May 22, 2024 Sharing Love

About 100 children from the village of Nynakpala sit in chairs bathed in a semicircle of light illuminated by the solo lightbulb attached to the outside of the school’s rafters, and all eyes are on Ruth.

She rocks from side to side, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. One hand holds the booklet she reads from, and the other is behind her, holding the baby she is carrying, which is tied to her back.

“I have five children, but no grandchildren,” explains Ruth. “But God tells me that even if I don’t have any of my own flesh and blood, there are so many other kids in the world that I can love.

For Ruth, this is her first mission trip with Quiet Hour Ministries. And she was over the moon when she found out she’d be helping with the kid’s meetings in Tamale, Ghana. QHM staff did their best to prepare her for the large number of kids that were expected to turn out for the meetings. Ruth said she would be ready!

“They’ve been so sweet,” said Ruth. “When I go to our site in the evenings, two or three kids always come running to me to hold my hand, and I just feel so much love for them.

“And in my heart, I know their life is hard. So, I remember to give a little prayer for them. I pray that God somehow reaches them wherever they are because I know life can be very hard. I just pray that they get to know the Lord Jesus.”

But Ruth was able to show them a little bit of Jesus’ love, just by letting them hold her hand and carry them on her back, by helping them feel seen, encouraged, and loved.

“One night, one of the little babies was crying and crying,” Ruth said. “She wouldn’t stop crying, and I started caressing her. I started singing lullabies in Spanish because I used to sing them to my kids. So, I started singing a lullaby in Spanish, and then the baby started smiling.”

“The baby’s older sister asked me, ‘Do you want to hold her?’ and immediately I was like, ‘Yes.’ So, I held her, but then I was about to begin the program, so I went to hand her back. Then the sister said, ‘Oh, we can tie her to you,’ and so I started the program with her strapped to my back, and it was amazing!

“God has given me a lot of compassion and love. And I believe that the gifts God gives us are given so we can share them with others. I’m so thankful I came here. The other staff tried to prepare me, or warn me, that there might be 200 kids. But instead of feeling overwhelmed, I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to have 200 kids to show love to. God has been so good to me. The least I can do is be good to His children and love them.’”

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13