Halie's Blog and Dirty Jesus

July 9, 2014
Today I went to a baby home.. I played with little kids and babies. This little girl named Elsa loves me. She just never lets go of me. I saw her bite another baby so I picked up Elsa and calmed her down. Also I picked the baby who got bit then after he calmed down I tried to set him down but he started crying. Then when it was time for dinner for the babies and kids. I fed this boy named Fahad and he could not sit up or stand I fed him rice and beans on tile ground. I used my hands to keep his food in his mouth and he had to eat a lot. He finished his whole plate and he burped and that meant that he was full. He maybe had never been that full before.

Halie McMorris- 8 years old

Tonight, I saw Jesus. 

After a long, hot day in the village, with shirts covered in red dirt and feet to match, I didn't see a nice, clean Jesus. I saw a sweaty, dirty Jesus who knew that loving others, caring for others often requires our hands and our clothes and our feet to get filthy.

It was overwhelming, and the enormity of the moment was not lost on me.

Halie and Carter thought nothing of it...they never do. They were simply doing what needed to be done. To them, it was just a simple task. To me it was a divine moment.

There are several children we have been visiting who are very weak, and it is obvious that what they need more than anything is good nourishment. Unfortunately, they can not feed themselves. They can't even cry out or speak to say that they are hungry or to beg to be fed. And they are in an orphanage with few "aunties" to care for almost 30 children. 

Tonight, we stayed until dinner time. Carter, Halie, our friend, Brittany and I didn't know if we could simply observe, or if we could actually feed these children, but we wanted to be sure that they were actually getting fed. We carried the children inside, and were told to lay them on a tile floor in a dark room. Instead, we sat on that tile floor and continued to hold them. Eventually, we were handed plates of food for the children. Brittany and I were each holding little girls, Esther and Ana, and there was a child lying on the ground who was much bigger, and more severely disabled. Brittany and I began feeding the girls, who struggled physically with the eating process, but who were eager.

Without a moment of hesitation, Carter and Halie grabbed a plate for the bigger child and began scooping bites of food up with their fingers and encouraging him as they placed each bite in his mouth. In this dark little room, I saw Jesus.  His hands were sticky with bean juice and Fahad's saliva, but He just smiled and was so happy that Fahad was getting the nourishment he so desperately needed. I saw Jesus in Halie. 

Even as Fahad struggled and half of eat bite came back out of his mouth, Carter scooped it up, cleaned off his face with his hands and tried again. Never asking for a bib or a cloth to wipe, Carter must have known that none would be provided. I saw Jesus in Carter. 

With their bare hands they fed a hungry boy who could not feed himself. Look at the way his eyes look up at Halie. I am in awe.

 Tonight, as we walked home from the orphanage, my kids had a new understanding of how Jesus' hands must have looked and felt on most days. I pray that as a family, as the Body of Christ, we never hesitate to get our hands dirty. I pray that we remember that our Savior is not the white-robed, glowing, clean Jesus that we see in pictures. We serve a dirty Jesus who showed us that loving requires us to jump right in and join others in the midst of all of their messes.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dirty-jesus/id596135198?i=596135199

Dirty Jesus - EP by My Anchor Holds