Two years ago I was able to take my wife Gloria to the Dominican Republic on a Sponsor tour with Compassion International. Now, I have seen Compassion’s work close up for many years, but this was the first time that I was able to share a field experience with my best friend and I was anxious to view things differently. Sure enough, on the first day of the trip the staff took us to a small project where Compassion has what they call a “Child Survival Program”. Child mortality rates are very high in third world countries and the child Survival program is a very special program that meets the needs of Moms and their babies from pre-natal up through 3 or 4 years old. The aim of the program is to give the babies the best possible start in life by teaching mothers how to love and care for this new little person in their lives.
A part of the project tour included a home visit. We happened to visit the home of a young mother named Katherine. Katherine was just a teenager, children having children. Her daughter, Villenny, was what brought her to Compassion’s project. Katherine lived in a small 10×10 shack cobbled together outside of her mothers house with nothing but a dirt floor. Made of plywood and tin and not enough of either to actually keep the weather out. It seemed like the kind of place that might be dryer outside in a rainstorm.
For me these were fairly familiar surroundings. For Gloria, this was all overwhelming and new. Gloria’s heart was broken that day for young mothers and the reality of the conditions in which they live. She noticed, for example, that the only door that Katherine had on your small house was a piece of plywood that you would pull across the opening. Anyone wishing to break in and do the small, frail family harm had easy access. That day we fell in love with Katherine and her baby, and I have thought about her and her condition many times since.
Today, I was traveling with a group of businessmen from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic to introduce them to Compassion’s ministry. Two years after meeting Katherine, I find myself walking down the broken and dangerous path to Katherine’s house. “What are you doing God?” I am asking myself. This was not planned. I had no idea that I would returning to the same neighborhood, the same church, the same house that I had visited so long ago. And yet, here I was.
Katherine was changed. She was different. Her countenance was brighter and she was more open. She had learned valuable skills from being a part of Compassion and she was now making and selling jewelry in order to support her family. Although her countenance had changed, her living conditions had not. The shack with the dirt floor in which she lived looked no more protective than it had before. Sure, the she had painted a window on her plywood door, but it still provided no more protection than when we were here last. I had the opportunity to pray for this small family, and I am in the process of determining if I can sponsor the little girl, Villenny, in the Compassion child development project.
Here is what I learned today. God orchestrates amazing encounters. Be on the alert for what He is doing. Who knows if He will approach you through something foreign or through something familiar.
Interested in sponsoring a child of your own through Compassion? Click HERE for a list of kids in need.
Tags: compassion, hope, poverty
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