For a week this February I experienced one of those eye-opening, paradigm-shifting, life-changing pivotal events that alter everything that follows in life.
I was among 29 pastors from Hawaii who traveled to the Philippines with Compassion International to see, up close and in real life, the effectiveness of the work of that organization. We went to Davao, in Mindinao, in the far south, where we visited the homes of some of the poorest of the poor... and I use the word "home" very loosely. One such home was barely bigger than the area rug in my living room, about 6' x 8'. That was not a room, it was the entire home, and it had a very low ceiling, no windows, and was pretty much a tiny, shabby box to house the family of five. They were crowded in among perhaps 100 such homes in a desperately poor community where, just feet from their doorway open ditch ran with raw sewage and huge rats scurried about.
The families 18-month-old girl was enrolled in a Compassion Child Survival Project, because infant mortality rates there are exceptionally high due to disease and poor sanitation. The family has no kitchen and no bathroom. They sleep on mats on the floor; and their doorway has a huge gap at the top and bottom for air circulation -- we saw rats running under other such doorways while we stood there.
I was a supporter of the mission and ministry of Compassion International before the trip, but now I am a passionate advocate not only for the organization, but for the people they serve.
The photo? I had the rare privilege of meeting face-to-face with Felma, the 9-year-old girl my wife and I sponsor through Compassion. She's a great kid, with a great heart and an awesome smile, and I want to help Compassion release her from poverty in Jesus' name. You can sponsor a child, too. Look at the Compassion.com website and do it today.
