This past month my team has helped AIM with the yearly sponsor update for all the children’s profiles at some nearby care points. We take their picture, help them color and make sure they get to one of the D-team girls to fill out their sponsor letter/surveys. Later on we do admin work required to organize and update all the info and get it ready to be sent out.
For some, it might seem like a less dramatic ministry but I’ve been able to connect with the children in such a real way by doing this. I had the honor of photographing all of the kids at two major care points the other week and there’s just something special about taking someone’s portrait. Any photographer out there will relate. To me, it’s so much more than just snapping a picture of each kid. It’s looking into their eyes and capturing a life in lense. Perhaps, in some small way, giving them a bit of dignity by putting a person to a statistic and recording their life. These children are so much more than any AIDS or poverty statistic I could give you. As they sit and color their picture for their American friend, I see names and faces in front of me and hear stories echo in my head. These kids are so real to me now and I want them to be real to you too.
This is Vincent. He is 19 and in 7th grade. He lives with his grandmother because his parents are dead and his 2 younger brothers live in town with his uncle. His only meal every day is the one provided at the care point. He loves to play football. Any American 19 year-old would suffer a bruised ego by having to color a picture for someone but Vincent does it with pride and care. He quietly asks if I will take another picture of him and my heart breaks a little.
My heart continues breaking later on as we sort the children’s papers and read some of the answers they have put down. This is a sampling:
What is your most memorable event this past year?
“Christmas Party� (at the care point)
“Receiving basins at Christmas�
“Getting school shoes�
What are you thankful for?
“God has kept me safe�
“School shoes�
“Food�
“That God provided the care point�
“I am thankful that I am still alive and also my parents are still alive. I thank for that.�
What do you enjoy doing with your free time?
“Play soccer�
“Playing skipping rope�
“Fetch water�
“Bouncing ball�
“Tend cattle�
Something you want your special friend in America to know about yourself?
“That I play with everyone.�
“I love them.�
“That I am a hard worker.�
“That I respect.�
“I can write my name.�
“I want him or her to know that I am still alive.�
“That I love Jesus.�
Something you would like to know about your special friend in America?
“How they live and what they do in their community to help poor people.�
“How are they.�
“If they do pray.�
“Where do they get all the money to buy us some gifts?�
“When are they going to visit?�
I never used to like the idea of open ended blogs that broke your heart and never gave you an answer to fix it or an action to take. Now I’m one of them. I don’t want to give you 5 easy steps to make you feel charitable and keep these kids at a distance. I want your heart to continue breaking as if these children were your own. Can you imagine if your 3 year-old had to walk miles to survive on one meal a day and your 6 year-old had to take care of 4 younger siblings by herself? Can you imagine the pain God feels as He watches thousands of His precious children do just that? If your heart is breaking for these children, do something. If these children were yours, what would you do? Everyone can do something. Don’t just listen to stories about these children, come and meet them.
