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It was a great day 1 in Manila, Philippines. We spent time at a Child Survival Program here in the city. Manila is actually many different cities that have all grown together to form Metro-Manila and has about 8 million people living tightly in the area. Traffic can be brutal.
After spending time interacting with the project staff and moms in a program that allowed us to also sing some songs with them led by Brett Younker and Kristian Stanfill, we had some brief activities that showed us how the Compassion/Church project staff trains moms and infants. Really is a great program that allows for a great start for kids. Something that Compassion identified as a need and added it to the more traditional child sponsorship program that they are more well known for (more on that at a later time.)
After our morning the project staff (who are mostly volunteers) feed us a lunch in the open area of the project that would be similar to what we think of as a carport. As I sat having a lunch and talking with a few of the guys that are here with us I was very aware that over my shoulder were three young kids on the other side of the large gates that are designed for protection. They simply sat on the ground watching me. I have been at many Compassion projects and I knew who these kids were, they are kids that are not in the program-unsponsored kids. Through the years I have had people with me that have been upset and wondered why can’t all the kids come in and get the benefits. And truth is that would be great (after all Jesus said let the little kids come to me and the Kingdom of God will be theirs.) But the truth is there is no way Compassion could be effective in reaching their goals of breaking the cycle of poverty if it was just open the gates and feed kids and send them back to their homes with full stomachs. Yes a short-term need would be meet, but with little long-term change. Compassion is all about long-term change, for the child, the families, the communities, the 26 countries they work in and even more that very Kingdom of God they are advancing.
But that does not change the fact that here these three kids are sitting on the outside looking in. One thing that can change their life is you. You see the deal is Compassion has 1.3 million kids in their programs around the globe. While that is a significant impact (and a very specific impact on the one child!) it is still well below the need of millions and millions of children that make up the estimated 1.7 billion people that are living in absolute poverty (inability to afford basic needs such as clean water, healthy food, health care, education and often clothing and shelter.) Truth is when poverty is present in a community those that are often the most overlooked are children. When someone steps up and becomes a sponsor of a child living in need Compassion is able to move that child from the group of registered kids needing sponsors to a sponsored child and in turn they get to go to the other side of the fence and register another child in need. Beauty to see an innocent child go from a desperate situation to a future filled with hope. Yes, the Lord does not need us to accomplish this, but the joy is that He allows us to be a part of His plan and His provision for people.
You may remember that story in John 5 where Jesus comes into Jerusalem and the dude has been laying by the pool of Bethesda for 38 years. Jesus asks the obvious question, “Do you want to get well?” Simple answer from his heart is YES…but there is no one to help me he says. None of these kids or families wants to be in the situation that poverty has them in; they just don’t have someone to help them. I am so thankful that countless volunteers working in a over 5000 local churches around the globe are taking the Compassion International model and are helping kids and families up off their mat and toward hope and a future. But that process, that poverty-cycle-breaking-disciple-making-process has a place for you and I.
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