Compassion International is a child-advocacy ministry that pairs compassionate people with those who are suffering from poverty. The ministry releases children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty. The goal is for each child to become a responsible and fulfilled adult. For more information on sponsoring a child in poverty through Compassion International, visit compassion.com.
Why sponsor?
Well, I guess a better question would be why not to sponsor? Why not take $38 a month and give it to a child in poverty to ensure that they receive an education, healthcare, food, safety, and most importantly, learn about Jesus? Well, if you're like me, the answer to the question of why not to sponsor a child is simple. Because it's $38 a month! That was my initial response and nobody could tell me otherwise. Here I am, a college student without an income, and you want me to spend $38 a month to help someone I may never get to meet? I think I'll pass. Or so I thought. The more I thought about sponsoring a child in poverty, the more I shook it off. This is just me being silly, I could never do something like that. Well, God sure has a way of messing up our original plans doesn't He?
That's exactly what God did. He messed up my original plans of not sponsoring a child in poverty. But He also did more than that. He did SO much more. In a previous blog post, I talked about how during my first semester of college I took a Bible and Human Rights class in which we discussed poverty, and how ever since then God has been showing me more and more of His heart for the poor. God didn't simply just come in and change my plans about sponsoring a child in poverty. He began showing me a little more each day how much His heart breaks for those in poverty, and because of that, my heart began to break for them as well.
As my heart began hurting so much for those trapped in poverty, I decided that I should do something about it. But what? There was not much I could do, and I felt ultimately helpless because poverty is such a big problem and I'm just one person. What can one person do? Maybe not get rid of poverty like I'd like to, but I could do something. I could change the life of one child in poverty by sponsoring them. And so I did. And I am so glad.
It wasn't an easy decision for me to make. It took a lot of prayer and fasting, and even after I knew that this was something that God was leading me to do, I still questioned it. Remember how I was originally questioning this whole sponsoring thing because of the $38 a month? Well, those doubts and fears didn't stop once I felt led to sponsor. But I didn't let them stop me. I knew that this was something that God wanted me to do, and I knew He would provide so that I would be able to.
So, I stopped with the excuses and took a leap of faith and began to sponsor Kelin in January of this year.
This is my sponsored child, Kelin. She is 7 years old, and she lives in Honduras. Just like any other child, she loves to play with dolls, jacks, and jump rope. Now imagine doing these same things when you were her age, yet living in poverty. Honduras is the second poorest country in central America where 65% of the population is below the poverty line. In the region where Kelin lives, most of the adults work on plantations and make the equivalent of $150 a month. However, poverty is more than just not having enough money. Poverty makes children feel hopeless and defeated. Poverty tells children to give up, that nothing can change their situation, and that they don't matter. Now imagine how much of a difference sponsorship makes for these children in poverty! They not only receive physical support, but also emotional and spiritual support, giving them motivation to keep going.
So again I ask, why sponsor?
When children are sponsored, their lives are changed. They are placed in Compassion Centers where they receive an education, food, medical care, love, support, encouragement, and an opportunity to learn about Jesus. At Kelin's Compassion Center, she also learns how to brush her teeth properly, gets help with her homework, plays soccer, learns vocational skills, and memorizes Bible verses. In the midst of poverty, these Compassion Child Development Centers provide a safe, nurturing haven, under the care of trained, loving Christian adults where the sponsored children are given the freedom to learn, grow, play, and dream about a future free from poverty.
Sponsorship is a lot more than just sending $38 a month to a child in need. Yes, that is part of it, but it is also the opportunity for you to get a glimpse of God's love for His children, and it gives you a chance to be a part of God's work: bringing hope, love, and justice to those in need. Sponsorship changes the life of the child that you are sponsoring, but it also changes your life. Yes, you may be
1. Your heart changes. Through my short time of sponsoring Kelin, I have seen my heart become so connected to those in poverty. Although I can't personally relate to the stories of these individuals who are fighting to survive in poverty, I have definitely gained a new respect for them by stepping into their lives through Compassion and just getting a glimpse at everything they have to go through. I have also begun to love them more than before. It's typical for people to look at those in poverty and feel sad for a few minutes and then continue on with their lives as if the person they saw was just an image and not an actual human being, and this used to be me as well. However, since I started sponsoring through Compassion, I have begun to carry the poor in my heart as well. Their hurt causes me to hurt. Their joy brings me joy. Their need reminds me that I have so much to give. The pictures that I see are no longer just poor people who live in third world countries. They are sons and daughters of God, and He loves them, so I love them too.
2. Your mindset changes. Before sponsoring Kelin, I knew I had a lot, but I didn't fully recognize how much "a lot" is. Seeing that so many people in poverty live on less than $2 a day makes me realize just how much I have. For instance, I will no longer complain about having to buy books for classes, because 1, I have an education and 2, I have the money and ability to buy books in the first place. Sponsorship has also made me cautious about where and how I spend my money. Should I buy this new pair of shoes for $40 or should I give this money to someone in need that can stretch it much further than I can and put it to much greater use than just another (while some people don't even have one) pair of shoes? Do I really need this? Is this a necessity? Could I go without this? These are all things that I think about now before spending money, and it may sound extreme, but at the end of the day, I would much rather give what I can for someone who needs it than just buy for myself something that I don't really need.
3. You become an advocate for those in poverty. There is no way that I am able to sponsor Kelin and have my heart so involved with this sponsorship, yet still keep living my life the way I was before; with no concern for the poor. You see, sponsorship begins with advocacy, but advocacy doesn't end there. I have realized that the reason so many people feel indifferent about the poor is because they don't know. They know that poor people exist, but they don't know how real poverty is for so many people. They don't know the reality that so many people have to fight poverty every single day not knowing whether or not they will survive that day because of how harsh their living conditions are. Being an advocate for those in poverty isn't me forcing everyone I know to sponsor a child, but is instead me telling people not to close their hearts towards those in poverty, not to look down upon them, but instead to see them as the people that they are. To show them the love they deserve. Me being an advocate for those in poverty is me saying that their story does not have to be this way, and I refuse to let it stay like this. It's me telling you that even though it may seem impossible, poverty can end if we decide to do something about it. It starts with just one person. I took a risk to change the life of one child, and I now invite you to do the same. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." -Proverbs 31:8
Now, you don't have to listen to a word I just said, and I can't make you do anything. But if God is tugging on your heart to sponsor a child in poverty, then you know what to do. A child needs YOU.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: 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 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 you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." -Isaiah 58:6-10
Be blessed! ♡
-Elisha :)
**If you have any other questions concerning sponsoring a child through Compassion International, ask away! I may not have all the answers, but I can tell you what I know. You can also visit Compassion International's FAQ page for other questions you may have.