Eyes of a Child

This past Sunday night, my weekly Bible study group was concluding a series on fears.  During the discussion, the topic of seeing the world through the eyes of children came up.  So often, children have a completely different outlook on life than we adults have.  Too often we see the "realities" and fears of life rather than embrace the simplicity, hope, and joy that it offers.

This made me reflect upon some of my travels and the faces of children that I've met.  With some I've developed a relationship (even if only temporary) while others it was more of a passing encounter.  But nearly every time, regardless of culture, color, race, religion, economic, or other human defined background, I've looked into their eyes and glimpsed the simplicity, the hope, and the joy that life offers.

Me with Jazmine, Pricilla, & Jhon in Lima, Peru, June 2000

These three lived at Posada de Amor, a home for orphans & abandoned children

Me with several precious girls outside of Kisumu, Kenya, June 2002

A little girl in a Mon village along the River Kwai in Thailand, June 2009

My encounter with a day care group in Seoul, South Korea, November 2009
These children were on a field-trip at the Korean National War Museum

Me with a group of boys in Bodza, Malawi, July 2010
These boys attend a feeding center where I helped a team from my church drill a water well

My friend Holly and a group of girls at a school in Aschaffenburg, Germany, June 2011
(don't worry, the girls had already finished their lunches before we joined them)

One of my great honors as I've roamed the roads of lands remote has been to see the face of God as expressed through the hearts of children.  No matter the culture, you can see the simplicity, the hope, and the joy of life expressed on their faces.