change the world

This weekend I get to go to Atlanta Fest.  A Christian Music festival held in a park near my hometown.

Go here if you want to know more.

There’s a great line-up of musicians and speakers.

But I’m not going for that.

It will be a great day out in the sun, praising Jesus through loud music.

While that is wonderful, I’m not going for that.

I’m gonna lose at least three pounds just sweating in the Georgia heat.

fantastic.  But that’s not why I’m going.

I’m going because of a kid named Esteban.

And one named Kiran. And millions of others whose names I don’t yet know, but whose packets I will get to see on Saturday.

I’m going to Atlanta Fest because I am excited about the privilege of working at the Compassion booth.  My shift is only from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m.

I doubt I’ll be able to change the world in just 4 hours.

But, God willing, we may be able to change someONE’s world.

Compassion works very differently than a lot of other charities.  Compassion goes to a lot of trouble to put the real donors in constant touch with the real beneficiaries; the children.

When you sign up to sponsor a child you aren’t giving money to go into some pool with no way of understanding the impact except through some generic form letter that all donors get twice a year.  Nope. Compassion spends a vast amount of energy making sure that you and your sponsored child can exchange direct letters.

Talk about soccer players you each like.

Write about your struggles and the verse God gave you to help you through it.

Send photos and drawings that will be treasured and be ready to put up drawings that will get sent to you.

You can have a lifelong RELATIONSHIP with a child across the world from you.  And those letters, that relationship means almost more to these kids than the money.

When you walk up to a Compassion table, you will see packets.  Each packet is the ONLY packet on that child.  It’s not like getting an information leaflet that you can fool yourself into thinking is just worth the paper and ink.  No the weight, the reality of a child adds heft. meaning to that piece of paper.

Its the same way when you get your first letter from your actual child.  That is when it really becomes real.  You have opened your heart to someone a world away.  Someone who needs you.  I’m hoping that my sponsorship of Esteban will not only impact him and his family, but also give my own child a sense of perspective.  Foster a sense of compassion in her from an early age.

The work Compassion does is something I feel very strongly about (can you tell?) but here’s the rub: when I feel strongly about things, I have a tendency to be a bit much.  In conversation especially, and sometimes even on the blog.  Sometimes I’m sarcastic (when I think I’m being funny), sometimes I’m just too enthused and excited and it comes across as pushy.  All of which scares me.  I’m going to be helping represent these children to the public on Saturday and I don’t want my sometimes forceful personality to get in the way.

So please pray for me? pray that God would just shove my personality under the table and that HE would shine out and bring Glory to Himself.  I want to speak only God’s words.

And pray for the people at Atlanta Fest this weekend.  That God would be preparing hearts to honor him by taking care of the least of these.

oh, and you don’t have to come to Atlanta Fest in order to sponsor a child.  You can go on-line and search for a child to connect with, pray for and help change their world.