“And for just $30 a month you can help feed a child, send them to school, and provide a better future.”
You’ve probably heard something like that at some point in your life. Whether it was a commercial, in a magazine, in your mail, from your missions coordinator in your church, etc. It’s inevitable. Any number of thousands of charitable organizations in the USA and around the globe are always reaching out for help. Sadly, though, some might say it’s more like picking your pockets.
There are such people.
There are people who simply have no interest one way or another. Maybe they can help, maybe they can’t. And you know what? That’s fine. There are people who certainly can give but for fear and greed horde it all away. That’s well enough, too; though hard to swallow. We are told in the Bible to be cheerful givers, not reluctant or required. And then there are people who debase and deride the poor and the orphan; people who find such efforts laughable. People whom I know for a fact if faced with an orphan would mock them to their faces!
“Woah there, slow down, Thomas! You’re gettin’ a little overheated.” Well.. yes, I am. And I’m not here to guilt you. Never could stand such folk, trying to work your emotions over with graphic images and blood-chilling accounts of horrendous mistreatment and malnourishment. So if you’re worried that that’s where this is going, just simmer down a spell.
…I want to tell you the other half of the story; what you never hear!
I want to tell you the “happily ever after” where these donations and promises are supposed to lead.
This month Team 153 (Juan Fiddy Tree) and I are working alongside Grace International ministries here in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It has it’s beginnings in the mid 60’s when a local Haitian had placed within his heart by the Holy Spirit the passion to reach out to the community he lived in to combat the violence and years of societal and spiritual corruption and in it’s place fill it with the truth of love and forgiveness and salvation we all have access to in Jesus if we want it. He started out small, starting and growing 25 churches in the city.
But that was only the beginning of a long, illustrious legacy both for himself and his family.
His son (who died as an infant and by the power of the Spirit his father raised back from death itself) would grow up to carry on the legacy his father began. If Satan is trying to take you that early you know you are a clear threat to him and his plans. And a threat he became quickly. And not just him but his wife also. Together, they purchased a piece of land with the help of churches here and in the States (of which I learned a church in good ole Williamsport, PA has played a significant role! REPRESENT!!!!); around 30 acres in all. This son had dreams of expanding the churches, but his wife had more in mind.
She had a vision of a home for orphan girls, where they could grow up in a safe, loving environment. Here they could be equiped for life, given an good education, and be empowered to influence the world, too.
Well, it wasn’t an easy idea to pitch. Money is scarce anywhere, and besides, you can’t help everyone. No, you can’t. And it was imaginably a battle for a long time. But this pastor’s wife, Madame Jeune as she prefers to be called, would not rest until she saw this dream fulfilled.
…And fulfilled it was! They built that girls home. And since that girls home was built hundreds, thousands of girls have been given a brilliant future. Many have gone on to be doctors, teachers, even judges, law enforcement workers, community leaders. They are women leaders in one of the poorest and most male-dominant cultures in the world. Madame Jeune has had a large hand in building a better, brighter future for Haiti. Her passion and her efforts have done more than reshape a generation; they have begun to reshape a culture for all generations to come!
But can I let you in on a little secret?
Mr. (Monsieur) Jeune comes from a line of strong leaders in the faith as well as their community.
Madame Jeune?
…Madame Jeune was an orphan.
There are many orphans here in Haiti. Many who never receive a formal education because it can’t be afforded. Many who starve. Many who, when 18 years old, will be kicked out onto the streets with no knowledge of the real world or how to survive let alone thrive in it. And sadly, many become a stastistic sooner or later, and usually sooner.
But Madame Jeune had something different.
She had a SPONSOR!
They supported her monthly, helped her have a good meal at least once a day (which is more than many get) and helped her get a formal education. With just a little, they gave a lot! Because that one family gave their $15 or $30 or $50 a month, they changed her life.
…And because they did, she has allowed God to use her life to similarly change the lives of tens, hundreds, even thousands of others. Together her and her husband have now a boys home also, over 200 churches and growing with a church that seats 3,000, a hospital, a radio program that raches both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and so many other ministries and ministries to come.
…All this because someone saw her and, instead of turning a blind eye or even outrightly rejecting such a notion, chose to make a difference, AND THEY DID!
That person or persons changed one little girl’s world. And because they did, God has multiplied their faithfulness in a little, as He so often does, and begun shifting the fortunes of a whole nation.
…they… changed the world.
So if you are a sponsor of a child somewhere in the world, or are considering sponsoring a child, or perhaps have even been one that has refuted the very idea… then I hope this has provided you a fresh perspective; one you don’t often hear– the other side of the coin, the endgame.
So I hope you can now better see,
whether one life or many…
you have changed,
you are changing,
and still can change…
…THE WORLD!
