One thing that I am is busy!! But nonetheless it’s important
to let my supporters see at least a glimpse into my everyday life here in
Ndola, Zambia. I am sure every
child struggles with being truthful when telling the truth means they will be
punished. Over the past 6 months one of the lessons I have tried to instill
into my babies is the importance of telling the truth, even if it means you
will get punished. I have tried to help them understand sin and how when we do
something wrongs we are not only sinning against that person but against God. I
had been seeing a pattern of lying in some of the children and wanted them to
understand that even if I don’t know if they are lying there is someone that
does, God. There are days when I
will stop teaching the “planned lesson” to take advantage of a teachable
moment. One day we spent a good 30 minutes talking about how God is everywhere
and how he sees everything we do and knows even our every thought. As I was
talking and looked around the room many of the little faces were fascinated and
even surprised at the concept of this. Hands went up and questions started
flowing. Can he see even if it’s dark? How can he see what I am doing and also
what someone else far away is doing? I sat on the edge of one of the desks, put
the text books aside and we had ourselves a practical theology lesson. After
the questions had been satisfactorily answered we got back to our science
lesson.
A few weeks later I was in the other classroom talking with
one of the teachers and heard some commotion out in the hall. When I peaked out of the door I saw the
groundskeeper scolding some of the children from my class. I walked over and
found they were arguing with one another. Apparently, after I left some of the
boys were running and sliding on the freshly polished floors, something they
are reminded on a daily basis not to do. They know that doing this will result
in punishment. When I asked who was sliding on the floor they all of course
were telling me each others names, not their own. So I stopped them all and
after reminding them of the conversation we had some weeks ago said, “ Ok, I am
going to give you each a chance to do the right thing and tell me the truth.
Remember that even if I do not know if you are lying God knows.” There were 6 boys, one by one I asked
them ok (insert name), were you running and sliding on the floors?” 5 out of the 6 boys admitted they had
if fact disobeyed and were sliding on the floors. I thanked them for telling me
the truth and said they had done the right thing and God was happy that they
choose to tell the truth even though they knew they would be punished. I gave
them each a hug as they said,” sorry teacher for lying” and had them go sit
down in their seat. The 6th boy refused that he had been sliding and
when he did this there was a loud outcry from the class saying, “Teacher, he is
lying..he was sliding!!!!” I held up my hand, signaling them to stop talking
then said to him, “Your friends are telling me that you were sliding and you
are telling me you were not. Someone is lying. I don’t know because I was not
here but I want you to do the right thing and tell me the truth. So, I am giving you one more chance to
tell me the truth. So, if you need to change your answer go ahead and do that
now.” His reply was, “ok, yes teacher I was sliding.” He apologized, I hugged him and thanked him for telling the
truth and then he went to his seat. This dialogue took a good 15-20 minutes as
I recapped what sin is, how God sees everything even if I do not and the
importance of telling the truth even when it means you might get punished. I
had been over near the door to the classroom talking with the boys about this
and once I was finished it was time for morning break. I walked back to the
middle of the classroom and we prayed for the snack and then they lined up to
go outside. As they were lining up one of the girls came up to me crying. I
leaned down close to her, as it was difficult to hear her through the tears. I
told the rest of the class to go ahead outside and then asked her what was the
matter. My thought was that she wasn’t feeling well or someone had hit her. Through
her sobbing she said, “Teacher, I have come to beg for your forgiveness.” I
said, “Ok, what is it that you need to ask my forgiveness for?” She said, “Well
teacher, remember that time when we were still in the other building and you
had asked me if I ran around the building two times when I was only suppose to
run around once?” I said, “Yes, I remember.” “Well,” she said, “I told you that
I had only run around once, but that was a lie, I had run around two times.
Will you please, please forgive me? “ I just embraced her and rubbed her back
as her tears and sobbing continued. I had been oblivious to the fact that she
was listening to the conversation from clear across the room as I was speaking
to the 6 boys about truthfulness. I was so touched and grateful that God used
that conversation to convict her heart for lying to me that time, nearly 5
months ago. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be part of this precious moment.
I thanked her for coming back to me and telling me and that it made me very
happy and that even God was happy that she decided to come tell the truth, even
though it happened so long ago. These are the moments where I see God at work
in the hearts of his dear little children, the moments that fill my heart with
such joy to see them choosing the path of righteousness and repentance. My
prayer is that God will continue to use me to help shepherd their hearts. It’s
such a privilege to see them grow in this area and I know he is faithful to
complete the work that he has started.
Give me the patience and wisdom I need to lead them closer to you!
