Day 6 Recap (Community Day!)

For four days we learned the principles for how to help children understand their story, heal from trauma, and realize their worth. We talked about what this could look like out into action. We discussed how this can impact families and communities.

On Friday we saw the fruit of this program in real life.

We drove to an area of Harare called Epworth, where we had gone to church on Sunday morning. There is a saying that nothing good comes out of Epworth.

We sat outside in a dusty school yard with 200 students and their teachers. We were greeted with joy and smiles and bright, shining eyes. There were presentations from the students of poems about child abuse, poems about recognizing their worth, skits against abuse and child marriage. Parents gave testimonies about how their families are changing because of what they have learned through their RiverCross training.

Our hearts seemed to simultaneously break for the necessity of little children to learn poems about abuse and to fill with joy as the students declared they are precious and valuable.

Then we played! Some of us played soccer, some of us played yard games and dancing, all of laughing and smiling and playing as friends. Then we all enjoyed the same lunch like a family does.

We received letters from the students to take back to the students at Risen. Reading the letters we discovered they were personalized — like letters from one friend to another across the world.

I believe the saying is wrong. Something very good is coming out of Epworth.

The family of God is beautiful and good in its rich diversity of language, culture, and experience. We are overcome with thankfulness to see this richness there in a dusty school yard as we high-fived and danced for joy for being able to connect with our extended family.