Making a Difference

Look at that face.  At 10 years old, this precious boy is at that awkward age where he's getting tall, beginning to look like a man, and yet he's still a boy.  This is one of the lives Compassion International is affecting in Bangladesh.  For over 6 months, this boy has been waiting for someone to sponsor him, to love him from afar, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to him and his family.

Compassion International has been helping people like you and me make a difference in a child's life for years.  Compassion's mission can be summed up in one sentence: "Releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name."  And they mean it.  For $38 a month, you can make a difference in a child's life.  That $38 feeds them, clothes them, educates them, and teaches them about Jesus.  And i's not just the one child who benefits from being a part of the Compassion program in their area.  Because Compassion utilizes the local church, that church is initimately aware of what the child's family is going through and they have the lattitude to help as needed.

I'm not going to lie.  My man and I had to talk it through before we sponsored our Compassion kid 4 years ago.  We didn't want to rush into this because we were emotionally pulled to do so.  We've come to realize that when you make a rash decision, you're more likely to let it fall by the wayside whenever the emotions subside.  We wanted to make sure that we were going to be able to commit to her throughout her entire life.  Life has already thrown so much at her, we didn't want to be someone who pulled the rug out from under her little life.

I'm leaving in less than a week to go to Bangladesh to see first-hand the work Compassion is doing in the world.  What an incredible honor!  People have asked me the same 3 questions over the past 2 days:

     "When do you leave?" (Saturday, January 21st)

     "Are you excited?" (yes)

     "Are you nervous?" (yes)

While I'm ridiculously excited to experience everything God has to offer on this journey, I have to admit I have one big, looming fear: that a piece of my heart is going to remain in Bangladesh.  Do I guard my heart or do I allow myself to be open knowing that at the end of a week, I will be a broken-hearted girl?  That I'll want to save them all even though I'll know that I can't.

I don't have a clue what God will do on this trip. But I do know He'll be there.  I don't know who I'll meet, what I'll experience, how I'll handle everything I'll see, but I do know that He has planned every step of my path.  And knowing that helps ease any anxious thoughts that are swimming around in my head.  His presence makes a difference and gives my head a place to rest - on a pillow of grace.

Perspective

Fifteen days.  That’s an eternity – especially to a girl whose job is measured in seconds.  But it’s also dangerously short. 

Fifteen days until a term paper is due?  Pshh!  Plenty of time! 

Fifteen days until a mission trip to Bangladesh?  Way too close for comfort!

But fifteen days is all I’ve got until I board a plane bound for the other side of the world.  About two weeks until I fly 8,421 miles from my comfort zone: my home, my family, my friends, my life.  Put in that perspective, time is zooming by much faster than I’m comfortable with.

There is so much to do before a trip like this.  Packing : shirts, sweater, jeans, skirts (NOTE TO SELF: go buy skirts), toiletries, medicines, Bible, journal (This calls for a trip to the office supply store!  HURRAY! ), camera, music, books, what else?  

OH!  Those converter thingies!  The outlets are different over there.  Scribble that on the list.

Protein bars in case they serve food made with something I am allergic to… God, please help me to get over my picky eating – at least for the length of the trip.  Please help me to swallow whatever is put before me with grace, not a face. 

Someone suggested bringing toilet paper.  TOILET PAPER!?!  Wait - that means they might not have porcelain, flush potties! 

Oh Father, I’m getting nervous – and I’m just making a packing list!  What journey are You taking me on? 

I’ve often heard that a path that is full of adversity is exactly the one on which God has placed you.  Sounds a little counterintuitive at first, but begins to make sense once you begin to travel that road.  If I’m struggling to get the simple, yet necessary things done before the trip – the prescription that has refills available but isn’t in stock, the bizarre lack of long skirts at Goodwill, the mysterious missing backpack that was there just last week – then God MUST be up to something! 

My preparation for this trip is being hindered by the one who doesn’t want me to go.  The one who doesn’t want me to love others in the name Jesus Christ...  The one who doesn’t want me come home and tell the stories of poverty-stricken children who need to be rescued…  The one who wants me to stay in my comfort zone and never care about anyone beyond my own circle…  

The Holy Spirit in me makes me an enemy of the enemy of God.  What a profound revelation!  As I write this, I am overwhelmed with the reality that the challenges I’m facing are not designed to frustrate me – that’s just a side effect of the one who opposes Christ in me.  These obstacles are designed to stop me, to destroy the beautiful plan God has laid out for me, to frighten me into walking away from the journey and, ultimately, the destination.

Father, give me the courage to continue walking the path You’ve assigned to me. 

Change my perspective on these trials.  Use them to remind me why I’m facing them and give me the strength to persevere and to overcome.  

And, if You would, could You make 15 days seem a little longer?  J