I Chose You

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I have spoken of the importance of this ministry in my life and the impact one child had on my life. Today I would like to present the story from a friend of mine named Stephanie. We traveled together to Honduras and I know she has a heart for the poor and will be becoming an advocate for Compassion. She is someone I would love to have on my team.

This weekend she had her Compassion Sunday event and I asked her to give her testimony:

This entire last week, I struggled with getting ready for Compassion Sunday. First, I tried to make a slide show. I ended up having to make it twice because the program died the first time (and hadn't saved it). It took a few days just to find the right song and pictures. I got that done, and couldn't load it or burn it. Got that figured out, and then I had to coordinate with five different people. Two days before, I learned that I had half the amount of time to speak. And Saturday night, I still had no idea what I'd actually say. I woke up early Sunday morning and spent some time in prayer, asking God to give me the message that He wanted me to speak. Once I finished, I opened my Bible up, asking for something, anything. I glanced down at the pages that were on either side of a church bulletin and noticed that I had certain words and phrases underlined. When I read just the sentences that had those highlighted portions, here is the message He gave me:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate who will never leave you. I am leaving you with a gift ~ peace of mind and heart. And the peace I have is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! You didn't choose me, I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. Amen. (John 14:16, 14:27, 15:11, and 15:16)

ADVOCATE. LASTING FRUIT. I CHOSE YOU. When I read those all together like that, I started crying. He was telling me that He was in charge, and that all I needed to do was be available for His use. I sat down right then and wrote out a 2 1/2 page testimony of my experience with Compassion. I got myself ready, got the kids ready, and headed to church. We had 45 packets, a few from just about every country Compassion serves. My new friend Autumn, who is a Compassion Advocate, and I got all the last minute things arranged with the pastors and sound people. I asked a few of my friends to pray for my presentation as well.

It started with a drama presentation by our AIM (Action Impact Ministries) team. They did a mime routine to "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath. I watched them, thinking the whole time about how He really had opened my eyes over the last month. The Compassion clip, "All the Children of the World," was next. Then, it was my turn.

I walked up to the podium, my binder of letters from my children in my arms and my bracelet from Amadito on my wrist, reminders of who I was doing this for. Instead of reading from my testimony, I decided to let Him give me the words. I started with an intro on who I was, where I had gone, and some general facts on poverty in Honduras. I spoke of what I had seen, of the difference Compassion makes, and the importance of our relationship with them.

Somewhere in the middle, I asked those who currently sponsor to raise their hands. Around two dozen went up. With tears welling and my voice starting to crack, I asked them, "Do you realize that there are dozens of children around this world who love you? Who know every last thing about you? Who treasure your letters and consider you a part of their families? Who pray for you on a daily basis? Do you know the impact you have on them?"

I glanced out into the congregation, and saw people crying with me. Not just women, but several men as well. Grown men - weeping. I told them that it doesn't matter if you're ordinary and boring, they want to know you. We are showing them that Jesus loves them, and that even though we've never met or seen or held them, we think they're better than sliced bread and love them to pieces. Our words counteract what they hear all around them. You were born here...you will die here...things will never change...life will never be different...you have no worth... YOU ARE SPECIAL... YOU ARE PRECIOUS... YOU ARE SMART... YOU ARE TALENTED... YOU ARE LOVED.

As I finished, I asked the current sponsors to write, regardless of how long it had been, and to pray about sponsoring another child. I asked those considering it to pray about which child God would have them choose. And I asked the rest to pray that those children would find sponsors, as well as the thousands of other children still waiting. I thanked them for their time, told them that I wanted to share a few pictures from my trip, and walked off stage. I had no idea what I had just said or what it would result in.

As I walked into our entryway, Autumn approached, telling me that what I had said was perfect. A few friends told me that I had made everyone out there cry. I sat at the table, praying that at least a few children would get sponsored. I half-expected people to stop by, glance briefly, and then walk away. I wasn't prepared for His plan though. As soon as the service ended, the table was swamped. Many people who had never sponsored before became new sponsors. They didn't come to browse - they came up with a mission. "I want a child from Africa" "I want a child with special needs" "I want a child with a birthday in ______" And we had a child for each of them. Within half an hour, 12 children had sponsors, and several more people took information that they could share with their families and pray over.

After my presentation during our second service, another eight children were sponsored. And by the time Sunday night was done, 21 children total had sponsors. A girl in Tanzania is being sponsored by a girl only a few years older, who is going to use money from her paper route to cover it. A couple who had never sponsored before is now sponsoring three children. One woman chose both children that I had from Mexico (and who, coincidentally, are the same age and from the same center) so that she and her husband can visit them when they go there next spring for a mission trip. A pair of friends each chose a child from Indonesia, so that maybe, if God leads, they could travel there together and meet both their children.

The amazing part was that I never mentioned the $38 during either presentation, or the bulletin insert I had listed the old amount. They didn't care! In fact, many of them opted to give extra each month for the AIDS initiative or other general needs. Best of all, several people told me that they'd been totally convicted, and were going home to write their children immediately. One woman said, "I'm not going to sponsor another child right now, but I'm going to do so much more for the one I have. It's no longer enough for me to just send a check every month." Amen to that!

During the next few weeks, I'll have the table up another nine times, so there could be more children sponsored. We're also putting together a map showing where all the children we sponsor as a congregation are. At last count, that number was almost 60. I'm also hoping to use the board to encourage the sponsors to write and pray for these children.

God used me...ordinary ME...and did amazing things. To Him be ALL the glory!

In His Service,

Stephanie