Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Jesus loves the little children

"Humbled" isn't profoundly deep enough. "Honored" isn't purely unpretentious enough. "Excited" isn't passionately exhilarated enough. "Blessed" isn't sacredly divine enough.

See, we serve a big God. All of us can reach out with His love to touch others, to be His hands... in many different, beautiful ways.

But no word is anything enough to describe how I feel about what God has chosen me to do.

Meet my precious new friend, Julenia Sarai.

Little Julenia turned 4 last week and lives in Nicaragua. She goes to preschool and helps her family by running errands, making beds, and gathering firewood. She loves to play with dolls and her friends, and she likes to ride her bike, run, sing, and create art.

In Julenia's area of the world, most people live in homes made of dirt floors, cement walls, and corrugated iron roofs. They eat things like maize, beans, chicken, bread, cassava, rice, and potatoes, and many are plagued with respiratory disorders, the flu, and malnutrition. Most adults in her area are unemployed, but both of her parents are blessed with employment even though they earn a total of around $37 per month.

God laid it on my heart to sponsor Julenia through Compassion International, and I will be able to communicate with her through letters. Each month, I send them a surprisingly small amount of money for their workers in Nicaragua to use to provide her with things like food, medical care, education, and even extracurricular activities. Most importantly though, just by sacrificing my few dollars, Julenia is able to learn about Jesus. She knows that someone in America is praying for her, and she learns the value of prayer by praying for me, too.

This experience is far more gratifying than I ever thought it would be. I'm so excited to receive my first "letter" from Julenia soon and to communicate with her as she grows.

Consider checking out Compassion's website and seeing for yourself how amazing this opportunity can be. They've been doing this for years and years and are extremely reputable and accountable. If you feel led to do so, consider sponsoring a child through Compassion - you can choose any child you'd like from hundreds around the entire world.

But most importantly? You can pray for all of those children, even if you cannot sponsor them. And mostly, friends, please pray for my little Julenia. Pray for her family and those in her community. Pray for her health, safety, and well-being. Pray that she grow strong in the Lord and live to be a shining example of His grace.

Remember the words of Jesus,

"And whoever shall receive one such little child in my name receives me."
Matthew 18:5

But Jesus called them to Him saying, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of God."
Luke 18.16

We are blessed.