Frankie

Do you know what it is like to be alone? Little Frankie was like this. One day he just appeared at a camp of American soldiers stationed in Asia. He was small, dirty, hungry, and he was begging for food.

Hey Chuck, look what we have here.

Ah, it looks like a hungry little guy to me.

What's your name fella? Where you from?

The soldiers couldn't understand his mumbling, but they could see he was hungry.

Here kid, share some of mine, I eat too much anyway.

Before the meal was over, the soldiers were calling their little visitor, Frankie, and when little Frankie didn't go away from them, they decided he had nowhere to go.

Poor kid, been eat'n and sleep'n here a week. He's even start'n to look good in them clothes we got him.

But you know what gets me, Al? Little Frankie, he never smiles.

I know what you mean: we know he's happy with everything we give him, and he's catchin onto the language pretty fast, but no matter what anybody does for him, he never smiles.

Two weeks later a package arrived from one of the soldiers families. He had written home about the new little boy the men had adopted. Suddenly Frankie had bright new clothes.

Hey, do you see what I mean? He's going all over the camp with his new clothes, proud as a ten-star general. And yet he hasn't even cracked a small smile.

Maybe there's something wrong with him.

Pretty tough all of a sudden having no family. Maybe he'll never smile again.

Well, the soldiers tried everything to make Frankie smile. They took him on trips whenever they were off duty, they played games with him, taught him everything they could think of, but Frankie didn't smile. Then one day another package arrived for Frankie.

Hey look at this. Boy that kid brother of mine. Candy, cookies, peanut butter, the works. Hey, look here in the bottom, a kid's Bible. There's a note here: says my kid brother cut lawns and ran errands to make money for this. What a guy.

Frankie shared the candy and cookies and even the peanut butter. The soldiers had a regular party, but Frankie didn't smile. Then, after the party was over, he sat down next to the soldier whose brother had sent the package. The soldier began to read the Bible to him.

Hey look at Frankie.

What's the matter?

He's smiling. Frankie's really smiling.

Yes, Frankie was really smiling. He had listened to the story of Jesus and had understood it. Then he asked Jesus to be his Friend and his Savior.

Frankie found the one thing he needed most. The one thing that could make him smile: the Love of God. He would never need to be lonely again.

Unknown origin