Words cannot describe what was running through my heart at a school in a lonely town in Takoradi, Ghana a few hours ago. I was on a team of around 8 that were to go to a school for special needs children. I won’t lie, I have been struggling mightily as of late with a lot of issues, mainly of my own heart, and I wasn’t really ready to go to this special education school, but it was certainly ready for us. When we pulled in to the compound, one of the kids was running with the bus screaming in excitement. As we walked out a few of the brave souls came to shake our hands and try to get the football (soccer ball) we had. The sheer delight of seeing new faces that were coming for them was exhilarating, and it broke my heart then as it does as I recollect our story. I held back the tears of sorrow and pity because I wanted them to know that I felt no better than them.

So we did our program for the kids, and they ate it up. I honestly don’t know how well they understood the symbolism of the play, or the literal lyrics of the songs we sang, or if they’ll ever be able to read the booklet we handed out, but I can truly say that they loved us. Maybe it was because of how we made them feel, or maybe it is because the world is innocent to their eyes, but I’ll get to the philosophic part later. After the program, we just spent time with these kids, these people. They were severely special needs, and I usually don’t know how to act around them, until I realized a beautiful truth about their simplicity: they love whether or not you are cool, regardless of what you look like, and in spite of how selfish you can be. So I spent my time hugging them (my way of showing love), playing soccer, and dancing with the kids. As we started to leave, the tears of shame and pity again welled up in my heart as it was broken again, but not just because they have been dealt an unfair hand in life, but because these people that are made fun of and ridiculed have so much more love in their heart than I can dream of, especially lately.

I don’t think I could ever explain to them that I do care for them, not because I have to, but because they are so beautiful. I have never seen real love so genuine and quick, yet real. It is a shame that people prey on their mental inadequacy and miss out on the lesson to be learned from these people. They don’t know a thing about you, but if you make yourself available, many will love you. Love is tossed around in a lot of shallow and humiliating ways today, but I feel like these people, who survive on mere instinct, know what it actually is. They don’t have to understand the why of things as many of us do, they don’t have to know motivation; no, they just need to know you are there. Indeed, the discarded people of this world understand a piece of the meaning of joy, and the basic fundamental that our salvation has been built on. These lovely people taught me more by existing than they ever could have if they could quote any book. Love is so simple, yet so hard for us to do, but not for them.