-shirts, for many of them the first time they have received anything new. Their clothes were older, filthy, and hole-torn. As I looked out onto the field with all of these children lined up and playing games with their bright, new, blue T-shirts, I couldn't help but think of Braveheart. When they are first preparing for battle, William Wallace says, "I see a whole army of my countrymen here in the defiance of tyranny. They may take our lives but they will never take our FREEDOM!" I missed a bit of the speech but you get the idea. These children were treated with dignity and respect. They were played with and loved. For the first time for many, they were hugged and given the freedom to play and to enjoy their childhood. I never realized that I had taken my childhood for granted. We were able to share the love of God with them and to tell them that Jesus is real and that He cares for them. They were there in defiance of the oppression and poverty that surrounds them. They will not be destined to fall into the same fatalistic mindset that things can never change and that there is not hope. God offers so much more. This is just the beginning!