There was this one girl who was so quiet, but so sweet. She rarely smiled, but whenever she did, it was the kind of thing that could light up a room. She never said a word in the beginning, she just sat really close to me. She held my hand and she loved when I hugged her. Some of the boys would tease her and she’d start crying. All the other kids would leave her alone, but I’d hold her and tell her, “It’s okay to cry, shh.” The girls were all so sweet, but this girl was one of my favorites. Her name is Velonica. She lost both parents, but not for run-of-the-mill reasons. She told me that they died from witchcraft. There’s a lot of voodoo around Zambia and there’s even a church where they invite spirits into the children and worship them. In America, if someone is listless and vacant or inappropriate, we assume they didn’t get enough sleep or are having a bad day or weren’t raised well. In Zambia, it’s a demon. No questions asked.
Anyways, when she told me that her parents died from voodoo, I feared for her and the fact that she was exposed to something like that at such a young age. She told me her aunt had taken her after her parents died and that she goes to Catholic Church every Sunday. I led her to Christ anyways because sometimes Catholic priests don’t teach a relationship with Christ, they just preach of a meticulous religion and rigorous steps to get to Heaven. Velonica now knows that all you need to get to Heaven is Jesus.
My dad told his group a story that was raw and taught this concept well. The ending was a shock to the kids and even his translator, Maggie. The story was of two men. One man was a good man who went to church every day and prayed and gave to charity, but he never accepted Christ. The other man wasn’t a good man. In fact, he had led a pretty bad life, but towards the end of his life, he discovered and accepted Jesus with all his heart. Anyways, the two men went the gates of Heaven when they died and there was Peter as the gatekeeper.
He said to the first man, “Why should I let you into Heaven.”
The Good Man replied, “Well, I’ve been pretty good all my life, I’ve given to charity, I’ve gone to church, and I’ve prayed every day. I love God very much.”
Peter shook his head and turned to the next man. “Why should I let you into Heaven?”
The Not-So-Good Man humbly answered, “I haven’t been as good as him. I have stolen from my friends and family, I have hit, and I have sinned. But I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me to know the Father and I accepted him into my heart to clean away all my sins. I believe that Jesus will be my ticket into Heaven.”
Peter then opened the gates and let the Not-So-Good Man into Heaven.
But not the Good Man. Because he did not have Jesus, the Good Man had no ticket to get past Peter.
And this story was such a shocking eye-opener for my dad’s group, and even myself, that I thought it’d be a good story to mention on here.
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