My youngest son, Micah, started preschool today. I wasn’t there.
But, after today, I can more-than-imagine how it went down.
When a mama sits in a roomful of kids her heart wants to sneak out of her body and wrap tight, tight hugs around shy and gangly arms and legs. Gap-tooth faces beg to be grinned into. A mama looks at a roomful of kids and sees daydreams and a fear of strangers.
A mama sees unselfconscious celebration and can hardly sit still when all around her kids are belting out worship songs and celebrating the center that provides hope and food and education.
And in that roomful of kids a mama sees the mothers who aren’t there.
She feels the heavy burden they carry that their children would be provided for. She recognizes in the relaxed faces before her the worry that weighs a mama down in the midnight hour when she wonders how to make it through the month; where the next job will come from when the vegetables she has to sell have run out.
All around her a mama sees answers to the questions that no mother wants to face, “How will I provide?”
We saw a lot of those answers today. We touched them, we read them, we wrote them down. We saw a box of them unpacked in the Compassion Guatemala country office.
Compassion is about telling kids just like yours and mine that they are treasured. That they have innate natural value inherited from their Heavenly Father who sculpted each and every one of them out of His own Breath and flesh and blood. And that their mamas and grandmas and aunts and uncles and fathers and brothers can make it.
Through you. With your words and support. In your own handwriting.
A family can hear that that they are worth more than the house where they live.
A family can believe that they are connected beyond the four walls of their one room world.
Because a pen and paper (and sometimes a set of toy cars) can cross any preconceived idea we may have about our differences. And demonstrate that boys are the same the world over.
And their mamas are too.
So, here’s the ask you knew was coming…..
- Sponsor a child for just $38/month by clicking here.
- Write to your sponsored child consistently. Your words say much, much more than your money.
- Share the story. Tell other people about what Compassion is doing by blogging, tweeting, calling your friends, speaking at MOPS, or sending good old morse-code correspondence.
- Follow along with us in Guatemala. You can read each unique perspective on these six days by clicking here.
Thank you, for real. What you do says, “We are all in this together.” And that’s the only way.
Huge, loving thanks to Patricia for capturing these moments through her lens!
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, my beautiful friend… this, THIS is what reaches in deep and snags my heart for these precious ones. They are no different, NO different from me with my little men… these mamas love their babies as fiercely as I do my own, and they want the same lasting things for their little people. How can I deny those mamas and daddies and their littles at least the basic means of providing those things?
Loving you… holding you close to my heart at all hours of day and night.
Thank you for taking us on this journey with you! You and the team are in my prayers. We sponsor two Compassion kiddos. We had another one who graduated out of the program. In her last letter, she shared that her WHOLE FAMILY had become Christians through her sponsorship. We knew that we had made a difference in her life…but had no idea of the full impact. Love this organization and what they’re doing!
I’m loving you, Lisa-Jo. THank you. Beautiful.
Beautiful words. Adorable kids.
What sweet kids!
Beautiful, Lisa-Jo! Right from the heart of a mama.
My daughter asked me yesterday “why do we have so much when others have so little”. I find it hard to understand myself, yet when i read your words i have hope that the world could change and we can all be equal x
This is what it is all about! Showing God’s love and how much each of His children are cherished. God bless your wonderful mission. Praying for you, Myra Graves.
Compassion is – by far – the best child sponsorship organization I’ve contributed to – both time and trips. I’ve seen the sites first hand, met the community folks who volunteer, and held the kids hands… Compassion makes SUCH an incredible difference in the lives of these children… so glad you are there sharing the stories of the kids and families whose lives are blessed because of sponsorship~!
Thank you for sharing! The pictures are wonderful, and love the video singing the worship songs! Nice to know that the word “Hallelujah” brings the same response in all languages! Our family sponsors a girl the same age as my daughter, 11, who attends the GU-876 center. We have been praying for those affected by the recent landslides there. Thank you for helping me feel closer to our little Daniela!
Seeing Compassion’s work thru the eyes of a mother is powerful. When you take away all the stuff, we’re really all the same: we want the best for our kids. Beautiful post.
My, my! What a good perspective that is. Thank you for sharing these words and your heart with us. Looking forward to more and praying you all through this week when you cannot.
I wish I was there with you. We sponsor a little angel in Guatemala and cant wait to visit there on day to meet her ; ) God bless you and your team!
Oh, Lisa-Jo. Your words. Your tweets. Your photos. They make me feel like I’ve known you forever; like I’m right there in Guatemala with you; like we are right beside each other.
Lisa-Jo! Beautifully spoken (written?) as always! I am remembering you and praying for you and for those waiting for you to come home! All my love!
Boys and trucks and mamas with smiles, yep the same, the world over.
Thank you for missing Micah’s first day of preschool to bring this love to Guatemala.
I bet those boys were even making sounds similar to your – I think they are born with innate ability!!
*Blessings and MANY prayers*
I think Kleenex should be an official sponsor of Compassion Bloggers Trips. We are all the same. Momma’s here and momma’s there. Children here and children there. All that divides us is the amount of money we make.
I loved your tweet about how God is the same in Shanty towns as He is in Washington DC or Disney World.
Our hearts are with you. Thank you for letting us, in a sense, travel with you and Ann and the others. Your stories stir us to action. God bless you all! We’re praying here.
Lisa-Jo,
Your post – inspiring! The pictures of you with your sponsored child, on the floor, in his environment – my favorite. I guess its because as a dad that’s what I would be doing!
These trips make me want to do more!
Perfection, LJ. Truly. Because no matter our paycheck or environment, we all want to believe we are more than our surroundings. And we are because of Christ. You are sharing this with some that need to hear it the most. I am honored to read your words and share in the lives of these precious young’uns. Love this post and this organization!
Yes. I often think about this, late at night. I love our Compassion girl (and our World Vision boy) and I delight in their letters and their growth. But I sometimes say a special prayer for their mothers who must watch their children grow up with so little opportunity.
Love that you’re there, Lisa-Jo. I love your stories. They are good.
This mama heart could hardly bear your words. I traveled around the world in college and left part of my mama heart in India in a Missionaries of Charity orphanage with a little girl named Maanse. The nuns said I could adopt, but that they didn’t adopt children out of that orphanage–as most of the children had some form of disability or another. I still can’t wrap my mind around that fact.
So tonight, after reading your posts and Ann’s, I went to Compassion’s site to sponsor my second child. The first child came in to my life in college as well—Joseph from Uganda. And I confess my Lame Sponsor Membership as well. I’m working on it. The newest addition to my family is named Silvana born on the day my cousin was born and in the year that he took his own life. It seems right that she come to our family.
My prayers are with you all as you return home and try to live the rest of your life with this experience grafted into your skin.
I’ll never forgot the hug and the look on the face of the wee little one I sponsored in Ecuador till he graduated the program. He was 6, a wee munchkin. He looked at me all timid and afraid then jumped into my arms and never stopped kissing me or thanking me till our visit ended and he had to go home.
I’m a bit late reading all this, but I love this journey He’s taking you on, friend. So, just so… so lovely.
ps: love the red stripes!