Can I be really honest? I am emotionally spent. I have no idea where to start, or what to tell you. But I feel guilty. I feel this overwhelming need to come up with a great story. Something that is going to wow you, make you cry, and make you click that button at the bottom of this post.
I have been racking my brain all day trying to determine what to share out of all the amazing things I saw today, out of all the hope I have seen this week…
What one thing would touch you enough to make you want to help these sweet children?
What one thing could I say to you to prick your heart enough to take action?
What story could I write that would change your mind?
How can I help you realize how something so simple as sponsoring a child won’t just change that child’s life, but yours?
I can’t.
Nothing I can do can MAKE you want to do anything.
But, guess what…
I can pray for you and ask God to prick your heart, or show you a story. I can show you these beautiful faces and tell you who they are.
This is Joshua, and because he has been able to take a vocational class on cooking, he wants to be a chef. He could chop peppers and onions finer than Christy Jordan! Without this learning opportunity, he would never realize his potential.
Remember when I told you about Roxanna yesterday? Little did I know, she was the star of the presentation her school gave to our Compassion group later that day. After seeing the love and training this center puts into their children, I am confident her dream to be a doctor will come true.
A five-year-old little girl has broken the cycle of poverty. She is learning to trust in God, because the teachers at her Compassion project don’t just tell her about a Jesus that loves and cares for her, but they show her.
Oh, she is so open to love. She and her friends kept looking at me, then I motioned to her, patting my hands on my knees, and immediately her face lit up and she sat on my lap. She is learning to trust. All thanks to a community that is changing a generation.
Faces filled with hope. That is what I see.
A twelve year old drummer in a band called Kairos — “God’s Calling”. Guess where he learned how to do this? At his Compassion center.
These girls are somebody’s babies. Their Mama’s send them off to school in their best clothes each day, freshly bathed and ready to learn. For each child that is sponsored in Compassion, a mother’s wish for a better tomorrow for her children comes true. In a country where 4 out of 5 children never attend school, the promise for a mother of knowing that ALL Compassion children attend school is sealed.
And this one, she graduates from the program soon. She is 18. But she doesn’t want to leave. Do you know what the Compassion staff told us? Most children who graduate keep coming back because it is such a place of encouragement and love. They crave it.
======================================< Read more about my trip:
Day 1 – Marcos’ Story: The Impact of Compassion on a Child
Day 2 – A Hope for the Future.
I’m traveling with some amazing bloggers and they’re all writing daily posts as well. Visit them by clicking the links below
- Christy at Southern Plate
- Edie at Life In Grace
- Traci at Beneath My Heart
Kelly,
Oh, how I hear your passion, your hope, your sincerity, how badly you want to make a difference for these children’s sake…and you are! Your posts are full of challenge to those who read and you’re faithfully sharing the stories of those who need voice.
I know some will read and think “can I afford to sponsor a child” and those precious ones will then think, “can I afford NOT to??” Because once we know, how can we not?
Robin, yes it is one of those questions we just can’t ignore. Hard to just turn away and ignore it. 🙂
Oh yes, my friend – it’s hard to pick just one story, but you share it through their faces, these pictures, your heart.
Love you, praying for you!
The faces, the pictures are what do it all for me, they undo me completely! Thank you for your encouragement and prayers they mean so much!!
LOVE THIS! Even though I know you said you struggled with the words you did it BEAUTIFULLY! As I mentioned last night in the Twitter chat, I thought my life had already been changed as much as it was going to be by sponsorship–I was wrong because God is doing something amazing in my life as a result of your stories and pictures this week! Thank you!
Heidi, thank you so much, it is amazing how the Holy Spirit leads when you just obey. Wow! I love how you never know how God is going to work.
You are so right, there is nothing that anyone of us can do to ‘make’ someone want to sponsor a child. I believe that God plans the right moment for each person/family to make that choice. But the stories and pictures that each one of you are sharing this week will make a difference…because it was His plan that you be there this week to share the stories that He wants to be told.
If you can’t afford to sponsor a child–and some people can’t–call Compassion and see if they need “correspondence sponsors.” Some children do not get letters from people who are sponsoring them financially, so correspondence sponsors are needed to pray, write letters, and develop a relationship with them.