Some people say it takes months for a life to change, some even say years. I think it only takes a moment. In one moment, a child’s perception of himself, and of the world around him, can change entirely. A child can go from seeing the world as a hostile, dangerous place to a place full of endless exploration and excitement. Or, instead of seeing the people around them as enemies, they can suddenly see them as friends. Most importantly, though, a child’s perception of himself can change. One moment he may view himself as a complete failure and in the next moment something can happen to let him see himself as a winner, an overcomer.
I was given a donation by a very generous man several months ago. I really wanted it to be used in someway to build up the kids and show them how great they are. I sat with Pastor Glenn, Nancy, and Principal Joy. We brainstormed and thought of all the special talents and abilities that God had given the kids. We wanted to think of someway to showcase those God-given talents.
We decided to hold the very first ever Happy Horizons Mini-Convention. During the convention, kids would be able to participate in events they were already good at and also to experiment in other areas of interest. There were five main divisions: Academics, Arts, Athletics, Music and Platform. Academics included categories such as essay writing, a Bible bowl, Academic bowl, spelling contest, Bible memory and poetry. The arts division included painting, photography, clay sculpture, sketching, and even needle and thread work such as dress making and cross-stitch. Athletics included all of the usual events that would be found at a track meet – long jump, high jump, relays, running, volleyball and basketball. The platform division included all of the events were kids stood up before an audience and spoke. The kids did preaching, oratory, illustrated story telling, clowning, puppeting, and dramatic monologues and dialogues. The music division included solo and duet guitar and keyboard playing and also singing.
For months, the kids worked on memorizing and preparing. Kids were walking through the playground holding their pieces to memorize in front of them, oblivious to what was going on around them. Instead of jumping on the trampoline, they would sit on the trampoline, working busily on their artwork. The older boys’ dorm was suddenly filled with all kinds of beautiful, colorful oil paintings and pencil sketches that were certainly beautiful, but not quite perfect enough (by their standard, not mine!) to be entered into the competition.
When the week of the convention came, the kids were filled with nervous anticipation and excitement. Finally, their work was going to be displayed for everyone to see. The kids who did cross stitching and painting were critically examining their work, noticing all of the little changes they could have made to make their pieces better. It was just hitting the young speakers that they were going to be speaking in front of a panel of judges. Their stomachs were filled with butterflies and some even considered dropping out. Luckily, the kids had great teachers who loved them and encouraged through the entire process. Because of that support the kids were able to persevere in their events and push through to the end.
Every night during the convention, we held an awards night where the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place participants received medals. It was a small miracle to see the eyes of a child who had never won anything before light up as she went up to get the medal. For someone who has thought of themselves as a loser for so long, it was life changing that for that one night, they got to be a winner. They were no longer the kid who came in last all the time, or the kid who others looked down on. They were the ones on the stage, with the lights shining brightly on them, with the medal around their necks. For many of the kids, that is a moment they will never forget.
My prayer is that in someway, in that moment, their life was changed. As the realization that they are a winner grows bigger in their heads, the lie that they are a loser will grow smaller and smaller until it disappears. That moment captured just a little bit of the Christian life, a little bit of Heaven. They fought hard to continue when they wanted to give up, they faced new challenges every day, they did things that were scary for them. But they persevered. They didn’t give up. And in the end, there was a small prize waiting for them. Just like in the end, Heaven, with all its big surprises, will be waiting for us.
Lindsey
P.S. For pictures check the photo album (Regional Convention){mosimage}{mosimage}
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