By Kelly Fudge
I had the privilege and honor to participate in the Breath of Heaven Vacation Bible School for a week. As we taught through the Fruits of the Spirit, our primary goal was simple: to give the children the best time of their lives. I was nervous at first about how I would even be able to connect with them since our life experiences were worlds apart. It did not take long, however, for their child-like spirits to venture out from underneath the tough exteriors. I found out that they just wanted to be loved like any other child!

When I committed to doing VBS with these amazing children, I knew that I would have to give them everything that I had that week, because they deserved the very best of what we had to offer. During every moment that I experienced playing and talking with them, God was teaching me how to love well. We, as followers of Christ, are called to “care for orphans and widows in their distress refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27). As I got to know some of these very precious children, like Charity, Anna, Loveness, Rachel and Irene, I realized that I would never get back this special time that I had to spend with them. For me, to love well in the moments that we had together involved not only giving my time and attention to them, but also making the effort to get to know their hearts. In that way, I was able to serve them by responding to what their hearts needed the most.

There was Anna who lived with 15 other people in a small house. Anna was just coming into her own and trying to gain
confidence in life. To love her well was not just painting her fingernails over a good conversation, it was also realizing that when she stuck out her foot she needed her toenails painted as well!

On Friday the end of that week, when everyone was tired, God was still calling me to love these children well. We had taken all of the children on a day’s outing to a large park just outside of the city. Loveness, Irene, Collins, Norah, Joseph, Rachel, and I were gathered around the water slides (that were unfortunately not working that day) watching other groups of children run down one of the huge slides. I asked them if they wanted to go, and they looked timidly up at the gigantic slide and said, “No”. Not wanting them to miss this adventure, I picked up little Norah, grabbed the hands of several of the other kids and began walking up the steps. The rest joined in, and we all began climbing our way to the top of one slide. When we reached the pinnacle and looked down, I must admit that it was a pretty daunting drop! But together, we moved past our dread of the steep decline and began walking down the slide. That day the children conquered their fears, and God showed me that loving people well means holding a friend’s hand and helping them through things that are scary.

I have always enjoyed reading the great passages about love that God has given us in the Bible. In my time with the children of Breath of Heaven, I found out what these messages of love truly mean. When you love someone well you invest in their life, even if it is for a short season. You give to others your best love and joy, which are things that everyone needs. And when you leave, you know you have loved well by the tears that are shed by all.