We have all seen those heart wrenching commercials at 2 am, with the sad eyed African children wearing rags, bellies distended from malnutrition and flies landing on their unblinking faces. We have all seen them, thought “how sad” or “why do they show these” or “I’m going to send some money” and then most of us forget. Some people however are stirred enough to actually do it. Some people see those commercial, and make a call, or pull out their check book. Very rarely there are people lucky enough to travel to the other side of the screen, past the reality shows and soap operas, past the infomercials and music videos and that is where I am blessed enough to have arrived.
This month team Redemption is in Lira, Uganda and one of the many wonderful ministries we are privileged enough to be working with is Compassion International. Compassion Int’l is a group that pairs needy children with sponsors, many of whom are from the United States and Canada. I have to admit I have always wondered if those commercials were some kinda racket but as we filed each child’s letters in the church sanctuary we got to read each of the 300+ individual names of the children who are sponsored here.
We went to a nearby boarding school where some of the sponsored children live, some are orphans, some are from places too far to commute and some children live with their families and come from home every day. One little girl I met as we travled between class rooms introducing ourselves, was surprised when I took her hand and withdrew. This little girl has a skin ailment that I am familiar with and I suspect that she gets teased about it by the reactions of the other children. Her beautiful little face has dry spots and blotches of discoloration, she has scars on her neck where it was probably once cracked, raw and painful. As we travled between rooms she followed with the large group of 1st and 2nd graders who were hot on our heels. By the 3rd room she took my hand and I hugged her too me. She kept looking up at me with her big sad eyes like she was curious why I was holding her and waiting to see when I would change my mind, we held hands and hugged the rest of the tour. I asked the director of the school about her and he said she comes from a disadvantaged home and that she had suffered abuse in the past. I asked him if I got her the cream she needs for her skin would someone be able to apply it for her daily, and he said the school nurse would do so. It breaks my heart that something so simple, something I take for granted could change this little girls life. It breaks my heart that nobody has addressed this need before, before she had scars, before she was in pain. I don’t believe she has a sponsor.
What fills my heart though, is the joy of the children. They boldly sing the Lord’s praises and are confident in their knowledge of him. They are thankful for the very little bit they have, a roof over their heads, an education, a change of clothes, some have shoes, they can go to the doctor to have medical treatment and these things are all made possible by their sponsors. The next time you see one of those miserable commercials please consider that somewhere in the world is a suffering child who is quite possibly more grateful in their circumstances than you are in front of your t.v. and that by God’s grace you have the power to change their lives for the better. Will you do it?
