James 1:22, 27 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ...to look after orphans and widows in their distress... I sponsor a little girl in Mexico, and in her latest letter to me, she asked me to pray that her father wouldn't have to go the US to find work. What would happen to her family if he did have to leave them? Recent frigid temperatures and less than ideal driving conditions forced our family to huddle around the television in our cozy home. I held my children close, one under each arm, as we searched Netflix for an engaging show. A documentary called Which Way Home showing the plights of children in Latin America whose parents fled to the US for work caught my attention. I promised my kids we'd just watch a few minutes. My kids groaned. They wanted to see animation, comedy, or action. But the opening scene captured their attention, and they sat transfixed throughout the show. Our hearts crumbled when an orphaned seventeen-year-old boy, dangerously riding atop a US bound train, told the producer what he searched for in the US. He wanted to find a woman to adopt him. This boy was risking his life for a fantasy. In reality, this boy, almost a man, would most likely be detained at the border. A pair of nine-year-olds, a boy and a girl, traveled by foot and train, with their ultimate destination New York, where the girl's mother resided, awaiting her arrival, so she believed. Three years had passed since the girl had seen her mom. Tears trailed down her dirty cheeks as she told her story. I wanted to scream for the producer to protect these children. Find them a safe home! But when the camera spanned out, dozens of children came into view. These children are amidst the thousands detained at the border each year. Some children don't make it to the border alive. Somebody has to do something about this. God, you have to stop this nonsense. What can I possibly do? Then it occurred to me that I can do something. We can all do something. God is working through His people to protect these vulnerable children--one child at a time. Through organizations like Compassion International. I've been working on writing a letter to the little girl I sponsor in Mexico for a couple weeks now. The letter sits on my counter as I procrastinate on sending it. This letter hasn't been a priority in my mind. She doesn't need this letter. She has a mom and a dad and even a sibling. She goes to school. She's pretty well taken care of, I presume. But that's exactly why I need to send this letter. That's exactly why I need to sponsor her. She needs to know she is loved, supported, and cherished. She needs to be sponsored so that she can stay with her family. By sponsoring her, I am doing the work God called has called me to do. James 4:17 states: Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. God has a purpose for each of us. My callings, the tugs on my heart, may be different than yours. What is God calling you to do? Help the homeless, immigrants, single parents, elderly?? Donate time, money, or prayer?? I'm off to send that letter. Love, Stacy To learn how you can sponsor a child, click the button below.
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