Street games

These photos were too precious not to post! One sunny morning I met these girls playing beside our house. Most children here don't own real toys, and I figured this little company of friends would appreciate the simplicity of a pink jumprope to share. What I didn't know was that they were already jumping masters!

And what girl doesn't like to color? I brought a Bible book and some crayons out to the pavement, and we enjoyed coloring pictures together and reading the story of Jonah and the whale.

It was just a simple thing -- one hour of my day spent playing with elementary school children -- but their joy and eagerness brightened my spirits and taught me once again to look beyond myself to see Christ in the faces of those around me.

Below is one of my favorite prayers, written by John Henry Cardinal Newman and frequently prayed by Mother Teresa. It reminds me to invite Christ into every part of my day and to be His witness in every situation, even if that just means sharing smiles with the little girls in my neighborhood.

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.

Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. 

Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly

That my life may only be a radiance of Yours.

Shine through me, and be so in me 

That every soul I come in contact with

May feel Your presence in my soul. 

Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!

Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as You shine,

So to shine as to be a light to others;

The light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be mine; 

It will be you, shining on others through me.

Let me thus praise You the way You love best, by shining on those around me. 

Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example, 

By the catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do,

The evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You. Amen.