Thais
Hello blog world, say hi to the most precious little girl in the entire universe:
Is she not the most adorable little gal in the whole world? I love her.
Thais lives in a very poor part of Brazil called Codo. She speaks Portuguese. She is 5 years old but she turns 6 on July 18th! We're birthday twins! She loves dolls and her favorite color is pink.
Story time!
I started sponsoring Thais back in January. I went to church one Sunday morning and they talked about adoption. I would lovelovelove to adopt a child. And after that service I was fired up and totally ready to. But let's get real, my lifestyle at this point in my life would not support an adopted child very well. I'm at NKU at least 40 hours a week between work and school, barely making enough money to support myself and I live in a small apartment with a fellow college student and a crazy cat. So practically, I came to the conclusion that at this point in my life I was not in a place to adopt a child.
But James 1:22 kicked me in the butt. "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself. Do what it says." Frick. God's word tells me to take care of widows and orphans (James 1:27). AND God was putting it on my heart. How was I supposed to ignore that? I couldn't. So I decided the closest thing to adoption that would fit into my life (in a practical way) was to sponsor a child.
So, I went online to Compassion International that day before I could forget about it or let Satan change my mind in any way. (Btdubs, Compassion is a legit program. They're rated in the top non-profit organizations every year and release annual reports that show exactly where your money goes. AND this isn't just a 'let's make the world a better place' operation. They do everything in Jesus' name to further the kingdom! They have their priorities in order!) I searched for children to sponsor that live in South America, because I would love to go there one day. Over 20 pages of adorable and needy little faces popped up. I didn't know where to start. I felt like I was shopping for a child. I was overwhelmed. So I narrowed my search by typing in my birthday to see if any little ones shared that special day with me. Thais' precious face appeared on my screen and I knew right away. God sent a little kick my way and ten minutes later I had filled out the paperwork and I was writing my first letter to her.
In the first letter Thais wrote to me she told me about her family and some of her favorite things to do. Then she said "I like you. You are important. Thank you for being my sponsor." My heart melted.
Seriously, I love Thais so much. It's funny how God has worked in my heart through her. I've never even met her in person and she has soften my heart in a million ways. If this is how much I love a little girl in another country who I've never met before and doesn't even speak the same language as me, how much does God love each of us? Holy bologna.
So fellow bloggers, if you could, take three quick minutes and pray for Thais. Pray she doesn't believe poverty's biggest lie... that she doesn't matter and nobody cares about her. Pray that she can overcome poverty and get a good education and stay healthy. And most importantly, pray that she comes into a loving relationship with Jesus and that she lives every day of her life for Him.
What in the Word have you been merely reading? What has God put on your heart that you say is awesome but you have actually yet to do anything about? I am no where near as good at this as I would like to be, but I encourage you to take action. God will reward you in more ways than you ever thought possible.
Thais
Is she not the most adorable little gal in the whole world? I love her.
Thais lives in a very poor part of Brazil called Codo. She speaks Portuguese. She is 5 years old but she turns 6 on July 18th! We're birthday twins! She loves dolls and her favorite color is pink.
Story time!
I started sponsoring Thais back in January. I went to church one Sunday morning and they talked about adoption. I would lovelovelove to adopt a child. And after that service I was fired up and totally ready to. But let's get real, my lifestyle at this point in my life would not support an adopted child very well. I'm at NKU at least 40 hours a week between work and school, barely making enough money to support myself and I live in a small apartment with a fellow college student and a crazy cat. So practically, I came to the conclusion that at this point in my life I was not in a place to adopt a child.
But James 1:22 kicked me in the butt. "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself. Do what it says." Frick. God's word tells me to take care of widows and orphans (James 1:27). AND God was putting it on my heart. How was I supposed to ignore that? I couldn't. So I decided the closest thing to adoption that would fit into my life (in a practical way) was to sponsor a child.
So, I went online to Compassion International that day before I could forget about it or let Satan change my mind in any way. (Btdubs, Compassion is a legit program. They're rated in the top non-profit organizations every year and release annual reports that show exactly where your money goes. AND this isn't just a 'let's make the world a better place' operation. They do everything in Jesus' name to further the kingdom! They have their priorities in order!) I searched for children to sponsor that live in South America, because I would love to go there one day. Over 20 pages of adorable and needy little faces popped up. I didn't know where to start. I felt like I was shopping for a child. I was overwhelmed. So I narrowed my search by typing in my birthday to see if any little ones shared that special day with me. Thais' precious face appeared on my screen and I knew right away. God sent a little kick my way and ten minutes later I had filled out the paperwork and I was writing my first letter to her.
In the first letter Thais wrote to me she told me about her family and some of her favorite things to do. Then she said "I like you. You are important. Thank you for being my sponsor." My heart melted.
Seriously, I love Thais so much. It's funny how God has worked in my heart through her. I've never even met her in person and she has soften my heart in a million ways. If this is how much I love a little girl in another country who I've never met before and doesn't even speak the same language as me, how much does God love each of us? Holy bologna.
So fellow bloggers, if you could, take three quick minutes and pray for Thais. Pray she doesn't believe poverty's biggest lie... that she doesn't matter and nobody cares about her. Pray that she can overcome poverty and get a good education and stay healthy. And most importantly, pray that she comes into a loving relationship with Jesus and that she lives every day of her life for Him.
What in the Word have you been merely reading? What has God put on your heart that you say is awesome but you have actually yet to do anything about? I am no where near as good at this as I would like to be, but I encourage you to take action. God will reward you in more ways than you ever thought possible.
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