Within the last few months, I’ve found something that I’ve become very passionate about.  I’ve always wondered what I can do to help others.  I’ve spent years praying, asking God what I can do to help others. We don’t have a lot of money.  We don’t have a huge influence to where we can say everyone needs to do this and it gets done.  We are just a normal family with no special power.  Or so I thought.  But a few months ago, I was introduced to Compassion International, but not by some big influencer or even by the media.  It was my 11 year old who told me, after she had an opportunity to volunteer with them, about this “adorable little boy” who needed a sponsor.  She was so concerned about this one little boy getting a sponsor, that she was in tears for days afterward. She had actually wanted to sponsor him herself, but didn’t have a way to do so.  She did find out, eventually, that he got a sponsor and was so happy to have been a part in working to find someone to sponsor him.  

I asked myself, what is it about this opportunity that she had, that made her so excited about trying to help these children? What was this Compassion International and what did it mean to sponsor a child anyway?  What made this company any different from all those others that you see advertised on television that show all these sad, underweight, poverty-stricken kids in other countries? I had to find out, because, just maybe, this would be the opportunity to help others that I had been looking and praying for.  So, of course I looked up Compassion International on the internet.  I wanted to see what it was all about.  

I soon realized, by reading their website, that they weren’t like those other companies that show sad, underweight, children on the the commercials.  Many of these children looked happy in the pictures on Compassion’s website.  The more I read, the more interested I became in child sponsorship.  Then came the unexpected “Mom, I want to do another volunteer opportunity that’s coming up,” from my daughter. I thought to myself, “oh great, another commitment that I just don’t have the time for.” In my mind, I was screaming I really don’t want to, but I spent time trying to figure out what was necessary in order to get her signed up to volunteer.  I found out that she couldn’t just do it herself, I had to do it with her and in order to get myself signed up, I had to sponsor a child.  I was asking myself where I was going to find an extra $38 a month that we didn’t have in order to sponsor a child, just so that I could get my daughter signed up to volunteer for a Compassion event.  I had no clue what was required for this volunteer opportunity, just that my daughter was so insistent that she wanted to do this, that I had no other choice.  God was calling her to help these children, so together we sat down and chose out a 10 year old girl from Tanzania that Leslie fell in love with.  

So I started praying to God to help us make sure there was enough extra money each month to cover this sponsorship and decided that if we were going to get involved in this, it was going to be a family experience.  I not only signed up Leslie and myself, but also Hailie for the For King and Country event at Rupp Arena here in Lexington, KY.  However, I didn’t give Hailie a whole lot of information, other than that she was going to a volunteer event with Leslie and myself to hand out packets of children who needed sponsors.  Since I still didn’t know what all was involved, I really couldn’t give a whole lot more information anyway.  Leslie, who had already done an event though, was so excited. Hailie wasn’t nearly as excited as Leslie was though.  It was a huge fight to get her to go with us that night. I was glad to see her so happy and excited.  I figured that this would be the only time we would do this and wanted to make it a pleasant experience for both kids. 

I told Leslie to choose a child to sponsor herself that night. She picked out a little 5 year old boy from the Philippines.  I was surprised and very pleased that by the end of the night that we volunteered, Hailie was happy and excited.  Not only had she helped hand out packets, during the concert, but she had been able to enjoy the concert.  Hailie told me later that she was very glad she had gone and was sorry for the attitude that she had given me ahead of time, AND she was excited for more opportunities, although, I’m not sure if for her, it is the opportunity to help these kids get sponsors, or because of the concert itself.  She was more than happy, though, to join me at the Phil Wickham concert in Louisville, KY a couple weeks later that I had signed her and myself up for.  Leslie didn’t get to go to this one, because I wanted it to be just me and Hailie to have some one on one time with Hailie.  It was a good event, but I found myself feeling disappointed that not as many packets got handed out.  I have come to realize that each and every child on these packets needs a sponsor in order to be able to grow up and have experiences that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them and their families.  Because when we sponsor these children, it’s not just the children, but the whole family who benefits. This was only the start of our journey.  I now look for every opportunity possible for us to volunteer for Compassion.  It’s become an obsession, especially considering that first time, I felt like it would be an extra burden on us, only to find out how enjoyable it was and how much satisfaction it provides to know that we are helping, even if we can’t sponsor every single child.  

I said earlier that Compassion International isn’t just another company collecting money for children living in poverty.  This company is the leader in child sponsorship.  Why?  Because they don’t just give money to these families.  They minister to them in many ways.  Their motto is “Releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.” I have found out what that means since volunteering with Compassion.  It means that they minister to every child financially, mentally and spiritually.  Compassion children spend an average of 4,000 hours in safe, nurturing programs and stay in school up to 1.5 years longer than unsponsored peers.  Compassion children are up to 40% more likely to finish secondary education and are up to 80% more likely to graduate college.  Compassion children are up to 18% more likely to have salaried employment in their adult years and are up to 75% more likely to become leaders in their communities.

With the correspondence with the child that we sponsor as a family, I’ve found out that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.  Without Compassion International sponsorship, she would be unlikely to get this opportunity.  Compassion is helping her to reach for her dreams and giving her what she needs to make her dreams come true.  The $38 dollars a month that we give to our Compassion children provides them with education, supplements, health care and recreational activities, AND it provides them with LOVE that unlocks the potential within their heart and most important CHRIST-Centered guidance through a local church to overcome fear and hopelessness.  Each Compassion child is given all that they need to move out of poverty and allows them to strive to reach their dreams and goals.  What better reason is there to spend $38 a month on a child?  This is the organization that God has led us to, instructing us give to those who have less than we do.  Acts 20:35 says “In everything I have shown you that, by working hard, we must help the weak. In this way we remember the Lord Jesus’ words: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” 

Now I ask each of you who have read this to take this knowledge, and pray on it, but do not hesitate. Act today to sponsor a child!  For only $38 a month, you can give a child all these things and more.  They get hope, get to have a relationship with a person who cares about them, their well-being and their spiritual growth.  You also get something out of it. You get to help a child rise out of poverty and get to have a real relationship with the child. You get to correspond with your sponsored child through letters and there are even opportunities to visit them.  You get to really see how your money is helping these children! I can’t think of a better cause for my money to go to. Sponsor a child and see for yourself the love and growth that comes from your blessings!