And a child will lead them

Since arriving at Tania Centre, time and again I have been astounded at just how much these children are capable of.  Sunday’s church services are no exception.  At 7:00 AM every Sunday, the children and teachers gather in their dining hall for church.  Of course, this is 7:00 African time, so when I walk in the door at 7:05, they are still in the midst of setting up the sound equipment, and only a few children are there.  But the few children who are there are the ones setting up the sound equipment!  It seems to be the middle schoolers who are in charge of sound, and they need no guidance, as I’m sure they’ve been doing it for several years.

When the church service started my first Sunday here, I think I may have been the only adult in the room.  That was no hindrance to them getting started—a group of three girls (one 6^th grader and two 4^th graders) led the singing, while a small group ranging in age from 1^st grade to 8^th grade led in dance.  One of the 8^th grade boys played along a little on the keyboard for a while before the pastor (who also happens to be the main church musician) stepped in and took over.  It was so beautiful and humbling to see such young children leading each other (and adults) in worship.

Some of the worship leaders:

Most of the songs were in Swahili, so I couldn’t sing along much, but I did catch the occasional “wewe ni Bwana” (you are Lord) that I understood.  As the service kept going, more children trickled in.  It both amused and amazed me to see the little 3- and 4-year-olds walk in by themselves, find a chair, and behave better than many teenagers that I’ve seen in church services in the US.  (No, I’m not talking about our wonderful FCBC youth!  :-)

After 45 minutes or so of worship, it was time for class presentations.  Each class came up, and if any of the students had a song or scripture or dance they wanted to share, they could.  Even those itty bitties took to the microphone like pros, introducing themselves and saying what they had to share.  One 4^th grade girl decided to sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” for us, much to everyone’s delight.  (It’s almost Christmas in July, right?)  This week, I had been teaching some of the kids the motions for “Deep Down Boogie” (a UW song from sports camp a couple of years ago) so we presented that this morning.  Next week I’ll have to remind them to bring their recorders, since the pastor is requesting a presentation from the “flute group”!

When it was time for the message, the younger students left for Sunday School, but the 5^th graders on up stayed with the teachers for the message.  After the message, a basket was passed around for offering.  It was extremely humbling to see children with toes sticking out of their broken shoes and holes in their school uniform (their Sunday best) so eagerly reaching out to drop a coin in the basket.  A modern day widow’s mite right before my eyes.

Being a teacher and having a children’s pastor for a roommate means that I believe in children as leaders, and I know they are capable of so much more than many adults believe.  But I am still blown away by how much these children are teaching me about leadership, humility, and courage.  May God help me to always be open to learn, even from the littlest among us.