growing in .::. through compassion
- Filed under: Christianity, compassion international, family, missiology, relationships, social issues, social justice, world issues
- Date: May 31,2008
This morning, I had a very special moment with my family. One of those watershed experiences that I pray will have an impact on the rest of our lives…
As we try to move towards a more externally-focused life, we have become more and more convicted of our relationships – or lack thereof – with our neighbors and our complete disregard for the less fortunate in places thousands of miles away from our backyards.
So this morning, with my entire family cramped around my computer, we visited the Compassion International website. We have long been burdened to partner with Compassion through the work of Shaun, Randy, and the Compassion bloggers, but frankly, we’ve let things get in the way. And as Holly and I have reflected on our lives over the last six months, we felt this was the time to sacrifice some of what God has given us for the betterment of those less fortunate than us.
First, we began looking for a girl who was around our daughter Margo’s age [4] who had a birthday in August. Marg’s is August 8. We also were looking for a child who was in an AIDS-affected area and who had been waiting six months or longer for a sponsor. We found a sweet five-year girl named Salome Masalu Ngisa from Tanzania who loves to sing. Our daughter is a little songbird so she quickly identified with Salome. Salome lives with her aunt. Her aunt is sometimes employed as a farmer. Salome works at home carrying water, caring for children and helping in the kitchen. There are 6 children in the family. Along with singing, playing with dolls and jumping rope are her favorite activities. Here she is…
[Funny story: Every time we would say "Salome," our 2-year old daughter Sloan thought we were talking about her. A little confusing for a 2-year old mind...]
Next, we looked for a boy around our son Cooper’s age [7] who had a birthday in October. Coop’s is October 29. Again, we were looking for a child who was in an AIDS-affected area and who had been waiting six months or longer for a sponsor. We came across a handsome five-year old named Elvis Mitsanze – yes Elvis – who lives with his father and his mother in Kenya and loves to play soccer, a favorite of Cooper’s too. He is responsible for carrying water and running errands. His father is sometimes employed as a laborer and his mother is sometimes employed as a seller in the market. There are 2 children in the family. Here he is…
What happened next was nothing short of priceless. Cooper and Margo sat down at our kitchen table – unprompted – and began to draw pictures and write little notes for the next hour or so for Salome and Elvis. I think they would have done it all day if we would have let them. So we already have our first batch of ‘pen pal’ material for our new friends. We can’t wait to get our packets with more detailed info on them.
So why did we sponsor kids whose birthdays were in the same month as our two oldest children? When we celebrate their birthdays, we hope remembering Salome and Elvis will get them “outside of themselves,” especially when American birthdays are primarily built around getting. We want to reverse that trend and move towards being ‘givers’ in our own little world as much as we can.
Our ultimate dream? To one day travel as a family to East Africa and visit Salome in Tanzania and Elvis in Kenya [Tanzania literally borders Kenya to the southwest]. We have hopes to sponsor orphan[s] from Rwanda, a country that borders Tanzania to the northwest.
This morning, sitting on our living room couch, the Andrews’ grew a little in missional compassion through Compassion. And I’m sure, we’ve only just begun…
For more information about sponsoring children through Compassion International, visit: www.compassion.com.
If you have a second, watch this presentation on Compassion’s ministry.
And take this quiz…
