The city of Houston will mark the two year anniversary of Hurricane Ike this weekend. Our family chose not to ride out the storm in our suburban Houston home. I tend to be very dramatic (like physically ill and crying) during severe weather events and I wanted to get as far away as possible. I was also pregnant. Pregnancy is a wild card that you can throw out for anything, and I’m obviously doing that now.
We evacuated to my parents’ ranch two days before the storm hit. I packed our wedding album and the computer with all our pictures on it just in case our home was destroyed by the storm. That wasn’t a likely scenario, but hurricanes spawn tornadoes and you just never know. Our neighborhood has large trees and they were a real concern. Thankfully, after the storm cleared we returned to a home with absolutely no damage. Our power was restored before we even made it back home.
Friends have told us that Hurricane Ike was the scariest night of their lives and that they wished they had left. They described it as being terribly loud. They could hear things hitting their homes, but they couldn’t just look outside and see what it was. It was completely dark. Some people in the Houston city limits did lose their homes. Many people were left without power for two weeks. Gas stations ran out of fuel and grocery stores were very low on food. People were acting panicky and it was very scary to see. The damage and loss of life on the coast was shocking. Hurricane Ike is something Houstonians will talk about for years to come.
One of the few concerns I had about coming on this trip was the fact that Guatemala is so vulnerable to hurricanes at this time of year. I wondered where we would take shelter if one came and we couldn’t get home in time. It actually rained so much last week that the country had devastating mudslides. Nearly 40 people died under the mud and rubble.
Last May, Guatemala took a direct hit from Hurricane Agatha. Today we visited some families who were traumatized by the storm. They live in a neighborhood built on a hillside. They cannot afford to live anywhere else.
The first woman we met lost her home. She was very lucky to have escaped in time. Because her three little boys are enrolled in Compassion’s sponsorship program, she had a place to seek help when it was time to rebuild. Through their Partners of Compassion fund, she was provided with building materials that her father used to construct a new home for her family. Her children have suffered with post traumatic stress and now they receive counseling at the child development center once a week.
Another precious mother welcomed our whole group into her tiny home. She showed us how the back porch had collapsed down the hillside as water poured through her house.
By the grace of God, the rest of it remained standing. She wept as she told us about the night she and her family escaped. Now she can’t sleep when it rains because she is so afraid. She is oppressed by the fear that she will hear the screams of those whose homes are slipping down the hillside.
From the story she told through sobs, this is what I gathered that night to have been like. Picture it with me. It has been raining and raining and it only seems to be getting worse. You finally get word that a hurricane is coming and you need to get out of your very vulnerable neighborhood. You discover that the one and only path up the hill has already been washed out from the water careening down the hillside. It won’t be long before the water begins dragging homes down with it. Your only way to escape is to climb the steep, muddy hill in pounding rain. Imagine that the only things you have to hold onto as you climb uphill through a hurricane are unstable trees. Now consider that your three small children are with you.
I could only think of how my friends told me that riding out Hurricane Ike in their very well crafted and sturdy American homes was the scariest night of their lives. I could only consider that I hadn’t even been brave enough to try. And here I was in the most vulnerable neighborhood I’d ever seen. It was God’s grace that any of these families made it out alive.
I was listening hard to try to understand this mother’s story without the translator’s help. One thing I know for sure was that she constantly said “I’m so thankful.” She was thankful to be alive. She was thankful for the support of her children’s Compassion project. She was thankful for our prayers for her family’s continued safety. When we took a moment to pray for her, she simultaneously prayed for us, saying “Gracias, Senor.” She literally could not wait to express her thanks to God.
I’ve come to the point where I need to tie a nice bow on this story. I don’t have it. It must have been swept away in the hurricane. What I do have is this. Compassion International is helping some of the most vulnerable children and families on earth. Their intervention is not just an idea – it is concrete. I saw it today with my own eyes. If you have a heart to help these vulnerable children, I would like to invite you to join me in sponsoring a child in Guatemala for $38 a month. I promise you that his or her life will be changed. And so will yours.
I am glad they have you there. I am thankful for Compassion. May all of the children be sponsored.
Thank you for doing your part, Amanda.
Amanda,
Just one more thing….this is a quote God laid on my heart today. “Everything changes when you decide to be the one that makes a difference.” May each one who is able and called, choose to act.
Amanda, I sponsor a little girl in Guatemala and one in the Philippines. I am overwhelmed at times by the difference $38 a month can make in these precious children’s lives. I read both your words and Ann Voskamp’s today…tears falling. Both of you have done such an amazing job of showing us the lives of these children and their families. I pray that many, many children will be sponsored as we read of your visit. God bless you all as you visit the children there and as you travel home to your sweet families.
It’s 2 am, and I’m wide awake, with Jeremy Camp’s song There Will Be A Day, stuck in my head ever since reading your post and the posts from the other bloggers tonight.
There WILL be a day, praise You Jesus.
Since I’m not sleeping, I’m praying for all of you.
This post makes me so thankful that I have the means to sponsor a child…mine is not in Guatemala but in Tanzania. The needs are so real and so raw all over the world. Thanks, Amanda for the posts.
Leah
Amazing story. So powerful when you can touch and feel those stories. So thankful that God has given you this wonderful experience and grateful you are sharing it with us. We sponsor “Moses” in Uganda. I have his picture hanging in our kitchen. Love him. He is wearing a new suit with tags still on it he was able to purchase for Christmas last year. Compassion is an amazing organization!
Wendy
Oh, Honey, for the last two days I’ve told your Daddy, “It’s the anniversary of Ike.” I’ve thought about it so much. Almost been obsessed with it. You’ll remember that some of our friends at LPM didn’t have power for nearly three weeks. Just last night I was thinking about the team from California that I got to know who set up a huge emergency kitchen in our HFBC parking lot throughout the entire crisis. To see it in the context of the poverty stricken in Guatemala is stunning. God’s compassion is always teeming toward the oppressed, the hungry, the harassed, the endangered, the sick, and harmed. He reaches out to them through the arms of His people. Oh for ears to hear when He calls. I am so grateful for this opportunity and platform to blow the trumpet for those who can help. I love you, Sweetheart.
Amanda – I woke up with the Compassion team on my mind – I talked about it so much to my husband last evening that he told me this morning that he dreamed all night he was packing boxes for Guatemala. Bless his sweet heart. I said like “Christmas Shoeboxes” for Samaritan’s Purse? He told me, “no, big boxes with lots of supplies.”
What an awesome parallel of two reactions. Amanda, we are so incredibly blessed and your post reminds me once again just how much. I can’t believe those people live on that steep hillside. May God bless those 3 little boys with peace and no fear from that awful night of escape.
I wrote my little Compassion child, Iduar, (who lives in Colombia) last week. I am so blessed that I “took a packet” that night at Travis’s “Jesus Saves” live recording. That packet is a real live little boy with needs. I am so thankful to hear firsthand through your trip that my investment in this wonderful ministry is offering real tangible hope.
Bless you sweet girl,
Mrs. Jan
Amanda,
This was an amazing post and we all are the better for it. Its hard to think about but they (those who analyse these things) say that close to 80% of the world lives in “substandard” housing. We in America have a hard time picturing what they mean by substandard housing… but there it is.
I grew up as the child of missionaries in Peru and Ecuador. What we consider garbage, they use to constuct a home. Just having a dry roof is such a luxury to them. I heartily recommend to al who read this to do as Amanda suggested and consider sponsoring a child… anywhere…it makes a HUGE difference to them. I’m sponsoring a child through another christian organization and have watched her grow from a little girl into a beautiful young woman.. healthy in body.. and spirit.
I loved this post Amanda. Well done.
Heidi
That is so touching! When I hear a story like that, I am reminded of how real these tragedies are. They are no longer just a story of the TV screen.
I’m glad you shared that story with us. It makes a difference in how I see the people and not just the storm.
Blessings!
This really touched my heart and gave me a new perspective living in this country even facing tornados and hurricanes is different than what they went through. My church got back 2 months ago from Guatemala and they all spoke of how sweet they were and how much they just wanted to be loved. I clicked on the link you provided and “adopted” a 4 year old little boy.
Praying for you and the rest of the team.
Love,
Patty
I am actually sending in my sponsorship package today! I received it at a conference I attended and we are now sponsoring a little girl, Deborah, in Asia. I haven’t told my husband and girls we are sponsoring her yet. Instead I am going to wrap up her beautiful picture and card and give it to them on Christmas morning. My girls are almost 5 and 2 and I thought it would be a great way to really keep “Christ” in our Christmas festivities that day.
I was so moved by the presentation that was given at the conference that I decided to have my MOPS group get involved We are devoting a meeting to Compassion and Adoption in February (since it’s a month about love and all). One of the ladies on our steering team has a beautiful story of how her daughter was adopted that she will share. Then all of our moms are going to walk and raise money for Compassion. So excited to be part of such a real life changing organization!
What a great opportunity to see Compassion in action Amanda! Thanks for letting us see firsthand the impact Compassion is having on our world.
Amanda your stories here on the blog from Guatemala are
amazing and they bring chills to me to hear about that woman that could not wait to thank her Saviour just brought tears to my eyes. How I know I am not that quick to thank my Father Lord help my heart to burn with flames for you the ambers that are still burning but have seem to grow dim help them to burn brightly for You Lord fan those ambers Lord give me compassion for your people and Lord help me be quick to say (Gracias, Senor) Lord help me.
Thanks Amanda for doing this for us.
Love you and praying for you
Carol
Amanda,
We have been to Haiti a few times this year and have seen families that sleep in tents because they are scared to death to go back in their homes. Schools meeting outside in the heat for fear of a building falling on them. Children having nightmares and parents praying someone would adopt their children to get them out of the poverty. It has given me real life hands on experiences and faces to have even the slighest clue of what these families deal with every moment on every single day. There is no “coming home” in a week. This is life.
This post made the mudslides you told me my little Guatemala family has had to deal with this week come to life. I did not know they were dealing with this. Thank you so much for giving me a hands on persepctive of the daily life of these families. I appreciate you going so much!
Still praying…
Kristi Stewart
Oh my. I have a huge burning in my throat and teary eyes…We do sponsor a child from Kenya. He blesses my heart with each letter. Compassion is amazing but what’s so amazing is that EVERYONE is blessed by it…not just the children.
Your story touched me and I won’t forget it…it’s raining here right now.
HUGS
Amanda,
What a precious family. I am praying that the Lord continues to guide your every encounter. I can’t wait to hear if you’ve been getting to speak spanish. I love you so much.
Lis, I hardly said anything on the first day, but by today I was speaking Spanish a ton. It’s been so fun! I still need a translator but it helps so much.
Amanda,
Thank you so much for sharing their stories. I went to Guatemala in April. God broke my heart there. So in May when the hurricane was pounding Guatemala it was agonizing for me to think about how they were suffering. There was also a volcano eruption going on at the same time. It was too much to comprehend. I can’t wait to go back in April. Thanks again for sharing their stories. I pray God will use your blog entries and photos to break the hearts of His people for the things that break His heart.
In Him,
Julie
My heart is just aching right now, aching. Here I am worried about the small trivial things that I worry about when these beautiful people have suffered so much yet still thank God. God has been leading me over the last couple of weeks to adopt a compassion child and now between yours and Ann Voskamps blog my heart is set. These children are beautiful and my heart just longs to help them.
In Him
Bethany
Wow that really hit home with me – I live outside of Beaumont so I also got to experience Ike – I had a 5 month old 2 yr old and 3 yr old so I also left (my family lives in Wyoming) so I went there until we had power restored which was almost a month. I soooo cannot even imagine what those mothers really endured!!! Thank you sooo much for putting our lives in perspective!!!
What a powerful story Amanda…just powerful. To hear you say when you were trying to understand her without the translator and you could understand how thankful she was to God for everything….just too much for words.
Thank you for sharing.
I sponsor two little girls through Compassion. I know I am blessed through this amazing organization.
Praying for you.
Michelle in VT
Hi,
I wasn’t in the Houston area when Hurricane Ike hit, but I did live there during both Tropical Storms: Frances and Allison. And, as far as I know, TS Allison is still written in the record books as one of the worst tropical storms of all time, as it kept going out to sea, gathering water and strength, and came back to pound Houston and the surrounding areas for several days, in June 2001. I guess it is also one of the few Tropical Storms to have its name “retired”, as it was so horrendous.
Here are some details:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/allison.pdf
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~dwallach/photo/allison2001/
I will never forget that time. And, one of the biggest “morals” of my individiual story regarding TS Allison is this: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER DRIVE YOUR CAR, OR ANY OTHER VEHICLE INTO FLOODED AREAS !!!
One of the other strangest details is that my friend Donna was visiting me at that exact time was there from Wisconsin, and since the TS was not “hitting” Galveston for a couple of days, we drove down there. Unfortunately, after our 2nd night, we woke up in our inexpensive motel room and attempted to drive back to south Houston, so we could get to Hwy 59 south, so that we could “get out of dodge” . . .
Unfortunately, what we did not know was that TS Allison had “hit” Galveston during the night. And, I ended up accidentally driving my Saturn into a majorly flooded area in Galveston during one of the waves of heavy rains. The worst part about it was that once we were in the floodwaters, we realized that we were surrounded by water, and could not turn around. However, the strangest and most God glorifying part of “my story” is that God Himself must have helped us get my car through those floodwaters, and we were able to drive all the way back to Hwy 610 from Galveston; a 50 mile trip, before my little ole’ Saturn stopped running. Then, of course, we were stranded on the down ramp from 610 onto Hwy 59 south. God also provided for us by sending a good samaritan, who literally drove us to the nearest car rental place [15 miles away], so we could leave Houston until the storm was over. And, praise God, I had full car insurance on my car at that point in time, so my car was completely fixed, likely to better condition than it was before the flooding problems. The only difficulty was waiting for my insurance company to reimburse me for the major over-haul of my Saturn; so my Mom and Dad decided to call the company to see if she pre-pay the repair shop, and have the insurance check come made out in my name whenever they were able to process all of the thousands upon thousands of claims, so that I could drive up to spend some time with them up here in southern Wisconsin before school began again, as I was a full time teacher in a school district that is just to the NW of Houston at that time. And, that was yet another
“GodSTOP” [Savoring The Observable Presence of God; which I learned about in Miss Beth’s “Believing God” online Bible study a year or so later during the fall semester of 2002] in my life !
As far as Compassion International goes, I was very blessed to have been able to sponsor a darling 8 year old girl from a small town in Columbia for 4 years [2000-2004]. [And, I only stopped doing so due to my own financial strains after moving back to Wisconsin to be with my aging parents.] This little girl was just learning to read and write, so her tutor from Compassion wrote her words to me, and her letters always began by stating that she and her family were praying for me ! And, this amazed me, because I thought that “they were the ones whom I thought needed financial help and my prayer support”. But, their prayers always helped me so much. And, unbeknownst to me, their prayers may have actually led me find true salvation in Christ Jesus personally in April 2003. [I had always been a “faithful church attendee”, and believed in the one true God and prayer throughout my life, but I was not aware of what “salvation” even meant, though I had grown up hearing the Bible, and greatly enjoying Christian music.] And, I also received at least 3 or 4 letters a year from her, and was able to see several pictures of little Angela throughout that time period, and I learned just how much my small donations each month were helping this young girl learn and grow, and it was amazing to me. And, I continue to pray for this girl, who I believe must be in her twenties now. My, how times flies !
So, just know, that if you are able to sponsor a child through Compassion, I believe that you may find yourself feeling MORE blessed by your doing so, just as I was …
Thanks for letting me share …
In Christ’s Love,
Jennifer O.
Southern Wisconsin
Love the vision and work of Compassion. Thank you for speaking out. Praying that many respond to the call of sponsorship–for His glory.
Thanks Amanda!
I received a packet to sponsor a child about 4 years ago at a Women of Faith conference. After the Friday event, the cleaning crew threw away all the packets in the garbage. All the information they had on each child was contained only in the packet and would be lost if disposed of. They extended much grace to the cleaning crew and thankfully were able to retrieve the packets the next day. My child I sponsor was retrieved from the garbage. That’s humbling. Every month when I make a payment, it is a reminder to me of the goodness of God. We were all destined to be put out in the trash and He retreaved us to be His precious treasure.
We take so must for granted. A group from our church went to Brazil this summer. When they gave their presentations, I was so ashamed of myself. I complain if the air conditioner isn’t working, and here these people have so little and praise the Lord through it all! One of the men from the construction team told us that a family of nine was living in a house the size of my stepson’s bedroom. Wow! Thank you for sharing this. I know I needed to be humbled and reminded how blessed I truly am. Thank you Lord Jesus!
Prayers,
Erin
what a story. That breaks my heart. We are so blessed in America. My thoughts and prayers go out to all in Guatemala.
Blessings,
Krista
What a beautiful reminder of true thanksgiving for the hard not just simple things in life. People who have had to face hardships as these seem to have extra strength because they hold on the the ultimate strength giver! We tend to reach for the easy button, they have no button. Well, they have faith and that is far better than any easy button I have pushed! Thanks for sharing Amanda.
Jan
I live in the Central Valley of CA, hurricanes/tornados do not even cross my mind, in fact we barely feel any quivers from earthquakes in nearby cities. I have never felt scared before the way you and that precious woman have. The picture of the women in which you can actually see the tears pooled in her eyes has been burnt into mind. I found myself scrolling back to it mulitple times. To hear about her immediate need to thank God during your prayer time with her has really impacted me this morning. Thank you for blogging about Compassion, its mission and its effect on the world is amazing! So, how is your Spanish coming along?
It’s coming back to me! My ears are hearing it better and it is such a blessing. The way Spanish speaking people express themselves is beautiful. Thanks for your comment!
Oh what a poweful post, I am on my knee’s…. Grace and blessings… May all who can, step up and sponsor a child..Lord cause it to be so..
I cannot imagine! Her story is very scary!
I live in Indiana and believe it or not…..we were hit by your friend Ike those 2 years ago.
I live in a wooded area and we were out of electricity for a whole week and we had so much damage from the trees it was unreal!
Our town was a wreck!
Talk about strange? This was it!
Thanks for sharing, Amanda.
I’m looking at the sweet picture of my Compassion child, Luis Lopez born the day my sister died of ovarian cancer at the tender age of 37.
Hurricane Ike…yes…my introduction to Houston & no electricity for 10 days. My challenge was nothing compared to what you are learning about in Guatemala. They humble us completely.
I didn’t even venture out for Tuesday night’s study with your mom due to the flooding & storms here. 🙁 Wish she could post something on the blog about it.
Thank you for spreading the Word (& Compassion’s).
Ann, I think she is doing me a favor by not burying my Compassion posts. I’m sure she does want to talk about Tuesday though!
Oh, good point.
I love hearing (reading) from you both (and Melissa). Each of you touches me in a different way with your style of writing which of course, is how it should be.
Have you told us who is babysitting? I’m sure Curtis is, but are there any grandparents helping him out? 😉 awww~ Such delightful days with precious little ones.
You are an amazing woman and am thankful you’re my sister in the Lord. I am so proud of you for encouraging your husband when you get to the same spot on the highway. What a great way to remember to do that! Of course after all you’ve posted there are many many other things you’re doing for the Lord…taking care of your children, mission work, etc. I pray God heaps blessings on you and the whole Moore family.
Yesterday evening our family celebrated Rosh HaShana (the Feast of Trumpets) in our own little, unique way (our shofar sounded more muffled than anything – but the “sweet” feast turned out and it was great to read the feast verses in the OT and the trumpet passages from the NT). Then I got onto the blog last night and saw your post and felt it apropos that you were sending out a “trumpet” type post: trumpeting the work of Compassion and how God is using them to minister His love to children. So, Happy Rosh HaShana to you, the blogging team, Compassion, and the families you’re meeting and working with on this trip.
Though the biblical text reads, “Sound the trumpet in Zion…” – this week you’re sounding it from Guatemala. Thanks for taking the trip for all of us, Amanda. Shana Tova!
My son was born in the beautiful country of Guatemala and we have seen first hand the poverty that many live in. When you look out the plane as you are approaching Guatemala City the beauty takes your breath away, it is so hard to imagine that people are living as your pictures depict. But they are, and it is up to those of us who can afford to do so to make a difference in their lives.
I look forward to reading more about your trip!
When my family and I were in Guatemala in June we met many people who had many heartbreaking stories about Agatha. One lady we met was in her 80’s and she talked about her husband and her who lost their home in Agatha. She lived in a home that we would call a shack on the side of the mountain. She said that they lost everything and she felt sometimes like she didn’t want to live anymore. Her and her husband were living in a shelter with 200 men, women and children. The shelter was the size of a very small house. One of the ladies in the shelter begged one of the women in our group to take her baby daughter back to the USA.
My sponsored child is in Guatemala. His name is Denis. I am blessed to be able to sponsor him and will hopefully be able to sponsor another Guatemalan boy or girl soon.
If you are reading and you aren’t a sponsor…please pray about doing it. The people in Guatemala need us.
Wow, I can only imagine the fear that these people went through during that hurricane. Even though I experienced Ike, it does not come close. I vividly remember that night. I went to sleep knowing that I will be awakened by the storm since I am a light sleeper. However, I did not anticipate how loud my 2 a.m. wake-up call would be. I woke to the wind tearing off the zinc from the covered parking next to my bedroom window. I grabbed my ipod and went to my closet. I put on some praise music and had it blurring as loud as my ears could withstand, trying to drown out the loud banging noises coming from outside my room. I thought of and prayed for the homeless who might be out in that weather, but it never occured to me to think what people living in such conditions as you described had to deal with during a storm. My heart really goes out to that family and the whole village. So does my continued prayers. Thanks for bringing it close to home, Amanda.
Compassion is more than just a word it is an action.
Praise God for His people who care and reach out to others in need. We have so much to be thankful for also.
Praying for you and the people you are reaching in His love.
in Christ
I’ve only been on a few mission trips, and only one was to a foreign country, but I have the impression that the team has to bunk in less than optimal living conditions compared to home.
So Amanda, how is it that you look fabulous in every picture?
Oh, Amanda, how I love your heart! Such a BRAVE young woman you are! To leave your safe home in hurricane season to go and minister to and visit where it’s definitely NOT safe during this season! May God bless you!
I know exactly what you mean about getting totally out of control when severe weather is in the air! We are in the process of getting a storm shelter built right now because of my fears. I think my husband is not scared but he wants me to feel safe. We’ve had several bad tornadoes through our area in the past few years that have just barely missed us…by God’s grace! The last one was this past May when 2 people were killed and several severely injured. But sometimes I wonder….am I showing mistrust in God by building a storm shelter? Or am I just being prepared?
Love, love the pictures you’re posting this week!
Marilyn…in Mississippi
I’ve had a yearning to sponsor a child–I only have one child and I know I have the means to help a child in need. I just haven’t known which organization I should support. So your posts have been very helpful to me. In fact, tonight I signed up to sponsor a little Guatemalan boy who was born 2 days after my son and has similar interests–although I’m sure their worlds are incredibly different. I think this will be a great experience for my family, and I pray we can partner with God to truly make a difference in the life of this little boy. Thank you!
Praise the Lord! Thank you so much for sponsoring a child, Dee. He will look forward to your letters!
Amanda,
Oh how your posts have touched my heart. I felt led to support a Compassion child, but how do you choose from those beautiful faces!!?? My son Colin is seven years old, and so I searched under his birthdate, 4-25-03. There was only one child listed, and so Colin and I are now the proud, excited sponsors of Manuel Antonio Lopez Ramos! Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m praying this trip is everything you want it to be and more!
Michelle
Thank you for sponsoring Manuel! He will eagerly await your letters, so don’t hesitate to write and tell him all about your family and where you live. Letters are like gold to these children. Blessings to you and your family!
Amanda, thank you for being so brave, and going. Then you write these beautiful posts, that paint for us such clear pictures of the need, and the beauty of the work that Compassion is doing. Thank you so much for sharing with us all that you are experiencing. It’s been profound. I love you so.
Oh, Amanda. All I could think as I looked at those homes was, “And I’m ashamed to let people into my home!” And I complain all the time and she’s just so thankful! Thank yo for that perspective!
Amanda, thank you so much for sharing your life with this woman and her family and thank you for sharing this story with us. I am blessed and moved by her story and her thankfulness to God-through all her circumstances. I was so moved by the story it caused be to reflect on my own life and that I need to work on my gratefulness to God in the midst of my trials. I was so moved by her story I wrote my own blog post about thankfulness (piperspen.blogspot.com) I have been so inspired following you and Ann Voskamp and the stories you share on your journey with compassion. Thank you so much!
How can I sponsor the abuelito? Loved the post…my heart tenders to her the aged..is there a Compassion International division for her?
I know, right? She is so precious. Know that their whole family is benefited by the fact that three of their grandchildren are sponsored in the program.
I sponsor a young boy in Swaziland through Mission of Mercy and it has changed me and my heart for children. I find myself tearing up each time I receive his letters. Going from colorful stick drawings to him learning words, sentences and prayers. It has been an amazing journey God has walked and bonded us both through.
Thanks for the reminders! It’s sooo easy to forget many people are not as fortunate we are living here in our sheltered world. I am grateful that you were willing to open yourself to God’s heart! Thanks!
God bless you.