The boys and I were talking about the
landslide in Guatemala the other day. We found Guatemala on the world map and prayed for the people there. The next night when we were saying prayers before bedtime, we prayed again for those hurting in that country, and afterward Caleb asked me about the people who live there.
I told him they were very poor and many lived in homes where the dirt was their floor and that they had roofs that would let in the rain (it was raining in Singapore that night). Caleb asked if they had stores. I told him that they probably did, but that they didn't have any money to buy supplies they needed to fix their homes or build better ones.
He said, "Can they get packages?" I told him maybe they could. He said he wanted to send a package with our money so they could buy some wood and fix their houses. So, today, as a family, we're going to find a place for Caleb to send his money, the money he has been saving in a little jar for such a time as this. We'll let him fill an envelope with the money labeled "Giving," to give to others in need, and we'll "mail" it to Guatemala. (In reality, his daddy and I will give online since we know sending cash in the mail isn't the best way.)
We don't want to just tell our kids that it is important to give to the poor. We want to involve them in giving. And when they are older, we want to involve them in serving others. We want to purposefully, intentionally, seek out ways to serve and bless and share Christ with others.
This is why we sponsor (so far) two children through
Compassion International. We let Caleb choose his own child this last time, and he chose a boy in Kenya who's name is Victor, and Victor just turned 5 this September (just like our Caleb). Victor lives in an area ravaged by HIV (unlike our Caleb).
One day I hope to visit our
Compassion kids. We get their letters and write them, too, but seeing them face-to-face would be such a joy. I don't know if that will happen this side of Heaven, but I pray someday that will be a reality for us. To see and touch our other kids. The kids God has given us in this special way.
There is a
group of bloggers with Compassion International right now in Guatemala. Ann Voskamp wrote about
meeting her sponsored child, and I had tears in my own eyes at her joy.
Please go read that post and consider how you can help release children from poverty in Jesus' name.
