As we bounced our way up the dusty track to town, we passed a beautiful young Arsi woman walking along the side of the road. The most noticeable thing about her was her eyes. They were dark, black, and empty, like pieces of obsidian inserted into a carving. She looked through us without any sign of recognition and then continued on up the road with the load on her back. One person remarked that she looked sullen and angry, but I would have described her as someone who had no hope at all, nothing in this life and no anticipation of the life to come.

She looked so different from the students whom I see every day at SIM"s Langano School. Their life is not so different from hers, but the light of hope shines in their eyes. The kids arrive at the schoolyard laughing and running, many out of breath, as they have chased each other the last quarter mile of their daily trek to the school. At the sound of the bell, a piece of pipe banged against a tire rim, they charge into line dressed in yesterday's clothes, covered with a gray coating of dust, but full of anticipation and enthusiasm for what the day holds, ready to listen and learn.

They have infected me with their delight, but sometimes I am overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. I was teaching the creation story, and I had some coloring pages. These were a great hit because the students have no material except their pens and notebooks. The school has a few crayons - 10 boxes of 8 colors - 80 crayons and a bag of of broken ones.

So, armed with crayons and the coloring sheets I went into the first grade class, which has 127 students. Attendance was down that morning, so there were only 84 excited students waiting to color, enough for one crayon a piece. The end result was 75 monochromatic pictures of the Garden of Eden.

But, even so, they had such a good time coloring the pictures that they didn't want to give up the crayons at the end of class. I had to pry the colors out of their hands, and if they saw me coming they would hide the color under their notebooks or their skirts until I passed. Then they would begin coloring frantically once more. I may have to wait until I have a few more crayons before I do that again!

I wonder how long it will be before the light in their eyes is extinguished by the grind of hard living. They need the light that comes from knowing Jesus. For many of the students, this will be their only opportunity to hear the gospel.

Pray

Please pray for Langano School and for the teachers who minister there, that the 350 students would have the hope of knowing Jesus.