All the Children of the World

Andrea Rip
4 days ago
4 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

>>> Come back for updates as I add to this story until Christmas! <<<

It's Christmas time and I am designing my annual Christmas card as I begin typing this post. My usual card is an cleverly cut and folded overly photographed collage of my year. This year, it's a humble postcard featuring 29 of the world's most photogenic people in 2025 who I've encountered traveling around God's Creation.

An blue images that says "Merry Christmas" with a photo of Andrea, the author, sitting on a rock on the bottom left side in black and white. A quote reads Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Tan, brown, almond, black, and white, we are precious in God's sight. This is a song written by Clare Herbert Woolston.

I was inspired by a children's song this year, "Jesus loves the little children" with slightly altered the words on the card from Clare Herbert Woolston's lyrics. The Sunday School song (an animated adaptation here) was one I learned in those Sunday School classes – where I was taught that we all belong to this group of children of the world; children, teenagers, adults, and our wise elders alike. In fact, at any age we can learn and grow in our own faith and understanding about the world. In the Bible, Jesus' followers, Paul and Timothy, prayed for God's people to: Keep growing in love, in knowledge, and wisdom of understanding. (Paraphrased from the NLV Bible, Philippians 1,9).

I am continually contemplating what sort of peace we could have on Earth if we all had eyes of the Jesus who was born, a Palestinian Jew, in a barn. His parents fled with him from Bethlehem to Egypt to avoid being murdered by a tyrant king, and yet, still spent his adult life serving the outcasts, poor, different, sinners, and unwell before suffering in the lead-up to his barbaric death – only to come back out of love for all humankind – humans who betrayed him. He brought hope to the madness of humankind. So, I hope this Christmas greeting reflects a portion of that love back to you.

I went back to my photographs from throughout the year and saw all the beautiful faces of people from so many backgrounds, beliefs, ages, and customs who I've crossed paths with – beauty reflected in my camera's lens. I have given some context around those encounters below. During this holiday season, my takeaway from meeting these people: We are all equally God's children – valuable in any circumstance and wherever we are pinned on this planet's map. Click to expand and scroll through each country's set.

Turkmenistan

I travelled to Turkmenistan with two strangers, Afrah and Dean, who became fun travel partners across a peculiar country.

Oman

A roadtrip with Christine to spend a long weekend with storied travelers just a border crossing away in Misfah.

[Photos coming soon...]

South Sudan

I joined two friends, Amy and Rohit, on a flight to Juba – the newest country in the world; gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.

Mauritius

Took a business class A380 ride south with a good friend, Alexis for a restful island-country holiday.

[Photos coming soon...]

Cyprus

A long stopover enroute to Malta, I booked a car to explore another island country – this one in the Mediterranean.

Malta

A heartwarming girls trip with my college friend, Andrea, turned into a fun festival weekend with Carnival in Valletta. It was a vibrant way to spend some time together!

Nigeria

I booked a West African roadtrip in March; touching down in Lagos for a quick stop in the southwest corner of the country.

Benin

Crossing the border from Nigeria, we entered an unexpected, historic, and richly cultured land and the only country where Christianity is practiced alongside Vodún.

Togo

Textiles, traditional villages, and fettishes were the highlights of this small country squished between Benin and Ghana.

Ghana

We zipped across the country on bumpy roads through small villages and the metropolis of Accra.

[Photos coming soon...]

Côte d’Ivoire

Extending our West Africa tour, I joined Christine, Danielle, Gilles, and Susan to see the Ivory Coast from the north to south.

Afghanistan

For a long weekend, I dropped in on Kabul with Ines, Maria, Mario, and Monika to see the city and the beautiful Bamiyan Valley. Read more about this trip here.