Someday

When I was in Senegal four years ago, I bought these little dolls as a souvenir of my time in Africa. These figures represent the villagers deep "in-country" that I met as I traveled: women carrying their babies on their backs, grinding millet into meal, carrying their burdens perfectly balanced on their heads; and men who buy and sell in markets, traveling distances with their bags slung across their torsos. These little figures are about four inches high and were only a few dollars. I display them in my room on my dresser.

My nieces Sydney and Olivia are old enough to come upstairs to the attic where my room is, and they love to explore the place they regard as so mysterious, so fascinating. They are always drawn to these little dolls, and they play with them and chatter about them.

When I was a child, my pastor's home was filled with objects from other countries. Many were gifts from missionaries, who knew that my pastor loved missions. I used to spend a lot of time staring at the pictures and knick-knacks. I often think that some of my interest in being a missionary was fostered by my fascination with those visible, tangible examples of the world beyond Anne Arundel County, MD.

When I see my nieces playing with my African dolls, I wonder if someday they'll see Africa.