Do I Matter?

Within seconds of arriving, about 30 little 3 and 4 year-olds came running toward me and our mission team with their hands stretched high in the air, all shouting the same thing...

"Papi! Papi!"

Each one wanted to be picked up.

This little daycare in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is run by an incredible woman named Moola. I first met her last year and was amazed by the way she serves young single mothers, providing childcare at little or no cost so they have the opportunity to work and care for their families.

When I came back this week, I realized something.

These children weren't looking for gifts.
They weren't asking what I had brought.

They just wanted someone to notice them.
To smile.
To hold them.
To laugh with them.
To make them feel seen.

Our team served lunch, did our best at making a local bread called injera, spent time playing with the kids, and encouraged the staff who faithfully pour into these little lives every single day.

As I watched Moola and her team, I couldn't help but think they're doing so much more than caring for children.

They're answering a question every human being asks, whether they're 3 years old or 93.

"Do I matter?"

The truth is, we all ask it.
Your employees ask it.
Your spouse asks it.
Your kids ask it.
Your aging parents ask it.
Your neighbors ask it.

Sometimes they don't need our advice, our money, or our solutions. Sometimes they simply need our presence. A conversation. A hug. A smile.

A few undistracted minutes that quietly say, "I see you. You matter."

You don't have to travel halfway around the world to change someone's day. You can answer that question for someone wherever you are.

And you may never fully realize how much that simple act changes a life…..maybe even your own.