Ministry

We have completed our second day of ministry here in Tirgu Mures with Buckner. It has been amazing to see this totally new culture and how they interact.
Our first stop in the morning is at a day center. This center is a two-year school for kids in Kindergarten through first grade and it is funded by the government. Many of the children that attend this school will not go on to elementary school. Their families are often too poor to buy the uniforms and books needed to continue their education. The kids are really fun and they want to be as close to us as they can. Each of us will often have at least one kid on our laps at any given time. They are very cute and affectionate and have a way of making you smile.
The second place is in Ceuasi, about fifteen minutes from here. This is a group home with 12 kids in it. They have special needs ranging from down syndrome to fetal alcohol syndrome to blindness or autism. These children are very special and it is really neat to see them warm up to us. One little boy has autism and he played by himself the first day and would not come near us. Yesterday he came and sat down next to me. I started talking to him and then I blew bubbles with him for a while. He then would lay next to me and wait for me to tickle him, he would laugh and laugh and roll off the cot, then sit up and crawl back over and lay next to me and wait for me to tickle him again.
I often wonder if these children will remember when the americans came and jumped with them on a trampoline and blew bubbles for them... probably not. Will they remember anything that we told them? Probably not. But I believe that God called me to minister to His children, and to love them like He does. My desire is to do that and to catch a glimpse of His heart for his children. To love them without the condition that they love me back, because that is what He does for us.