Wednesday, July 16, 2014

A Very Present Help

Children in Nicaragua are on my heart tonight in particular because of the earthquakes that they have been through this spring. Yesterday I received a letter from my 12 year old Axel in Nicaragua who wrote...  

"The vacations were not that good, because Nicaragua has been shaking. There were 2 earthquakes and we have many days without attending school. In the place where you live, has it been shaking?" 

Other sponsors have also been receiving letters from their Nicaraguan children who have written about the earthquakes and aftershocks... one boy wrote that it was terrifying and that it destroyed many houses, and another said that they missed 3 weeks of school and they slept outside because of the aftershocks. 

When our sponsored kids experience these kind of frightening events, we can pray for them, and share with them the truth of God's word.  Psalm 46:1-3 is one of the key scriptures that I have shared with my kids over the years in response to frightening events in their lives...

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

As I considered the Nicaraguan children who are currently in need of sponsors, this one precious boy captured my attention. Raul is 9 years old, and lives in the typical adobe home with dirt floors such as I experienced when I visited in Honduras last month, and he too gathers firewood and carries water. But one part of his profile in particular pointed out another shaking he has experienced in his young life... he doesn't live with either of his parents, but lives with his grandparents. He has been waiting a very long time... 318 days for his sponsor, and that is a long time for a child to wait. Would you consider sponsoring Raul, and be one to stand with him and help provide stability for him through Compassion's sponsorship program? You just might be the one that he has been earnestly praying for. http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/child-biography.htm?needKey=NI2660194&referer=127583