Let the Little Children Come

When I was a little girl, my grandmother started a children's church on Sunday afternoon in a very impoverished section of town. The children were unable to get to the services on their own so my aunt (my grandma's baby girl) took her station wagon and zipped all around the neighborhood picking up the little ones. Grandma had homemade puppets, flannelgraph stories and great songs. She always ended the service with prayer and handed out one piece of candy to each child.

When my grandma was diagnosed with a terminal illness, many of the children - now grown - lined up beside her hospital bed to bid a final farewell. I'll never forget one young man who came with a single long-stemmed, red rose in his hand and planted a kiss on Grandma's cheek. He thanked her for all the haircuts she had given him and for the many times Grandma had fed him when he was hungry.

Watching my grandmother minister to the poor children instilled in me a love for little ones and compassion for the less fortunate. When my husband and I felt a Divine call to start a Christian school in our little village we realized there were many families who couldn't afford Christian education. It was a leap of faith. Lighthouse Academy was started in 1988. You must realize that the rural community we live in - Floyd, Iowa - has a population of 350. Lighthouse Academy has 52 students this year. Many of our families can't afford Christian education, but we hear the WORDS of our Lord.... "Let the little children come and forbid them not..." It's been a walk of faith, but we feel we are changing the world one child at a time.