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.