Among the existing church, community and our Memphis staff there were the popular kids. The ones who have street cred at the age of two and who everyone loves to hold and high five. That was Meechie. He was so little but he had more street smarts than I probably ever will. He was everyone’s favorite with his husky voice and mischievous brown eyes, he had a new girlfriend on ever team. I walked to Meechie’s house every morning to pick him up for Bible club. Many times I would find him sitting on the front porch eating noodles with his neighbor, Dee Dee. After weeks of walking Meechie to and from Bible clubs he proclaimed me his girlfriend. We had many long walks in the morning with me carrying him on my back and his head resting on my shoulder. Sometimes he would fall asleep while we were walking and other times he would spend the entire walk trying to steal team member’s hats and furiously waving at the occasional passing car.
One day Meechie asked me when we were going to get married. I remember hugging Meechie tightly and laughing with the team members we were walking with. Later that morning he smacked his lips on my cheek while I wasn’t looking. He spent the rest of the day yelling “I kid Mi Kati” or “I kissed Miss Katie!”
Meechie loved to help Jessica and I run our Bible club and he loved to drink bubbles. Despite Jess giving him talks about the dangers of drinking bubbles, many times he found them to be his beverage of choice. Meechie loved wearing sunglasses, especially my neon wayfarers. During song time he loved to be held and occasionally he would flip upside down to get a better view of things. He was a smiling, crazy-dancing, bubble-gum-chewing, hat-stealing angel.
I loved Meechie but I loved all of the kids. There were the twins who were nine. They were such beautiful girls and so motherly and caring. When I picked them up for Bible club one would carry their two-year old neighbor and the other would carry her diaper bag. They made sure everyone had a partner when we crossed the street and offered to carry anyone who had sore feet. I’d never seen anything like them.
On my last day at Bible club I accidently stepped in a red ant pile. I didn’t realize what had happened until I felt sharp pains in my lower leg. I looked down to see my shoe crawling with ants. The twins quickly assessed the situation. They instructed me to take of my shoes and socks and one started brushing the ants of my legs while the other beat my shoes together.
The twins overwhelmed me. They daily lived love to each other and to those around them. Finishing the walk that morning I remember them patting my arm and telling me not to cry. The other kids ran ahead as soon as the club was in sight but the twins stuck by my side. They put their arms around me while I explained to Jessica what had happened. They ran their hands through my hair and made sure I knew it was going to be okay when I started feeling dizzy from the ant bites. Even after I told them they should go play they would skip over to check on me. At only nine years old the twins had a better understanding of love than most people I know. The twins loved Jesus and He loved them.
There were the tough kids, the funny kids, the sweet kids, there were shy kids and the kids you knew were hurting. Many of the kids had known more pain in their few years then I might ever know. There were kids who were neglected and kids who had never heard the name of Jesus. It’s hard to see people in pain and not be able to help. It’s hard to know what the problem is but not be able to fix it. It’s hard to realize that in many situations the best thing you can offer is a shoulder to cry on and a friend no matter what.
