Sunday, we began the first “official” day of our tour with Compassion. Today, we spent the bulk of the day at the Jehovah Jireh Church, one of Compassion’s partners in the country.
During the Sunday service, the pastor shared a short message, encouraging us to continue to be a blessing (Ayax translated for us).
Shortly before we’d arrived at the church that morning, Ayax told us that of the 41,000 children supported by Compassion in Honduras, at best, 180 receive a visit from their sponsor in a year—that’s such a small group of kids! But for those kids, it’s when, for the sponsor and for the child, the relationship really becomes “real.” There’s actually a flesh and blood person writing and receiving letters.
It’s a very special time, Ayax said. I had no idea just how special that moment would be for one of my team members.
When the service ended at the church, we split up into groups to visit the families of four Compassion-assisted kids. My group got an unexpected treat—we were going to visit the home of Tracy’s sponsored child, Felipe (Tracy is a coworker from the Canadian office and the trip leader).
After a short walk and a trip on Felipe’s father’s boat later, we were at their home, and Tracy’s family met Felipe’s.
Tracy and Darryl have been sponsoring this boy since he was five years old; today’s meeting has been seven years in the making.
This was a different kind of home visit for me. The only one I’d been on prior was a child-headed home and none of us were their sponsors. But this time… this time it felt different. It had almost a voyeuristic feeling to it at first. To be there for this special moment for these families. But as I’ve had time to ponder, I’ve increasingly had the feeling that this was a gift.
In some ways, it was almost a—a holy moment, I guess is the best way to describe it.
Watching these families come together, united not by a mere financial transaction and letters, but by faith in Christ, is a reminder that in God’s Kingdom, there is no separation between rich or poor.
There are only His people.
This is something that less than one percent of all the kids Compassion helps in Honduras get to experience.
It’s something that a tiny percentage of sponsors get to experience, too.
I’m glad I got to be there for it.
