About a year and a half ago, Southeast hosted a Compassion Weekend. Hundreds of packets sat on tables in the Lobby that Saturday and Sunday. Peter Habyarimana, a Ugandan graduate himself of the Compassion sponsorship program, spoke in all the services about the impact child sponsorship has on the life of a child who only knows poverty.
I stood out in the Lobby and looked at those packets. I looked at those faces. And all I could think of is, "How do you choose?" Plus, at the time, Jody was in his last year of seminary, and I knew our plates were full. It was not the right time. Nonetheless, the weekend had an impact on me, and I knew that I truly wanted to sponsor a child. For keeps.
Then, a few months ago I watched a video called live58 (live58.org), which is a global initiative to end extreme poverty by living out Isaiah 58. In the video, Wess Stafford - the president of Compassion International - quotes the chapter from Scripture at various points during the movie.
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter —
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
- Isaiah 58
I continued to feel the Lord tugging on my heart, and I knew that He was calling me to do what I could to act upon this very clear command of Scripture. Also, I had had several years to observe the work of Compassion, and I was very impressed. Everything they do with excellence. Everything is in Jesus' name and for His glory. Highly rated for integrity and wise use of resources. I decided that - if I'm going to send funds to any organization - it would be Compassion.
As we entered a new year at Southeast, Steve and I talked about hosting another Compassion Weekend, but nothing worked with the church schedule. Then, we got a call from Compassion. They had a new 'event' coming. It was called "Change the Story: The Compassion Experience," and it would be traveling around the country, stopping at churches and allowing people to step into the life of a child.
Steve jumped on the opportunity, and the first weekend in August, they came to Southeast. It was awesome. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I were to say it was life-changing.
I had the opportunity to walk through the "lives" of 3 different Compassion children. I got to help the 'Change the Story' staff during their brief stay at Southeast, filling in as they needed and meeting some incredible staff and volunteers along the way. One night I convinced Jody to come and check it out.
And in the end, we decided to sponsor a little girl.
Her name is Tujare (pronounced TWO-yah-ray); she's 6 years old, and she's from Ethiopia. In fact, she is from the Gojo region of Ethiopia, where we are currently working at through the church-planting ministry of Petros Network.
We are so excited. And that little frame on our living room table that has been empty for five years (since Mrs. Kim gave me all those frames as a wedding present in Korea)...
Yeah, she gets that honored spot!
Welcome to our family, Tujare! We are praying God's blessings on your life. Praying that you know how very loved you are. How precious you are in the eyes of God. And that 'you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you' (Phil 4:13).
