As we’ve said before, we have an absolutely incredible staff here at His Little Feet, and one of those wonderful people is Uncle James. This blog entry is written by him. We hope you are touched by the powerful work taking place in Johnson’s life. God is good!
“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty…” 1 Corinthians 1:27
Blessed doesn’t even begin to describe my experience traveling as an intern with His Little Feet and with these amazing children. We have laughed and cried together, we have had spiritual battles and great victories together; we have become a family. The Lord has taught me so much through serving alongside of them.
Over the past four months of being on the road I have had the privilege of seeing three of our boys in the choir make the decision to give their lives to their Lord and Savior. The most recent dedication came from our youngest boy Johnson.
One afternoon I was debating with Johnson on whether he needed to take a nap. He felt he didn’t but I knew he did. After a long time of going back and forth Johnson finally laid down. As he was laying there the Lord was moving in his heart because to my surprise he said to me, “Uncle James, I want to be a new creation and have Jesus give me a new heart.” Sensing the seriousness in Johnson’s request I knew taking some time to explain the Gospel was more important than the afternoon nap.
We sat together for some time as I broke down the truths of the Gospel to Johnson. It was so evident that the Spirit of God was working in Johnson’s heart in those moments, as periodically he would stop to confess his remorse over the sin in his life, along with his disobedience in regards to the afternoon nap. Each time, both of us would break into tears as God was bringing this seven-year-old boy to a new understanding of his Savior.
One of the most powerful moments was when I was explaining to Johnson that when we give our lives to the Lord they are no longer our own but we are to seek God’s will for our life. For as long as I’ve known Johnson he has always told everyone that he wanted to be a professional soccer player. After I explained our need to seek God’s will for our life Johnson sat for a moment in thought. Johnson broke the silence with a statement that he no longer wanted to be a soccer player. Surprised, I asked him what he wanted to be. His response brought me to tears again as he declared, “I want to be a pastor… so I can tell everyone about Jesus.”
I was astonished by this little boy’s willingness to forsake his childhood dream to pursue the glory of God. This anointed conversation ended with Johnson proclaiming in his own words the truths that God had just opened his heart to and his desire for God to enter in and give him a new heart.
Over the past couple weeks it amazes me to see the change in Johnson. Occasionally he still has a day when the crazy little seven-year-old that everyone loves shines through, but it is evident that God is working through the life of little Johnson. Just a few days ago we had all hopped aboard the bus to start another long drive to the next church. The first thing that we do when we start these journeys is one of the staff members will get up in front of the bus and give a devotional for the day. As Uncle Aaron was in back preparing to speak to the kids, Johnson kept declaring that he wanted to give the devotion. When Uncle Mikey and Auntie Christa heard our youngest choir member’s desire to speak to his friends they called me up front to discuss whether he was serious or not. I took a minute and asked Johnson if he really did want to get up and speak to everyone and with a very serious face, and a small smile, he said yes. He began telling me all that the Lord had put on his heart to share and I knew I could confidently tell Mike and Christa that he was ready for the responsibility of speaking to the rest of the kids. I encouraged Johnson to take the few minutes he had before speaking to ask the Lord to fill his mouth and the Spirit to guide his words. After talking to Mikey for a moment I turned around to see Johnson sitting, hands folded, and most certainly in the presence of his God asking for His help.
The time came and I introduced our special speaker. The kids were very surprised to see the little boy who was often the one making the jokes and causing a ruckus step up in front of them ready to share his heart. Johnson stood before all his friends and began to speak in Creole with a very serious tone. I watched as the youngest of us stood fighting back tears, preaching to his brothers and sisters. The children looked on with a surprising respect and attentiveness as he shared with them. Johnson finished with a prayer, that even though the staff couldn’t understand we could all tell it came with a passion and burden of the Lord.
My little friend returned to his seat and with a peace I had never seen in him before. Christa leaned back and asked Loudrige what Johnson had spoken on. “Forgiveness,” she said, “and it was really good.” I started off this blog with a verse… a verse that the Lord displayed right in front of my eyes that day. God had taken the youngest and sometimes the most foolish one of us all, and He used him to speak into all of our hearts that day.
Like I wrote earlier, blessed does not begin to describe my experience of serving alongside of these children. This is just one story of our travels this year. God has used these children countless times to not only teach me more about Himself, but they have touched people across this nation. I am so excited to see what amazing stories come from these children’s lives as they grow up and God uses them to bring His name glory.
