There is a part of this trip that has totally sucked for me.
It’s caused me to shuffle around nervously at times and hide behind my camera at others. The realization hit Allison and I that we were the only bloggers coming on this journey to Kenya who did not sponsor a child from Kenya. I had my reasons, and they were good.
We were contacted about a month before our trip asking us if we would be interested in sponsoring a child from Kenya since we would be going there and blogging about child sponsorship. I declined to sponsor another child because we are currently sponsoring two children; Miriam from Bolivia, and Ana from Honduras.
We were told that there was a good chance we would be able to meet our sponsored children in person if we chose to sponsor in Kenya. I thought about it for a little while, but decided it wouldn’t really be my heart choosing to sponsor a child in Kenya…it would have just been convenient for blogging. Not only that, but we can’t afford to sponsor another child right now. Plus, I wasn’t even sure what Compassion International really provided with our current sponsorships. I just didn’t want to do it for many reasons.
Today was terrible and wonderful at the same time.
It’s Sunday, so we went to church. Little did I know that we would be getting up during the service and leading the congregation in worship for a song. After our rendition of “Lord I lift your name on high”, of which I knew the words, but had no idea a dance went along with, one of our trip leaders spoke for a few minutes while we were still all on stage. Two things he said hit me pretty hard:
“Even though we have different skin color and we come from a different country, we are related to each other. We both have the same Father. Our Father in heaven calls us all His children and that makes us brothers and sisters.”
And then the crusher…
“Compassion International is trying to help release the poor from poverty, but it’s also helping to release us from our wealth.”
As I stood there in front of around 300 of the poorest people I’ve ever seen, I have never felt so rich in all my life. I thought about the $120 I had in my pocket as I stood there and how it could be used to purchase a home here in Kenya…and maybe a goat.
From the church service, we headed to a Kenyan amusement park of sorts. It had animals for us to see, rides, a nice restaurant, face painting, and all sorts of activities for people to have fun with.
Most importantly, it was where all of the bloggers on our trip got to hang out with their sponsored children. Some of the children were picked up from 4 hours away just so they could meet with their sponsors and have a day of fun. Some of these kids had never been in a car before. Most of them had never eaten at a restaurant before.
All of the bloggers on this trip had sponsored children to play with…except us.
Here is Chris (http://blog.compassion.com/) with his sponsored child:
LV (http://www.catalystspace.com/catablog/) with his sponsored child:
Jennifer (www.mckmama.com) with her sponsored child:
Brad (www.bradruggles.com) with his sponsored child:
Patricia (www.jonesbones5.com) with her sponsored child:
Kristen (www.wearethatfamily.com) with her sponsored child:
Kent (www.churchrelevance.com) with his sponsored child:
And there we were. Allison and I. Walking around looking at the animals and taking photos of the others with their sponsored children. I wasn’t feeling guilt. I was just thinking. Thinking that I had missed an opportunity. I thought that it would be ridiculous to sponsor a child from Kenya just before we go there so that it would look great on a blog as I met my child in a third world country.
I was wrong.
It wasn’t about that. It was about an opportunity to begin a powerful relationship with someone halfway across the world. Compassion International goes to great lengths at helping sponsors meet their sponsored children in person. There are stories of children being picked up and driven 8 hours just to meet their sponsor because it’s that important. Sponsorship isn’t about the money, it’s about letting someone know that they have value and that you are pulling for them.
It’s not about $38 a month. It’s about the letters you write and the dreams you instill in a child. I watched as several people began a deep relationship with kids that will last a long, long time today. I heard a voice in my head multiple times. It was saying, “It’s really hard to ask people to give until it hurts when you are not giving until it hurts.” It was a call to respond.
Allison and I got back to our hotel and we sponsored our third child through Compassion International.
His name is Kayoo and he has been waiting for a sponsor for a long time.
I really hope that we’ll meet him someday.
