We arrived at the church to a buzz of activity. A huge pot of hot chocolate was being prepared for the children amidst a hot debate over whether it had enough chocolate in it or not. The musicians were practicing. Questions were plenty, "Do you remember where the Christmas costumes are?", "Where is the list of children who are going to act in the pageant?", "How many cookies will each child get?". We were set to work practicing a simple puppet show and one puppet provided us with great amusement when its pants utterly refused to stay up. Piles of cookies were arranged on plates, and a system created for serving the children. We were well on our way to a Shutka Christmas celebration.
Gradually as time progressed the mob began to develop outside the door, a loud, active mass of children, pressing as close as they could get, eager to enjoy the festivities and find out whether today would be the long awaited day that the "packets" would be distributed. Through the door I could see them pressed so tightly together I thought they would crush the littlest ones in the middle whose dismayed faces made me want to pluck them out of the crowd. Finally the time came for them to be allowed in, and so gradually the seats were filled, and the room became something like mildly ordered chaos, with well over a hundred children brimming with excitement.
The program began and we presented the puppet show and some music. Then there was a flurry to dress the actors in their costumes as quickly as possible. The Christmas story was read, and the little actors were pushed forward at the proper time to represent the character they had been chosen for. Some had very shy expressions, but were excited to have been chosen to participate. They moved to their places, and dutifully stood in their positions, obviously pleased to be up at the front. The angels made everyone laugh by flapping their "wings" as they "flew" down the aisle. All this was punctuated with constant commands from the sidelines for the observing children to sit down and be quiet, in hopes of maintaining at least a small sense of order. The program closed with a song and dance, which caused great merriment among the children.
Next came the long awaited distribution of the Operation Christmas Child boxes. I have helped package these in America, and now here I was on the other side helping to distribute them. It's a little different than one might expect. The desire for a "packet" is great, and the number is limited, so it was a battle to maintain order during distribution. A guard was even posted at the door to prevent people from re-entering after they received one. It was a tense, chaotic atmosphere. Once the room cleared a little bit and there was some peace I did get to help a few little girls open their boxes. The expressions on their face were priceless as they pulled out dolls and clothes and other fun things.
The moments that I connect with individual children during times like these feel the most significant to me. One poor little child was having a rough day. She was crying and seemed tired and distraught. They kept shoving her into a little nook under the counter with a cookie and ordering her to be quiet. Finally I picked her up and held her a while. It's moments like these I love, to sow love and care into the lives of these little children.
After doing some clean up we cleared out and headed home. I left with a different perspective of so many things than I had arrived with that morning. The thought of the rough households so many of these children come from can be heartbreaking at times, and it is touching to see how they respond to the efforts made to reach out to them. Just a smile and a kind touch can light up their faces. I pray that through it all they will recognize the love of Jesus and choose to turn to Him.
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