Monday, August 20, 2012

Love Does! A wake up call...



My Attention Deficit Disorder Sociology Professor had meandered off the beaten path of our topic for class that day. (I am not being flippant, honest! My Professor warned us he had A.D.D. and it definitely made for an interesting and spontaneous class that was slightly difficult to study for.) Once again he was sharing yet another quirky story about working in the GM plants of Flint from "back in the day". Some of these stories were hilarious, but I had heard this one before.

Like a typical nineteen year old, I rolled my eyes in annoyance and stretched my neck from side to side, trying to stay focused. Tapping my fingers on the pages of my book, I let my eyes wander the large grey lecture hall for anything of interest. Finally propping my head in my hand, I looked down scanning the pages of my text book for any important information that my unpredictable Professor might put on our next exam.


I can still remember the moment when my eyes came to rest on the photos. One picture in particular drew me in. It was of a little girl and her large woeful eyes were staring right back at me; they seemed as if they were locked on mine. Suddenly I heard the professor dive back in on the intended topic for class, with the harsh facts of human trafficking.

 "Did you know in Thailand these girls are on average 8-12 years of age when they are sold into the sex trade?"

Startled, I looked up…

The words reverberated out of his mouth sounding a gong as he continued on to explain the horrors of the sex slave trade. Each fact and statistic was permanently imbedding itself in my brain like a gun shot in my head. I was in shock. My mouth went dry. I looked down again at the photo; her little face looked so despondent, hopeless...

Who would tell her that she mattered? How could anyone stop this?

"Care for the least of these"

The words began to echo through my head. (Matthew 25:34- 40) That is the moment when I knew the Lord was finally giving me the go sign on sponsoring a child. I had been praying about sponsoring a child with Compassion International for over a year, but it was crystal clear to me in that second that I was to find a girl from Thailand and give her hope. It was my small step toward saving her from being sold by her parents into a brothel. This was what I could do to help insure her freedom.


At nineteen years of age, I sponsored my first little girl from Thailand named Tairinee. I vowed that Tairinee would not be sold into the sex trade like so many other girls her age. She would grow up to have a future filled with hope and freedom. She would mature knowing she was cherished and loved by the people at the Compassion Center and through my letters and prayers.

A few weeks ago I challenged you, that if you were unsure of where to start with missions, to start with one. To realize you could do for one person, what you wish you could do for all people. At nineteen, I remember being overwhelmed by the facts I was given, but God showed me I could start with one; one little girl in Thailand.

Friends, I encourage you to live God’s love into action every day. 
Start with one person and watch how love grows. 
Love does. 
Love is amazing.

So who is your one? Has God revealed them to you yet?

Have you ever sponsored a child or are considering doing so?

Please share your questions, your stories, or experiences. 
I will be in prayer for each one!

Here is the link for Compassion's fantastic Child sponsorship program.


I truly praise God for this wonderful organization, and the people who are being God’s hands and feet daily for us to these children.

Remember how truly blessed we really are and to share these blessings with others. 
Remember Love Does. 

 So... Let's stop studying love and what it might look like to love others and actually get around to loving people now. :) 
May God Bless you greatly!


22 comments:

  1. 1. I spent a summer in Thailand--completely unaware of the sex trafficking going on there.

    2. Our one is Jorge from the Dominican Republic.

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    1. Wow, you will have to tell me about your summer in Thailand. Wow! I will be in prayer for Jorge! :)

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    2. I'd love to chat about it sometime! And thank you for praying for Jorge. I'm trying to make that a habit.

      Thanks for linking up with WIP Wednesday!

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  2. OH, I want to staple this to my head (or on my palm where I will see it more often) -- "Let's stop studying love and what it might look like to love others and actually get around to loving people now."

    we have a child through World Vision and I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve! Nice to see you at SDG!

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    1. Me too! In regards to plastering it on my forehead.;)
      I really enjoyed your post on the sharks. I used to be deathly afraid of sharks as well, but God did something amazing. :) I still love the sharks as an analogy for my stress stealing thoughts.

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  3. You did it! Woot! I'm so proud of you for your perseverance. Tairinee is blessed to have you! Your passion is inspiring.

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  4. Thank you for being such an amazing friend and praying for me! You are such a gift from God! And actually Tairinee is now grown and we have our next little girl named Genesis. I actually blogged about the both of them, but had to split it in two. Genesis has taught me so many lessons. It has been amazing.

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  5. When my hubby and I first started dating, we sponsored a child together through Compassion: Little 3 year old Rajimol from India. This last year, she graduated from the program and is now on her own without me to help her. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you I cried for days...fearful for her, worried that I didn't do enough, share enough, give her enough to prepare her for this. We've since heard from her twice and she's flourishing as a tailor of all things, renting a room at her Pastor's house. I couldn't be more proud. Thank You, God...for caring for Raji more than I ever could...

    And now we have another 3 year old that blesses us through Compassion and I cannot wait for my son to become fast pen pal friends and "watch how love grows" :)

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  6. I love this... the way your heart emotion was translated into action.
    This is what I want to communicate and show by example to our kiddos as well--that "love does."

    We sponsored a little girl through World Vision for years and then she outgrew the program and then last summer we started with Loany through Compassion.

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  7. Crazyblessed,

    Sorry for my delay in getting back to you. Thanks for stopping by my post "What to Wear Everyday." Wow, you mentioned a lot of setbacks. :) Good for you for finding truths of God's joy through it all. Glad everyone is safe too.

    You mentioned working with teens? That's great! In what setting do you do that? My husband and I do that too, and love it.

    I saw your tab about Africa, and it drew me in further just now... I lived in West Africa for many years, growing up.

    Nice to meet you,
    Jennifer Dougan
    www.jenniferdougan.com

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  8. I love hearing these stories about every ones sponsored children! :)
    I pray more people will step out and discover the blessings in caring for these young ones.
    Jennifer I would love to hear about growing up in West Africa! If you have any free time. :)

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  9. I love this <3 Sex trafficking remains something always heavy on my heart. So happy to have found you through the Compassion Link-Up-- looking forward to reading more of your beautiful insight. Your light shines so brightly through your words :)

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    1. Thank you for stopping by Kaity. :) Sometimes I want to jump out of my skin with speaking or working for missions/sex trafficking etc. You would probably relate to my "Wonder Woman, Wonder bras, and the fight for Justice post then.
      I had to stop by and check out your blog. Loved it. I will be back to hear more about Rwanda!

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  11. Beautiful post! It's so neat to see how God works in each of us in His own way....go figure that He'd speak to you in a class! Thanks for sharing!! We also have a girl through Compassion in Thailand! Did you see the video that Compassion Australia did on a project in Brazil? It really opened my eyes to how much the sex trade influences communities. If you want to watch it, I posted it here: http://forshamim.blogspot.com/2013/01/prayer-children-from-brazil.html

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and for the suggestion for the video! I will definitely be watching it. Trafficking is every where and leaves a devastating impact.

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  12. I sponsored my first child when I was 19 also. That was 19 years ago...

    A couple years ago my husband heard about the sex trafficking problem in Thailand and came home from work wondering if Compassion was in Thailand. I clicked on to Compassion's website and the first child to come up was a girl in Thailand. We sponsored her right there. We are in the preliminary stages of planning a family trip to Thailand later this year. God willing, we will get to meet our little Orm.

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  13. Wow! I love finding common ground with others. I am so excited for your trip! I have always wanted to do that. Our little girl is out of the program from Thailand now, so we have a new sweet girl named Genesis in the Philippines. I hope one day we can meet her too. :)

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  14. Wow, what a powerful post! I loved reading about your inspiration and reasons to start sponsoring!

    I wish I had heard of sponsorship when I was 19, but I think I wouldn't have been ready for such a selfless act at that point in my journey.

    It has been wonderful to visit some of the blogs that have participated in the blog hop with Compassion. Glad I stopped by!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by. :) I have loved this blog hop through compassion and your post was beautifully challenging.

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  15. Hi, I found this post through Compassion's hop. This is so beautiful. It makes me tear up just to think about these precious children. Our Compassion children are from Ecuador and India. You've reminded me to pray for these 2 to remain out of harms way and those who are evil enough to hurt innocent children.

    Have a great day!

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    1. Isn't that the truth? We have had one compassion child that went through a typhoon, and then another that lost her mother to illness. It's been so convicting the ways we need to be in prayer for these little ones. I feel like I am learning more from them then they ever will from me. They are such a blessing.

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