Prayer of and for the Children

This week my brother Spencer and his wife Lindsay were blessed with a new baby girl, Grace Day Layton. This has prompted me to think about children lately. Being back in Hong Kong it has also made me think of a child I first met here as a missionary and two brothers which came into her family later. Her name is Deshenie Athukorala and she is the daughter of a man I baptized. His wife later joined the Church and they returned to their homeland of Sri Lanka about the time I left Hong Kong. Later two sons joined the family and David and Shewanthie went about living the gospel and raising a family. These three children are probably the ones I care most about in the whole world outside of my two nieces and four nephews. Deshenie is a beautiful, kind girl who was baptized this past January. Her two brothers are very important to me, not least of all because they were each given one of my names. Last summer on my big trip to Asia I had the chance to visit the Athukoralas in Sri Lanka for over two weeks. It was a joyous time as I played with the kids, attended Church together, and was asked to offer Priesthood blessings. If you want to know more about the family or my time in Sri Lanka look at blog entries from last June.
The combination of being back in my mission and thinking about kids has made me think of a song I first heard while serving in Hong Kong as a missionary. It is called “Prayer of the Children” and was originally written and performed by Kurt Bestor. He served as a missionary in Yugoslavia in the 1970s and was inspired to write the song as a tribute to the children there when war broke out in the 1990s. The song offers a prayer of children in war-torn countries and hopes for a better day. You can listen to it by linking to this page: http://www.poofcat.com/childprayer.html. I loved the song from the first time I heard it and listened to it daily for the six weeks I served in Mui Wo with the companion who owned the CD. In the last year the song has taken on greater significance to me as Sri Lanka has resumed a very heated civil war. Thankfully, Deshenie, Deshaun Hughes, and Chamal Yale live in the capital Colombo and do not face gunfire or daily violence. But there lives are in danger as bombs are detonated in Colombo regularly. One even went off at a market the family shops at less than a mile from their home earlier this year. Whenever I hear this song I think the Athukorala children and countless others across the world who face death, suffering, and pain for no reason and at no fault of their own. I know God loves little children and watches over them. I pray for them and that they will remain safe in this time of difficulty for their country.
The other part of the blog title (Prayer for the Children) comes from a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that I think of occasionally (http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-353-29,00.html). With Grace’s birth it gave me occasion to study the words again and reflect on the gospel, families, and the type of parent I hope to be. The gospel of Jesus Christ and His true Church on the earth mean everything to me. My Savior’s influence and the guidance of His Church have blessed my life in so many ways. I have learned from watching my siblings raise their families that the responsibilities of parenthood are not easy, especially in the crazy world in which we live. My nieces and nephews are wonderful children and their parents are doing a great job. I hope I can do my small part as an uncle to love and encourage, and share my testimony of where true happiness comes from.

I haven't got a picture of Grace yet and hope one will be coming soon (hint, hint). The last picture is the one I have with the greatest combination of nieces/nephews. The youngest two are very much on my mind and loved just as much.