Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Compassion International

We are all hoping not to float away tonight here in North Texas. The rain, oh my goodness, the rain! It's out of control! And sadly it's doing nothing to rid my front porch of those horrible web worms that are crawling around everywhere. Do y'all know what those are? They're white, hairy, nasty caterpillars that look like they'll sting the crud out of your foot if you step on one. I don't know if that's true, but I cringe every time I open my front door and see them waiting for my bare foot.

Anyway, a fun little thing happened that I thought I'd share.

Curt and I took our first trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in July of 2003. Shortly after, we went to a concert - By The Tree, I think - where they were promoting Compassion International. We were glancing over pictures of the children and we found a little boy from Tegucigalpa named Marlon. He was 5 years old. Having just been there and seen children scavenging through trash heaps...and having just met children who couldn't go to school just because they couldn't afford simple school supplies like pencils and spiral notebooks, we were moved. We have been really blessed to be part of Marlon's life for the last four years through sponsorship. I tell you this not to get a pat on the back, but to tell you how blessed you can be through doing something like this.

Over the years we have gotten pictures, drawings, and letters from Marlon. I try to read his letters in Spanish before reading the translated part. We got a new one on Monday and I couldn't believe how good the picture was! Then I realized he's 9 years old now. The picture is of a beautiful two-story house sitting in front of a river. It even has a chimney with smoke coming out of it. I noticed that there was some writing inside the chimney smoke. Here's what it says:
Jesus esta en mi
Here's the very complex translation: Jesus is in my

And then I noticed that the chimney smoke is in the shape of a heart!
Jesus is in my heart! Jesus is in Marlon's heart!

How cool is that? Do you know that if I did not have a basic knowledge of Spanish we would have totally missed that? It was only on the drawing, not in the letter, so it wasn't translated. Needless to say, we are totally pumped to know that Marlon is our little brother in Christ.

I hope this little story will encourage you to check out Compassion International and see how simple it is to invest in a child's life in the name of Jesus. Your Marlon is waiting!

22 comments:

Deborah said...

Hello, Amanda!

Thanks for sharing...that IS definitely exciting! We've not officially met :) but I found your blog a short bit ago and have really enjoyed the creativity and your perceptions of life, motherhood, the world and our great God. I'm on xanga (FidelicharisHouse) but my cousin is working on converting me to blogspot :) and I go back & forth with other friends (garcias2chile), etc.

Anyways--a great idea from a friend teaching in New Jersey--having each kid in each class bring in one dollar a month to help support kids (with Compassion, I think). I was thrilled and would like to try it with my kids this fall as well (six classes of 30). I'm not sure what the specifics will be, particularly with the our school being public, but I think it's a great idea and I want to try it, at least. :)

It's nice to meet you and to hear some of what God is doing in your part of the world. :) Chat with you later...

~Deborah :)

jennyhope said...

Girl you crack me up with the web worms they are freaky!! We have some outside and my man says they are going to rot out this tree of ours sick!

I love this story...it is so easy to disconnect and think that because someone is far away that they aren't in need.

Hope everyone is over the stomach issues :)

jamie b said...

Thanks for encouraging me to sponser a child! I've wanted to do that for a while now. I'm going to check it out right now! :)

(P.S. My husband and I went to Teguic on a mission trip in highschool. We'll never forget it!)

Mindy said...

That is so awesome!
Every year at the WOF conferences I think of sponsoring a child.
Hubby and I will talk about it again!
bless you and your family!

Anonymous said...

We lived just down the street from CI in Colorado Springs several years ago.

I HAVE to share this totally unrelated story with you. I was in my bathroom getting ready for work and my twin girls (age 8) were on my bed watching TV this morning. I could hear much gggling going on and when I asked what they were watching, they said and I quote "Some crazy lady on TV talking about Jesus, she is spraying something out of a can and saying stinketh" - Guess who that was? I laughed so hard when I saw that it was Beth. I explained a little about who she was and once they got over the giggles, they settled in for a Bible Study with Beth instead of their usual SpongeBob. A God thing for sure.

Amanda, when she started talking about you and Jackson during her lesson, it brought tears to hear her express her love for you and Jackson and to hear my feelings for my children come from her.

Amy

Holly said...

It's based out of Colorado Springs and good friends of ours at church serve with Compassion. Scott left a high paying job as a chemist to work with AIDS ministry and OH the stories he can tell! Pray for those serving with Compassion, too, as they have medicines that will save lives, but only need the resources to get them there.
Love,
Holly

Holly said...

Oh and the worms...forgot what they're called...Chris knows! You burn them out of the tree. Is Curt a fire bug?

Patty said...

That makes me want to cry(tears of joy) for Marlon!! It also gives me chills. Thank you Jesus for saving Marlon!!

I hope the rain stops and those nasty bugs go away!!

Anonymous said...

That is a wonderful thing. I'm headed over to check it out now!

BTW, I love the word "Tegucigalpa". My 6th/7th grade Social Studies teacher was very fond of Honduras and visited there every Summer (I think he had a girlfriend there), so he often referenced it, especially Tegucigalpa. He kind of had rabbit teet and picturing them in full rabbit on carrot mode as he said the "goo" part makes me smile.

jen said...

How awesome!! About our new brother I mean. We're tired of the rain here too! We're not getting as much as you guys, but we've gotten enough to be 10 inches above normal! But Praise God, it's summer and all our grass is still green and plants still blooming! :) Now I'm going to look up C.I. Thank you for sharing!

R said...

Mercy from Kenya was our first "child" before we had a child of our own. We "adopted" her at age 5, and she's EIGHT now! I can't believe how time flies.

I recommend it, too...it's a highly rewarding way to spend nominal money each month.

Profbaugh said...

Well, for once I'm glad I'm in St. Louis. No web worms here, at least I've never seen one. Your description gives me the heebie jeebies though!!

Don't you just love how God works??--those little suprises, like the words hidden in the smoke (in Spanish). They were left there just for you. . . a special message to let you know the impact you've had on Marion's life. And beyond that for you to "blog" and share thd story with us. Man, my mind is going a mile a minute!! You see, we've considered Compassion International before, but haven't acted. I think it's time for a family meeting!!!

With much love and gratitude for letting the LORD use you to bring this to my attention.
~Cheryl
(in St. Louis where it's very wet but NO gross web worms!!)

Anonymous said...

Hi Amanda!

Yes, I remember growing up in San Antonio we would get those worms in our trees too! I do not know what they are called but my mom would use an old straw broom, light it up and burn the nest.

Beware! If it is windy out they (worms) get blown all over the place!

Again, thank you so much for sharing with all of us! I love seeing how Jackson is growing up and all of his pictures!

Helen (and Bella)

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to let you know that my compassion boy is in Honduras too! His name is Jeser and he will be 10 this summer. He lives in the country though and not in the city. I dearly love getting his letters and his pictures, both the ones he draws for me himself and the photographs that are taken of him. Compassion is such an awesome program! Thanks for sharing it in your blog.

Anonymous said...

Amanda - please forgive me - I just stumbled across your blog and wouldn't usually just jump in on anybodies blog BUT I have to tell you that my sister just got her dream job with Compassion in Surrey England - we have been praying about this for her for a long time - God IS good

connorcolesmom said...

Amanda,
That brought me to tears. I am so sensitive to those kind of stories.
My husband and I decided 2 years ago to take the money we spend at christmas and sponsor 2 children through compassion international. We put the info in the boys' stockings and made a big deal over how they are taking care of children in another country!!
My boys love it!!
We plan to do it every year!
Oh and I have heard about the rain over there. I bet you are sick of it - rain and worms not a fun combination!
God bless,
Kim

Sunni at The Flying Mum said...

We love our little Rolph from India...he is so sweet and always sends us pictures too. And he LOVES to hear about Milton (& Todd.)

Lindsee Lou said...

I hear you on the rain...it's pouring right now as I write this. Just like every other day. We'll pray no one up there floats away!

I've always loved compassion. I know one day I want to support a child, when I have a real paying job! :)

And, by the way. I was going to tell you that (obviously) my friends and I are "lurkers" on your blog. We talk about it often and how precious it is. Hope you don't think we're all crazy. We're just inspired. :)

Have a great Thursday!

Lindsee

debra parker said...

I love this program. We have a child who is from Uganda, his name is Chibwede. It has been such a treasure to watch him grow over the years.

I highly recommend compassion international.

Sharon Brumfield said...

How sweet!
It really changes the way you view things when you view new concerts as new brothers and sisters in Christ.
It messes with the little kids minds at church when I go down front after their profession of faith and tell them that now I'm their big sister. I love the look on their faces!

Texas Aggie in Florida said...

Hey Amanda...stumbled across your blog through Keri Campbell's links on her blog. My husband is going to Tegucigalpa, Honduras in July on a mission trip. He's a children's pastor. And I saw from your blog above this one that you're an Aggie too...I'm c/o 96...WHOOP. Check out my future aggies...http://texasaggieinfl.blogspot.com/

jcubsdad said...

It does this heart good to hear such good being said about Compassion. I have the honor of working for them, and I love it.

Keep praying for us as we grow and develop and reach more lost children with the heart of Christ!!