touch

yesterday was my first full day in goma and much of it was spent working with the children at the hospital and its surrounding area. the conditions here are much like i expected. there is much poverty, but also a great sense of community. people walk up and down the roads collecting the things that they need to live the best lives that they can. there are soldiers here and there patrolling the roads. motorcycles are everywhere and provide needed transportation for those without. there are bundles of sticks being carried to use as a source of fire. there is water being carried for use in drinking and cooking and washing. babies are being carried on the backs of mothers and sisters and aunts. or in the arms of fathers and brothers and uncles. there is talking and laughing and crying and a whole host of emotions. there is hope. and there is struggle. there is life. and there is death. an amazing place.

working with the children was a great and incredible experience. we made musical instruments and then danced and sang as loud as we could. energy and hope and happiness were present. communication seems to be a major barrier for me, but hopefully, i'll learn quickly and in the meantime, smiles will have to do. the only thing that i can honestly say that has taken me by surprise was my reaction to some of the physical conditions of a few of the children. as i was working with the second group in the afternoon, i noticed a few of the kids crawling around. and then i saw one of the little boys (perhaps three or four) with a foot that looked like a stump of flesh. it took me a moment to realize that it was his foot. and then i noticed that his other leg was missing from the knee down. his story is not clear to me yet, but it may have been the result of being on the wrong end of a rebel's machete. there was also a little girl who had hands that were slightly misformed or disabled. from what i've been told, she was caught in a fire that the rebel's had set to her village. both parents were lost and a few years later, she is now receiving treatment. and there were others. a couple of the kids have polio - which has robbed them from the ability to use their legs.

i'm still processing how this makes me feel, but i will say this. touch is such a wonderful gift that we've been given. to reach out and touch these children and to have them touch back creates an incredible sense of relationship and has also created a bond. i long to touch these children more today. whether it's a gentle touch on the top of their heads. a firm touch as we shake hands. a hug. or a snuggle. may i have the opportunity to touch these children today. but more importantly, may i find myself being touched as well. touched deep within by their hands, their eyes, their hearts, and their souls. i long for their touch.