On my drive to work yesterday morning, I was semi listening to the local Christian radio station and making a list in my head of everything I needed to do at work throughout the day - you know, multi-tasking - driving, listening, thinking! Slowly it dawned on me that the conversation on the radio was a little more serious than normal, so I began to focus more on what they were saying. The DJ's were talking about needing a certain number of people to call in before 8 a.m. to meet their goal of the hour. As I listened, my heart started to break.
In Mozambique, there are almost half a million children who are orphans - no parents, no safe place to live, no food, no medical care, and no way to attend school. Many of them are also taking care of younger brothers and sisters. They became orphans because of AIDS and other terrible things that happen in Mozambique. Story after story was told about these precious orphans. And about the odds they face.
As I worked, I continued to listen to the broadcast and learned more about the goals that the radio station and Cross International were trying to meet in one day. I also began to think about how blessed I am - living in a comfortable house with a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, plenty of food, clean water, and the list could go on and on. I have a husband who loves me and provides for our family by working hard; 3 beautiful, healthy grown up children who make me proud every day; a wonderful son-in-law who makes my daughter happy; and then I thought, "What can I do about these children who need someone to help them?".
While I am not as brave as a friend of mine from college - she and her husband have two grown daughters, and they recently adopted 3 precious children from Guyana. I enjoy hearing about things that are so special to these little ones that we sometimes take as a given. I'm not sure who is more blessed in this special family - the parents/sisters who opened their hearts and lives, or the three beautiful children. The smiles light up their faces! So I took a baby step and sponsored one child. That child will now be placed in a home with 2 parents who will welcome them into their home, love them, and care for them. If you want to learn more about some of the missions of Cross International, you can find them at www.crossinternational.org.
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40
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