I sat on the beach watching my kids play with their new sand toys. They were having the time of their life on our little summer vacation to the beach in Kep, Cambodia. We had the beach almost entirely to ourselves since it was a weekday (and, you know, COVID). A few hundred meters down the beach, I spotted a young Khmer boy playing in the sand. He was all alone and couldn’t have been more than 3 years old, about my own son’s age. (Sadly, it’s not that uncommon here to see kids this age hanging out with no adults close by.)

My kids took a walk with Sokion and this little guy inched his way over toward my children’s now unattended collection of sand toys. Suddenly out of nowhere a slightly older girl (likely his big sister) came running fast as lightning to stop him. I called to her in Khmer and said, “It’s okay, he can play.” She relaxed and soon they were both having fun digging and building in the sand.

My kids came back and settled down on the towels next to me for a snack. They asked me lots of questions about the two Khmer children, the main one being, Where’s their mommy and daddy?

Obviously I don’t know this kid’s story. But my 5 year old was curious and concerned, so I explained that sometimes parents have to work can’t stay with their kids all day.

Why?

“Because they need money for food.”

They don’t have any food?

“They might have to go to work today so they have money to buy food for dinner.”

Silence.

“Not everyone can go to a store and buy enough food to eat for several days and keep in a fridge.”

Oh.

“When God blesses us, we get a chance to share. We have nice toys we can share. Sometimes we can share food.”

Can I share some snacks with them?

“Sure!”

Evelyn promptly took a package of Ritz crackers over to them, with Josiah running behind her shouting FRIENDS, FRIENDS! A smile lit up the young girl’s face, and my heart was full at witnessing this little act of kindness.

Don’t get me wrong, my kids are no angels. I’m frustrated and disappointed in myself as a parent almost daily. But it’s moments like these that I remember an important truth about the stage of life in which I find myself. I’m called to Cambodia with a purpose to disciple young people and raise up leaders for the next generation . . . and those leaders are not just outside my home. There’s no one on whom I can have a greater impact and deeper discipleship opportunity than with my own children. And through these little ones and their faithful obedience, others will be blessed and witness the love of Christ. Even through something as simple as some sand toys and a package of Ritz crackers.