by Serenity Richard, Executive Director
I heard the shrill of delighted children as the backdoor opened and a herd of little ones ran in. One boy had his hands cupped around a “surprise.” They gathered around and wanted to “show me something” as they tried to suppress their smiles. The brave one with his hands cupped slowly opened his hands to reveal a large grasshopper. They had intended to play a little prank on me but instead, I had my own story about the time that I ate a grasshopper at a missions’ conference.
“YOU ATE ONE???” Their collective gasps and horrified expressions made me giggle.
“Yes, I sure did! There are people all over the world that eat insects each day.”
Unsure if I had turned the prank on them, they began debating if insects are edible.
I decided to take the opportunity to talk about some of the people groups that rely on insects as a food source and how our missionaries are helping to reach them with the gospel. Missionaries often eat food that is very different from what they are accustomed for the sake of connecting with the people they are trying to reach. This fascinated the children.
The boys in the group wanted to try one so we looked up a method for cooking grasshoppers and found one that was quite easy. It was a bit harder to lay aside their squeamishness about it but several of them tried it and agreed that it was “not bad.” We then prayed for the missionaries on the field and that they would be brave in trying new foods.
While we likely won’t be having this as a staple in our meal plan, it’s a lesson about missions that I pray will stay with the children.
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