I swallowed against the tears that burned my throat while I listened to the children sing.
Children from all over the world– Uganda, Nepal, the Philippines– representing the faces of the millions who are suffering every day from the most basic of situations– food to eat, preventable diseases, proper places to sleep, clean water.
I know about these problems–I’m pretty up to date on current events and global crises. I know that children all over the world, even here in our own country, suffer from situations that are preventable.
And in recent months God has been nudging me, pushing me, speaking to me. Do something.
Putting a face in front of me–a smiling child raising a little voice to God in grateful praise– well, there was no way I could win the war against the tears.
I looked over my 5 year-old’s head to my husband. Tears were streaming down his face, too.
This was God’s message to me in that moment–the time is now.
The children who performed at our church were from The Children of the World International Children’s Choir on their Overflow Tour, sponsored by WorldHelp. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. Perhaps you’ve seen them perform at a church or school near you.
If you have, I’m sure you have had the same stirrings in your heart– to see their faces and hear their voices– the ones who have been rescued. To know that there are thousands, millions more who need help.
But how can I help? I thought. I’m just one person. I can’t leave my kids and go on a mission trip to Africa or India. I know that I’m called to someday, but not right now. And as much as I’d love to open my home to every single kid in the world who needs love, it’s not possible. What can I do?
And God spoke. You don’t have to do everything–just do something.
I’m so blessed to be married to a man who has a heart for children. He works with them everyday as a middle school teacher, and when the leader of the choir group began speaking about child sponsorship to our congregation and what it could mean to the life of one child, I looked to my husband. He didn’t even take a breath before whispering a resolute, “Yes!”
Our family is now the proud sponsor of Carlos, a two year-old little boy from Guatemala. For $30 a month, we’ll be allowing him to receive three meals a day, clean water, medical care, an education, and most importantly, the message of Jesus Christ. Once our paperwork is processed, we want to sponsor more.
I don’t tell you this to brag about what we’re doing. I tell you this so that you’ll realize that $30 a month is all it takes to save a life and introduce a soul to the saving power of Christ. And there are millions of lives and souls who need to be saved.
We’ve made this sponsorship a family affair. Our oldest son was instrumental in helping to choose our sponsor child. Carlos was our choice because he’s the same age as our two year-old. As a family we pray for Carlos, we talk about how his life is different from ours, and what we can do as a family to help those in need. We want our children to be spiritually civic minded, aware of needs in the local community and internationally.
One of the major problems facing millions of children today is the lack of clean water. One of the little girls who sang with the choir, Brenda from Uganda, shared her story. She’s nine years old. She’s experienced hardships in her nine years that I will never, ever have to face. I’ve posted her story here to share with you.
Providing wells for the people who need clean water not only helps their community, it gives the workers means to share the Gospel with people who so desperately need to hear the saving words of Christ.
Not all of us are called to missions. Not all of us are called to be the hands and feet on the ground, but every single one of us are called to help.
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 6:15
I urge you to consider sponsoring a child through WorldHelp, making a donation toward the water project, or even donating toward Operation Baby Rescue.
What is Operation Baby Rescue? Check this out:
If you are interested in helping in any capacity, I encourage you to research the WorldHelp organization and read about their partnerships and work throughout the world. Not only are they saving lives, they’re saving souls. Use the link or click on the WorldHelp button on the right of this page.
If you aren’t called into the mission field, you can be an arm-chair missionary and save lives through your compassion, your love, your finances and your prayers.
Closer to home there are plenty of American children who need help. Our church has created a program called Backpack Blessings in which we’ve partnered with one elementary school and every Friday we send children home with backpacks full of enough food to last them the weekend. We are trying to directly impact the lives of physically, emotionally and spiritually hungry kids.
I encourage you to be resourceful–how can you provide the things that children in your community and the world so desperately need?
Share with me: In what ways do you and your family help in your community, your state, even internationally? Share your ideas–I might want to implement some of them into my own family and community!
Hale and Hearty Words 