In 2013, our Ten Thousand Homes location in South Africa started holding an annual Day of Royalty. This day is dedicated to making the kids in our feeding programs feel like kings and queens. They are bused in from the communities where they live for a day full of activities, food, and lots and lots of fun. For these kids, it’s like spending a day at Disneyland. Here is one short-term volunteer’s account of the most recent Day of Royalty event.
With bated breath and a racing heart, I stood. Months of preparation, planning, creating, and intentionally working through every detail had led us to this moment. Day of Royalty. A day that is eagerly anticipated. A day set apart. A day dedicated to celebrating God’s precious children, reminding them of who they are – loved, chosen and so very valuable.
You could hear them before you could see them. The excitement of 220 kids filling the air. Bus after bus literally bouncing down the road. A sight and sound that transcends words but makes a permanent etch into your memory.
As the buses came to a stop and the first little feet hit the ground, joy permeated across the whole property. One after another, smile upon smile, they filled the space. Music blasting, kids dancing, laughter echoing, pure happiness all around.
Over and over, as the day went on, I found myself overcome with gratitude. As the little ones would come running up and wrap their arms around me with the most wholehearted embrace. As the faces would light up at face paint and nail polish, as the giggles and shouts would echo from the games going on all around. What a gift it was to be part of such a day that marked these kids’ hearts.
From the beginning of the early morning to the end of the late afternoon, the atmosphere was so thick with God’s presence. And, as the last bus rolled off the property, I came completely undone. Where there are children, that is where I see and feel the purest and sweetest love of the Father. And these children…they overwhelmed my soul. What a beautiful gift to delight in them, to celebrate who they are, to remind them of who God created them to be, to experience their joy and hear their laughter. To be changed by them. To have my heart gripped by them. To love them and receive their love without regard.
I carry their faces with me. I can still close my eyes and put myself right back in that day. I can see it and hear it, and I am immediately flooded with the same emotions all over again. That day was for them, but it was a day that forever changed me.
by Mandi Razo
volunteer with us!
