What difference is our school making in the lives of these little shepherds? Well, when these children come to our school, many of them are learning about God for the first time. They learn that God created each one of them in a beautiful and unique way – and the world, as their perfect home. Why? Because God wants a love relationship with His children.
They learn that God is not distant and separated from those He created, rather, He is daily involved in their lives, helping in times of trouble, providing for their needs, loving, guiding and protecting – hearing and answering prayer. They learn that the kind of love God has for them is so real and true that He came to earth as the man Jesus, and was willing to lay down His life that their sins might be forgiven, that they might have eternal life with Him.
These children learn about God and His love through the pastors and teachers, through missionaries, and the children begin to respond. The changes are visible and real. It’s as though a light’s been switched on somewhere deep inside, illuminating a sense of joy as the child realizes he is valued, loved and accepted. And when the little shepherd dons the school uniform for the first time, for the first time he feels like a real Nigerian child.
As he learns how to read and write, learns about people and places he’d never known to exist, learns to sing and pray, his self-esteem becomes strong, he feels better about himself, he feels happier and begins to make new friends, playing for the first time with children of tribes different from his own.
Just imagine, he thinks to himself, people from a ‘white tribe’ come from across the ‘big river’ just to teach him, play with him and care for him in special ways! They are sent by God, they tell him, because God loves him so much. All these new experiences are gifts from God, he is told - his, because he is God’s own special child!
And so these children – once living isolated lives of physical and spiritual darkness are reborn into the kind of kids God intended them to be from the creation of the world. Children of light, joy and peace!