He couldn't have been more than five. His eyes were shy, as if seeking an invitation. When I smiled and motioned toward him, a smile spread across his face, revealing a toothless grin. He scurried across the dusty road and took my outstretched hand. As his hand slipped into mine, I looked down and saw his beautiful, little, brown hand. It was tightly squeezing mine. He looked up at me as if he had just won the lottery.

We were walking among the orphans in Ethiopia. Dust kicked up as we walked. The streets were full of noise and yet, we walked in silence, not having a language to share. Still, I could feel a bond between us.

He held on tightly, not wanting to relinquish my hand to another child who was trying to get close. There were so many children scampering along beside us. I doubted any of them had a home to call their own, perhaps not even a mama or daddy to watch over them.

I stopped to lean down to get at his level, to look him in the eyes. His face was smudged with dirt. His clothes were ragged. His feet were even dirtier, not even wearing shoes. But his smile was as big as the sunshine.

Looking around, my heart was full. A thought crossed my mind, "Who does this? Who gets this amazing opportunity to walk among these beautiful people who have nothing to give but their smile?" The answer came quickly. "You do. Not because you're special. But because when you were called, you came."

I couldn't help but smile. I was the last person on the face of the earth who ever expected to travel across the globe, especially to Africa. I was a homebody, not a missionary. I liked the safety of familiarity, not the unknown of a strange culture. But here I was. And I was overwhelmed with the privilege.

As we reached our hotel, I let go of the little hand that had led me down the street. I leaned down to give him a kiss on his dirty little face. "Jesus loves you," I told him, even though I knew he didn't understand. But perhaps God, in his grace, allowed my words to be heard in his own language. And then he was off, a beaming smile covering his face.

I never knew his name. I will never see him again but my heart remains full of love for him, just as it is for many of the people I was able to meet in Ethiopia. In James 1:27, we read: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." I can only surmise that the reason God made this point was because our own hearts would be filled in ways we could never experience if we were simply looking out for ourselves.

I am so grateful I had the opportunity to leave a part of my heart on a dusty road in Ethiopia. Walking among the orphans was nothing short of a gift from God and I will forever be changed.