Seeds planted.

The kids who come to our school are from a mixture of religious backgrounds - some are from Buddhist families and some are from Christian families. The school is openly a Christian school and so all the parents know that they are taught Bible stories here and we pray etc etc. Though some parents have specifically told their children not to bow their heads in prayer and to just ignore the things they are taught about Christianity - it's been really cool to see the seeds that have already been planted in these kids. Though the signs are small, and could be easily missed, they are still there. Faith as small as a mustard seed right?

Here are some examples - there is a little boy who comes here. He's in 3rd grade - but nobody is entirely sure of his age. He was taken away from his parents when he was 5 months old because they were both put in jail for drug dealing. Ever since he has been in a children's home. The home is a good place for him to be and they treat him well - but growing up without your parents is difficult wherever you are, even if you are placed in the best of children's homes. About a week ago, he broke his ankle. He went to the hospital with my room mate and she said that they kept asking him questions like 'what's your mother's name?', 'what's your father's name' and 'where do you live?' and to each question, he gave a disheartening 'I don't know.' Even through all of this, there is still a seed growing in him. This morning I was sitting with him, playing a game and I noticed some writing on his leg. I said 'What is that writing? Did you do that? What does it say?' and he replied with 'Yes teacher. I show you on paper' and on a piece of paper he drew a picture to himself and an arrow pointing to the words 'I Love God.'
Yesterday, on the way home from school we were dropping off the little girl who's mother has cancer. She has been through so much in her little life, and while we aren't sure how much she understands, everything that has happened to her mother is bound to have effected her in one way or another. We were listening to a CD with the song 'Our God is greater' on it, and as my room mate picked her up out of the van and spun her round she looked up and in English said 'Teacher, we have a big, big God!'
And one of the other 3rd graders, spent the whole bus journey home talking about what he had learned about the Bible and all the stories he knew about God. He goes around singing 'open the eyes of my heart Lord' and remembers so much that he's heard or learned. He comes from a Buddhist family, and has even had to be a monk for his Grandfathers funeral.
Another little boy lives with his Grandparents. His parents divorced and his mother remarried so didn't take him with her, and his Dad didn't want him. We found out the other day that if he weren't here, he would be going to school at the temple. And we've heard stories about how the younger boys are abused and treated by the older monks at the temples. 
Every child here has a unique story, and they all have a need for a seed to be planted.


Last night, we met with a lady who the girls have come to know very well whilst they've been here. She said something that has stuck with me. She talked about how we wouldn't know, until we got to heaven, what lives we have touched and which individuals we have made a difference to. I've only been here a month, but I already feel responsible for what happens to these kids. If I feel that way after such a short time of knowing them, how much more does their Father in Heaven care about them? I'm learning to depend on God for my needs more and more here, but I think the bigger challenge is learning to depend on Him for their needs and their lives too.