Your calling is not a job. It is

your entire life.

I’m not sure what I was expecting visiting my first mud hut

in the middle of Africa, but this was not it. I was not
expecting hope. “Is this where you live?” our guide asked
the little girl as we marched up the dirt path to her home.
Otherwise stoic, her attitude brightened as we reached the
top of the hill and were greeted by her parents—at least, we
thought they were her parents.
Sam, the man of the house, was quick to correct this
misunderstanding. Nine-year-old Kevin was his sister-in-
law. He and his wife, Christine, took her in after her mother
disappeared. The mother suffered from some form of mental
illness and had the unfortunate habit of abandoning her
children. So they decided to raise Kevin as their own. And
when you ask them about this or praise their kindness, they
get embarrassed.
Three sturdy mud huts with thatched roofs made up the
family’s home: one was a kitchen, and the other two were
bedrooms. As we toured the premises, I noticed each
building was well kept, the floors neatly swept and things