A Nudge . . . and then a Plunge

Two boys at PE350--boys will be boys.

I have always loved kids, which is a good thing since I'm a high school teacher.  I also love the little ones, and I am always drawn to the "underdogs"--the ones who have a bad home life or don't think much of themselves for one reason or other.

I've always said my mission field is the teenagers in our public schools, and that's true, but a few years ago at a newsboys' concert, I heard about Compassion and thought maybe I should sponsor a child but felt I couldn't afford it financially.  So I sort of forgot about Compassion.

Then after Michael Tait became the lead singer for newsboys, I heard him say that we should help our neighbors in Mexico (they were building homes for people there), so I decided to try to find the name of that child sponsorship organization and sponsor a boy from Mexico, being a bit partial to boys.

I found Compassion on the Heart It First website when I was looking for information about Winter Jam, so I clicked the link.  I found that if I sponsored a child, I would get a tobyMac CD for free.  Helloooo.  I wasn't going to pass that up!

So ironically, or maybe fittingly, it was good friends Michael Tait and Toby McKeehan who nudged me to begin my relationship with Compassion.  I began with one boy in Mexico, and now I sponsor twelve children, all from the Spanish-speaking countries where Compassion works (two in Peru), plus a little boy in Haiti.  I also have five correspondence kids who think I'm their financial sponsor, and I think of them in the same way I do the ones I sponsor financially.

I have learned to treasure the pink and bows of my little girls, and the sweet girly teenage girls.  I love my girls.

Whenever I write to my kids or send a financial gift, I am reminded of Matthew 25:40--The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  I am honored to know that when I give to these children, I am giving to Jesus.

One of the most powerful verses to me, one that is my fuel to advocate for the children is Matthew 18:10--See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
That's some pretty serious stuff right there.

I am honored to be a part of Compassion and thankful that God used Mike and Toby to nudge me to the edge where I plunged right in.