Back From Honduras

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I wanted to provide a follow up to my previous article now that I have returned from Honduras and decompressed. It has been just about a month and truly I am blessed. The trip was everything I imagined and more. Incredibly the itinerary was exactly how I had prayed for it to be. If you followed my blog or wish to view my overall reflections they are there. I did however want to bring some closure to my trip here on this site:

1. Honduras will always have a special place in my heart. The people I have met and become friends with are like family. Gaby, a translator from our 2009 trip, took her own time to meet us at the airport and make sure we got to the hotel OK. We were able to have a birthday dinner with her later in the week and enjoy her company. Our host Scarlett and her daughter Goldie (another translator from our prior trip) went above and beyond their duties. They were our translators and transportation. However on the one free day we had they took us sightseeing and shopping. They also took the time to take us to the Compassion country office in Tegucigalpa which was unplanned.

2. Satan did try to ruin the trip at the beginning. Three of our four suitcases were delayed in Miami. Our daughters suitcase made it but the ones with our clothes and the one with the gifts for the families we would visit spent an extra night. It was just a nuisance but we overcame.

3. Linda is an amazing young woman. She has grown up so much and every time we go to Honduras she gets more beautiful. She is doing great in school, helps out at the project and is part of the worship team. She is learning to play the guitar. Her party was small but awesome. We played a special part in the ceremony and I am sure it was everything she wanted. One of the cool things is (she knows I love Disney) that she used the Disney font on her invitations. It is small things like that that endears us to her. Her home is better than I could have hoped. It is safe and structurally sound. She is my princess.

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Making Room In My Heart

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

So if you have been following my musings around here you know the following:

1. I am an advocate for Compassion after meeting my first sponsored child in Honduras and seeing how well the ministry works.

2. I love children especially those considered "the least of these." I believe that children should have an opportunity and it is my ministry to try and make that happen.

3. My heart is in Honduras~ all of my sponsored children are there though I encourage others to seek sponsorships in any of Compassion's 26 countries.

As of January 11th my wife and I made a conscious decision to make one of those statements false. Obviously for statements 1 and 2 to become false would require a complete change in my faith and ministry. The world would be turned upside down for those that know me. However for statement 3 to become false would require a change in my heart and direction. Easily said but not easily done. My wife and I had made a decision to sponsor all of our children in Honduras. We had fallen in love with the Country and many of the people we met there. Having all our sponsored children in one place would make it easy to visit them. We have done this twice and are planning to see them all again this summer.

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Ordinary People

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

While pondering the theme for this week's article, God actually placed it on my heart at our church service last Sunday morning. We have been talking about how God is able to accomplish many things and that day's message was on how God uses ordinary people.

I know we tend to look at the people mentioned in the Bible as special or "a cut above." In fact there is a children's bible that actually calls them Superheroes. Probably this is why we often feel we can never measure up and do God's work. Amazingly enough though all of the "heroes" of the Bible were flawed in one way or another. Lets look at some examples:

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An Amazing Young Man

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

Last May I wrote an article about Michelle Tolentino and whether Compassion's model works. Last weekend I attended our regional retreat for the Northeast Compassion Advocates and had the opportunity to hear another testimony. We were fortunate to have in attendance Miguel Figueroa Casina who is currently in a Masters program at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I wish I could record here his entire testimony (covered over two days) but will try to do it justice in the following:

Miguel is a former sponsored child from Bolivia. He entered the program when he was eight years old but was actually on a wait-list until he turned twelve. His earliest memories of the project he attended were going to a breakfast program with his siblings and cousins.

His family of eight lived in a dwelling that measured 12' x 12' with two beds. They did not have running water. He remarked "I was the running water ~ I had to run two miles each day to get fresh water." He remembers sweeping the dirt floor to keep the dust down.

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"Every Child You Encounter Is A Divine Appointment"

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment."
Wess Stafford, President, Compassion International

For those of you that do not know Dr. Wess Stafford is the CEO of Compassion International. I have not met the man but consider him one of my heroes. I look forward to meeting and hearing him speak in person when I attend the National Advocates Conference in Colorado next week. He is a humble man that is more comfortable sitting on the floor with some sponsored children rather than in a boardroom. His quote above I believe should be burned on our hearts.

Obviously as an Area Coordinator for Compassion I look at every child packet as an opportunity to change two lives. The first is obviously the child's. Sponsorship will give them a chance that they might not have had before. However a sponsor's life will also be changed as they begin to build that relationship. Those that know my testimony know how true this is. Sponsorship changes everyone involved. What more of a divine appointment could there be from God?

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