julio

Meet Julio. He's 5 and from the Dominican Republic. He lives with his mom and dad and one sibling.

He's also the newest member of our family. Well, kinda. We are sponsoring him through Compassion International. I love their motto: Releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name. How cool is that? By committing to give monthly, we help ensure that Julio will receive medical and dental care, be able to attend school, and be given at least one balanced meal a day. Most importantly, he will be involved in a program that will teach him about Jesus Christ.

For a long time now, I've had it on my heart to sponsor a child. Ever since I was a little girl, I've felt the God-hurt of compassion when I see people suffering. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I want to reach out and put my arms around them and help them know it's going to be okay. The children are what touch me the most. They have no control over their circumstances, nor do their little hearts understand what is happening. Luckily, they are resilient but that doesn't mean it's easy.

I think that if I hadn't got married and had a child so young, I would have ended up in some foreign country loving the daylights out of some kids. That's actually still a dream I have. I hope one day to have the financial resources to be able to go on mission trips. Right now, it just isn't feasible monetarily but someday. There is no fuller feeling of Christ than loving and working hard in His name. Sometimes God has to take our mistakes and make blessings out of them. And I am blessed for the road I've taken, and I wouldn't trade my daughter for all the love in the world. I'm just saying that I have always felt the pull of these kids.

I hope to make this a family project. It takes you out of your comfort zone to think of another's needs. My kids need that. They forget or don't care about how blessed they are. Unfortunately, they are materialistic. Common for a kid, but worth working on. What better way for them to understand than to show them an actual child who they can pray for and write letters to? Julio's favorite activity is baseball and that will go over well here. I also picked a child close to my son's age so it would make it more real for us.

I'm not saying this is for you. But I do ask that you think about it. We are so incredibly blessed and we could, in turn, pass that blessing on to another family. That's what being a follower of Christ is all about.