From the church door I watched the mission team members leading kids ministry in the village.  They were busy dancing and singing along to the song that was being played when I noticed one little girl in particular.  Her smile was so real, like this was the best moment of her day.  She was standing in a circle of other children who were singing (shouting is more like it) along with the CD when I caught her eye.  Woops – she caught me staring.  But instead of stopping what she was doing she smiled even bigger and waved.

Five minutes later as the kids were teaching the team a new dance, Stumpy ran over to me and grabbed my hand – determined to teach me the steps.  She didn’t let go of my hand for a full 45 minutes after that.  When it was time to go she looked up at me with a this-can’t-be-happening look and asked:

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yes. See you tomorrow.” I answered.

Satisfied, she ran off smiling to join the other kids who were already walking home.  And as I was driving away she turned around from down the street and flashed that gorgeous smile one more time and waved good-bye.

And, yes, Stumpy is her real name.