He stood, little bare feet on cold tile, staring at the pictures on the refrigerator.
“Mama,” his head tilted. “Where does Ariel live?”
“You remember, baby…”
“No, I don’t mean just in Bolivia. I mean what house does he live in?”
We sat, curled together on the overstuffed red couch, in a house full of matching decor, in a town where people are comfortable and safe, and pulled over the laptop.
A window, filled with glimpses of the world.
Of another world.
And we looked at pictures.
Of houses in Bolivia.
And we looked at people.
In Bolivia.
Silence.
Stillness.
Simply staring.
Hearts full, so full.
The four year old, as much as his mama.
He ran back to the clean white refrigerator and pulled down another picture.
“What about this Uganda baby? Where does she live?”
So we looked at pictures of houses.
In Uganda.
And we looked at pictures of people.
In Uganda.
We just stared.
Us two.
Loving, from far away.
And I wondered.
How can anyone say no?
How can I say no?
The faces.
The hearts of these ones, so loved by Jesus.
I want to be there. I want to hold them in my arms. I want to hear their hearts, their stories. I want to tell them of this Love.
I can’t be there.
Not today.
But someday.
So I sponsor.
And I write letters.
I wear my Uganda beads,
often,
near daily,
holding a piece of another woman’s heart and life
there,
near my own heart.
And I pray.
Oh, how I pray.
And I wonder,
How can one be so homesick for a land to which they’ve never been and for people whom they’ve never met?
~*~
How can I say no?
How can you say no?
~*~
Open up, open up
And give yourself away.
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delay?
The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can’t fight
Cause it’s asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you’ve been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can’t even get out of bed
~Keith Green, Asleep in the Light
(read the rest and hear the music at Ari’s today)
All photos courtesy of Compassion International’s blogger trip Flickr stream, and were taken by the phenomenal Keely Scott ~ except the first photo, which has an unknown source.
Our sponsorship of children in Peru and Rwanda, through World Vision, has been one of the most profound experiences in our lives.
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:31 pm
It IS life-changing… to think outside ourselves, our perceived needs… to be vulnerable in showing love.
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Such a great way to teach our children to think outside their surroundings. A great way to show them what blessed really is, and a great way to love!
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Yes! Thinking outside of THIS, what we know, and realizing that Jesus isn’t a God only for comfortable America. We want our little guys to learn that…
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ah… you ever just wonder how many times God is going to shove something in your face before you do something about it…. :) That’s me right now. I randomly found this blog… http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/ who is connected to http://www.amazima.org …. who is connected to 147millionorphans. I so yearn to help this children. But how do you protect yourself… and the name of Jesus? I was so ready to jump in with both feet to amazima but upon further review… there is no statement of faith, mission, doctinal statement… and my hubby said… no. We dont know for sure what they stand for. Broke my heart, I shed tears for these dear children I wont be helping… but knowing somehow God is continuing to work in me and hopefully through me to do something about this desire that continues to grow in me… patience has never been my strong point… I like to go at things 100% sometimes without reviewing all aspects… so thankful for my dear, reserved husband!
ok… rambled alot.. sorry about that. If you get a chance check out the blog… this girl is amazing!
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Oh, Jessica, I hear your heart. While I would never encourage anyone to disrespect her husband and know that you two should definitely be agreed, since you asked, I will say that I do support Katie, Amazima and 147 Million Orphans fully in their ministry. Reading the faith, love, and trust in Jesus displayed, especially through Katie’s blog, is doctrinal statement enough for me. I believe Jesus is strong enough to defend His own name, and simply asks us to obey, to shower love, and to be vulnerable in doing so. It’s about so much more than us, you know?
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Teachable moments like this are precious treasures. And that song, that beautiful song! It’s all about loving and helping those in need. In need of life giving things, like love, shelter, food, and most of all Jesus. It’s all about people who need to wake up.
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Yesyesyes. Wake up, WAKE UP.
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We have friends who live in Uganda part of the year and host teams from the USA. You can find their ministry at http://nextgenerationmin.com/. They are returning to the U.S. in about a week from a 9 month stint in Uganda. They will do a tour of the states, going to churches that are interested in becoming involved. If you and/or your church are interested feel free to contact them.
What a blessing it is to see little hearts turned towards those in need.
Bless you!
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Thanks for the link! Clicking over now…
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I read your post and thought of all the children in Haiti that my aunt’s ministry has touched…then the words of the song that was playing on the radio caught my ears…
I will live
To carry Your compassion
To love a world that’s broken
To be Your hands and feet
I will give
With the life that I’ve been given
And go beyond religion
To see the world be changed
By the power of Your Name
(Lincoln Brewster)
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:19 pm
LOVE this.
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What a good Mama you are…instilling Him and His love and His service in your young’uns. Daddy is proud of you! :)
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:33 pm
I love that!
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I recently received a letter from my little girl in Haiti. She survived the earthquake, along with her family. We are eternally thankful!
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:32 pm
OH. I’m sure your heart stopped when the letter came. I remember seeing a Compassion envelope in your car–meant to ask you who you sponsored. :)
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My heart beated a little faster as my eyes followed the words on the screen. My heart sqeezed a little tighter as my brain understood the words on the screen.
My desire is one to be with those children to help in whatever I can do. To walk those dusty streets and to cuddle with those sweet children who have no mommy and daddy. And then I want to adopt one or…ten and bring them home and cherish them hold them and love them.
Ashleigh, this post I pray will one day be my life.
Ginger~
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:18 pm
“one or… ten”
YES. That.
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ladyfelicity Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 3:43 am
Can I say “me three” to “one or … ten”?
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And *that* is exactly why I’m a Compassion Sponsor and Advocate!
We have children in Honduras, Bolivia, Thailand, Uganda, Kenya, and Ghana, as well as two correspondence children in Ecuador and Indonesia. Just returned from a Compassion trip to Honduras — unforgettable.
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:17 pm
I clicked over and love hearing of your trip and your heart for Jesus’ beloved ones!
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Love.love.love this!!
My 2 and 3 yr old boys and myself are heading to West Africa for 5 weeks this November. My Army man can’t get out of work to join us, but we are going to visit my missionary grandparents there and love on the Nigerian children.
This post warmed my heart.
It is neat the tugs we feel and the places we can feel homesick for. I have only been to Nigeria twice, but it is a second home for me, and I am excited to go back with my babies!
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I lovelovelove that you’re taking your little ones! I have a friend taking her toddler girlie to Kenya this year… and I love the opportunities to plant this love in their little hearts, so young!
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Ashleigh, thank you for the prompt. I’ve been hearing about Compassion for months (years?) now and meaning to sign up to sponsor a child…but just hadn’t gotten around to it. Lame. Pathetic, really. And then, tonight after reading your post, I said to myself, “If not now, when? Just do it!” And so I did. As of a few minutes ago, I’m the sponsor of an eight-year-old child in Africa. My only regret is that I waited so long.
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:13 pm
This made me cry. Really. <3
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I saw you at church last night and tried a couple of times to talk to you, but I got stopped and asked to do something and then you were talking to someone else. =( I hope you’ll be around again!
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:13 pm
In Denver? Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t realize it! I’m sure I’ll be back there again sometime. :)
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Beautiful post. Every time I see picture like this, hear stories…I wish that I could go there, to hold them, to love them.
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Ashleigh Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Yes, me too. My arms ache for it…
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:D Not all of Bolivia looks like that… You’ll have to remind me to show Troy and Merritt my pics sometime.
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beautiful. love you…
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So moving. So true. How can we say no? My 2 year old daughter talks about our child in India. She asks constantly to pray for her. It brings tears to my eyes and a warmth to my heart. I want, no, I need my children to have their hearts soft and broken for others. So, so glad you did this with yours.
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