CEDARVILLE — Each Sunday evening as Cedarville students knock on the doors of refugee children in inner-city Dayton, they are met with smiling faces. This year, approximately 40 Cedarville students are a part of King’s Kids, a ministry that serves children who have come to America from the Congo.
Charis Miller, a senior primary education major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said the heart of the ministry is to love and encourage the refugees and make them feel comfortable in their new environment.
“Our goal is to love the students, encourage them, and present the gospel while also sharing food,” Miller said. “We have the unique opportunity to give them snacks and play with them and speak truth into them through reading Bible stories.”
Through basic activities, like playing games, sharing food, and having conversations with the immigrants, King’s Kids is helping the refugees to feel loved, which is the main purpose and the reason sophomore Kari Kammeyer, a sports medicine major from Shamong, New Jersey, signed up to be part of this ministry team.
Each week, Cedarville students knock on doors to visit refugee kids and bring them together in the hub of Dayton. They share snacks, and then the older kids play soccer or braid hair while the younger kids draw with chalk, do puzzles or play games. Then they split into small groups and Cedarville students lead a time of Bible study. This semester, they are talking about the parables of Jesus.
“These children are priceless,” Miller said. “They’re no different from any other person made in the image of God.”
“They are so sweet, and they’re special to me,” added Kammeyer. “I just have a lot of love for them and feel like they help me to be a lot more thankful. I just want those kids to realize how much they are loved by God.”
