Being A Child

“How did you become a Christian?” “Did God ever speak to you through a dream?” “What is the most difficult time in your life as a missionary in Taiwan?” Q & A time. These questions belong to 5th and 6th Graders from the Manahanim Elementary School. These are very serious questions. No one would expect these sort of questions from any elementary school aged children. 

I am here in Bekasi, Indonesia, visiting the Christian Education ministry of the Mahanaim Foundation, our host for our team. We are a group of twelve people from the seminary in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, coming to Indonesia to serve children from different areas around the cities of Jakarta and Bekasi. Today, our team members are scattered around different classrooms leading devotions for the day. This is a Christian school, and each class meets every morning for devotions before they start their day. I am assigned to the elementary English program consisting of children from the 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade levels. I am a little surprised with the questions, and pleased with their serious inquiry, considering the ages of these children.

Jesus said: “Let the children come to me, and  do not hinder them,   for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not   receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17, ESV)

These words of Jesus has gained a deeper meaning to me after my visit to the children of Indonesia. That day, with their questions, they truly helped me come to Jesus with a sense of awe and wonder, and with much humility.

During the next five days in Indonesia, our team members, students from the Holy Light Theological Seminary from Taiwan, went to several places serving children in their different localities. We visited indigent children at a community center helping poor families from a nearby garbage mountain. We played with children from a small orphanage. We saw Muslim children dance. And on the last day, we were at this Mahanaim Elementary School leading devotions and teaching Mandarin Chinese to school children from K to 12 Grade levels. We learned so much humility. Every team member came back from a whole day of teaching with a sense of wonder and a deeper appreciation for God’s amazing grace and wondrous work here in Indonesia. These children belong to the kingdom of God.