“Teacher,” she excitedly yelled as she saw us approaching. Little Mary ran toward us, arms swinging and knees approaching her chest as her tiny hands tightly gripped her frilly white dress with pink flowers. Mary’s curly black hair bounced up and down, and she stopped now and then to tie her white sandals. She is not used to wearing sandals, only on special occasions. It was Mary’s fifth birthday.

We got to know Mary when she was only two years old. Her uncle is our baker at the school, and Mary has lived with her uncle and aunt since she was little. Mary has brothers and sisters, and her mother lives in a village about two hours away. Her aunt does not have children and raised Mary as her own. They even look alike.

Mary loves everyone, even “barang” (foreigners) she meets and is always smiling and has a hug to spare. She never gets angry, sad, jealous or bored. Mary is happy with what she has and grateful for what she receives. Someone gave her a blue- and red-striped stuffed toy worm for her birthday, and she lugged it everywhere, hugging it as she took it around the party for everyone to kiss.

Mary loves to help others. She helps her aunt with chores and her uncle in the kitchen, her friends with their problems, and us foreigners with our troubles. Mary once saw Deon wandering off from the rest of the group at lunchtime to look at some work that needed to be done. She rushed to him, grabbed him by the hand, and led him into line to get food. Mary always has a heart for sharing and is generous. She was happy when Deon finally sat down to eat with her.

Mary also loves to make others happy. She makes Deon laugh with her jokes and delights foreigners with her gestures. She keeps her aunty proud through her achievements. Mary always has a surprise to offer and joy to spread. She never teases or ignores others and is honest and gentle.

We were in church one recent Sabbath and watched Mary go around talking to everyone as usual. The church was so packed that anyone wanting to move around had to squeeze between the chairs. When it was time for prayer, I closed my eyes and suddenly felt someone gently touching my hair. I did not need to open my eyes to know who it was. Soon, Mary smothered me in little kisses on my forehead, cheeks, lips and nose.

Everyone loves Mary, too, for her smile, words and hands, to her heart, joy and surprises. They love how she makes them feel and how she treats them. They love how she is always there for and cares for them. They love how she is different from everyone else; she is special.

But Mary does not realize she is different or special. She does not understand that she possesses a gift no one else has. Mary does not know that everyone recognizes her as the little girl who loves everyone. Mary just knows that she does, and that is enough for her.

Christian author and speaker Susan Hunt once quipped about how it felt to be an old lady. “It feels like a tired, very dependent, very happy little girl being carried in the arms of her Father, and she is calling to her friends, ‘Look how good and strong my Daddy is!’ And she knows that when she falls asleep in His arms, [she will] wake up at home.”

Ms. Hunt’s outlook reminds me of Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 18:1-5: that to enter the kingdom of heaven, we should, through our conversion, become like little children. May we look upon our Father with trust and each other with love. May we become like little Mary. There is a world filled with unreached people just waiting to experience this love and kindness. Join us.

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