They never even see what they look like

The first time my dad and I went to Africa, we would bounce down these endlessly long dusty roads in trucks. Every time we would stop for water or fuel, tons of kids would gather around to figure out who the strangers were. I wasn't just a stranger-to them, with my super fair skin, red hair, and freckles, I was just plain strange! I was as different to them as Africa was to me. For fun, my dad would take his camera and snap a picture of the kids and then turn the camera around so they could see themselves. Click. Click. Click. These kids loved it. Pretty soon there would be a big line of kids waiting to get their picture taken. What was the big deal about this?! One of the World Vision workers told us that most of the kids had never seen what they look like.

-Austin Gutwein

Today's blog contains an excerpt from Chapter 3 of Austin's new book Take Your Best Shot which will be released September 15th from Thomas Nelson. To pre-order the book, click here