One fact you need to know about me is: I absolutely LOVE kids. There have been so many adorable babies and wild elementary schoolers I’ve gotten to meet and play with over the last seven months. There are a few, however, who have truly captured my heart. Today, I’m going to tell you about them!
Georgiana (Romania)
Georgiana was the first kid I truly fell in love with. She was one of the girls who would come to English camp in the afternoons. I sat beside her the first day, and she taught me colors and how to count in Romanian. She always made a point to hold my hand when we walked around town. The thing that struck me about her were her eyes. They were the exact golden shade of honey and they seemed so old. Like she knew and understood all the secrets of the universe at age nine. Maybe she did. That girl had some crazy wisdom in her; you could almost feel it. She was so humble and thoughtful, and I still think of her honey eyes to this day.
Tanya (Ukraine)
Tanya, the 11-year-old daughter of our host family in Zdolbuniv, was so shy at first. I remember when we moved into her house for the month, she hardly spoke. She would sit on the stairs and watch us as we are our meals together. Only sometimes could we persuade a little wave or smile out of her. Tanya had the prettiest, thick, long blonde hair, and one day, I asked her if I could braid it…She said no. But it opened up this quiet, fun, new relationship. She would sneak into our room and we would make fun of each other’s accents or mess around with Snapchat filters. We giggled about how Alex always spilled his tea or how Jenna Rose laughed when she tried playing the ukulele. I quickly found out that despite her quiet, big-sister-caretaker demeanor, Tanya loves to make people laugh. Her gentle, positive spirit, generous heart, and love of laughter is something I won’t easily forget.
Matéo (Chile)
This kid was the embodiment of what God says about having a childlike spirit. Matéo was in the second grade class I helped out with in Recoleta. He usually had a hard time paying attention in class. The teachers had to yell at him quite a lot. “Matéo! Stop looking out the window!” “Matéo! Go back to your seat!” “Focus, Matéo!!” He was such a ball of energy, and so mischievous. But I could tell he really wanted to learn. One day, he asked me to help him spell out every single word of Jingle Bells in English. He was so curious and craved learning. The little troublemaker is going to be a genius one day. And his smile could make even the saddest person happy. What a guy.
Amelia (India)
I only recently met Amelia here in India. My team and I were putting on a one-day VBS for the kids in a nearby village. After some songs, a skit about Jesus being a firm foundation, and three rounds of Four Corners, we decided that we needed to have a dance party. If you don’t know already, dance parties are one of my favorite things, especially with little kids. I grabbed the hands of a front tooth-less six year old girl, and the music in Amelia’s soul began to radiate. We danced and danced until we were breathing hard and dizzy from spinning around so much. The music just filled her with light. She closed her eyes and just got lost in it. Amelia is surely unforgettable, and she reminded me of the importance of music and letting go of your cares or worries and getting lost in the rhythm.
I hope these little glimpses of Georgiana, Tanya, Matéo, and Amelia make you start to fall in love with them, as I did. Children really do seem to understand things that us, as adults, seem to have forgotten. Simple things like humility and gentleness. Or sometimes even more, like how a smile can change someone’s attitude completely and living entirely in the moment. I’ve learned so much from these four and so many more who I’ve come to know and love. They encourage me. They inspire me. They make me laugh. They fill my heart.
“And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” -Matthew 18:3
