Everyone Needs Compassion

In October of senior year of high school, I decided it would be a fun adventure to go on a mission trip to Zambia over the summer to work with AIDS orphans. A fun adventure that I said God was calling me to. Really I just wanted a fun adventure, but I know now that God was sovereignly putting the desire on my heart because He had so much more for me there.

Ultimately, God used my three weeks in Zambia to draw me into a saving relationship with Him. I grew up knowing the basic facts of the Gospel, but had never been drawn to Jesus on his terms and in faith and repentance. Saying I was a Christian was about being a "goody goody" and going to Heaven when I died. It was certainly not about living my life for the glory of God with Christ as my Lord and Savior because my prior life had been crucified with him.

Sitting in a circle surrounded by 14 precious Zambian girls sharing my testimony, by the grace of God, I realized something MAJOR was lacking. 

"I prayed to ask Jesus into my heart when I was five. I went to church every week with my family. I was mostly good and proud of being good and judged others for being bad, but then fell into the same sins I had judged everyone else for junior year. Then, I decided to come to Zambia and stopped participating in those sins. And here I am."

My prideful interpretation of the Gospel had always been that other people needed Jesus. I, on the other hand, could do just fine by trying really hard on my own to be good. I was the "Christian" goody goody girl who looked down on everyone else, and then fell down with them. 1 Corinthians 10:12 always comes to mind. "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall."

God used that part of my life to show me that I needed Jesus. 

I need his perfect, sinless life that he lived on my behalf because I can't. I need his sacrificial death that paid for my sins that I deserved to pay for eternally in hell. I need his resurrection that proved that he conquered sin and death once and for all. I need Jesus. Every day. 

After God's major work in my life during and after the trip, the next best thing that happened to me was that I got introduced to Compassion International.

Family Legacy Missions, the organization I went to Zambia with, recommended that everyone read Too Small to Ignore by Wess Stafford, the president of Compassion. It's a moving book about his life growing up on the mission field in Africa and his heart for children because of God's heart for children.

I passed it on to my sister to read, and she sponsored a child in Rwanda through Compassion soon after reading the book.

Then, first semester of freshman year at A&M, I was in the Outreach Committee of an organization called Christian Business Leaders (before I switched my major to International Studies) and we sponsored a child (Getruda in Tanzania) as a group under my name. I soon started getting e-mails about opportunities to volunteer at concerts, etc. and decided I wanted to be an official volunteer with Compassion, a Child Advocate. At that point, I still didn't know that much about the organization, but thought that it would be a great way to serve and advocate on behalf of children like the ones I fell in love with in Zambia. 

Over the past two years of working with Compassion, I have fallen in love with the organization. I would love to end up working for them someday if the Lord leads me in that direction. Who knows. 

Here are some of the things I love about Compassion (I could go on all day, but I'll limit it):

*They only work through local churches. All projects are led by members of the church. Compassion comes alongside the church and helps them disciple the children in the area who are a part of the program.

*They literally are "releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name." Their programs start with the Child Survival Program, which helps moms and babies up to five year olds to combat the high mortality rate. Once kids are five years old, they can be personally sponsored through the Child Development Sponsorship Program. This is the part of Compassion most people are familiar with. Then, certain kids who show high levels of spiritual maturity and academic achievement can be a part of the Leadership Development Program, which supports them through college. College. From having a small chance of living, to having the opportunity to go to college. Compassion is releasing children from poverty. 

*In addition to the main three programs, there are many others that serve the people holistically.

When I started looking into mission trip opportunities for my International Experience for my International Studies degree program, one of my requirements was that I wanted to go to a country where Compassion works. Ultimately, that's how I landed on Guatemala. I then saved my Christmas money up and sponsored Nancy, knowing that I would have the opportunity to meet her in person. 

Because I knew for a year that I was coming here, I ordered lots of Guatemala packets and encouraged my friends and family to sponsor in Guatemala. My mom and grandmother (along with many others) were among the new sponsors. They have been building relationships with their sponsored kids, Danilo and Brallan, for almost a year. 

When my sister got married in July, she decided that she wanted to make a donation to Compassion in lieu of favors. She asked me what she should donate to, and I encouraged her to sponsor a child since I knew she was going to be visiting me and we would be able to set up a visit together. Emilse is now the first Burnett child!

On Friday, the big day we had been waiting for finally came!

All four sponsored children, Nancy's little brother, three moms, a dad, a Compassion worker from each child's project, and two translators met us at the central park in Antigua on Friday morning. The size of the group was a little overwhelming!

We went to McDonald's for lunch and spent time getting to know each other.

Sitting there talking to Nancy, her mom, and her little brother made the relationship come alive for me. She is not just a picture on my refrigerator. She is not just a mysterious child who sends me beautiful artwork in the mail. She is a highly valued child of the Lord who I have the opportunity to not only financially support, but spiritually disciple!

Nancy's mom apologized over and over for how simple their gift for me is. I absolutely love it! She used a plastic bottle to make the Guatemalan national flower for me. I just know it's going to brighten lots of days as a reminder of my relationship with Nancy's family. 

Her dad currently training to be a guard at a high security prison in Guatemala. They are grateful that he has a job, but we are praying that he would find another job soon because this job is so dangerous.

Danilo is my mom's sponsored child. He is such a cutie! I had a great time talking with his dad. His dad had surgery three years ago and hasn't worked since. His wife works and he does the house work and takes care of the kids.

Here is my sister with Emilse. It was so sweet to see them bond even with the language barrier. Emilse has such a beautiful smile.

Friday was Brallan's 12th birthday. We attached balloons to the back pack we gave him as a gift, and I'm pretty sure he was a little embarrassed, but he was a great sport!

After lunch, we walked to the park and played with a soccer ball that we had given to Danilo and Brallan in their back packs. After playing for a little while, Nancy and I sat down and read The Jesus Storybook Bible that we gave to each of the kids. It was so sweet having her read it to me. Such a neat moment for both of us, and a reminder to me of the role I have in her life to teach her about the Lord through the letters I write to her.

The day went by very quickly. At the end, we all stood in a circle and shared prayer requests. All the parents gave a heartfelt speech about what Compassion and our sponsorships of their children have meant to them. Not many things bring me to tears, but hearing their words did. It's hard to imagine what $38 a month can do for a family. They all felt so blessed that we care about their children and told us that they pray for us every day, which was equally honoring and convicting. 

Compassion is a small part of my life that I easily forget about on a day-to-day basis. Once a month, there's an automatic withdrawal from my bank account, and usually I don't even notice. I forget to pray for my girls, Getruda and Nancy. They don't forget to pray for me. I forget to write to them as often as I want to. They don't forget to look for my letters. God has changed their lives through Compassion and it is on their minds every day. I am inspired now to take my role in their lives more seriously. 

I really didn't want them to leave. It was a beautiful day that so vividly depicts the redemption of the Gospel. It was refreshing to my soul. 

We didn't know beforehand that Sergio, Nancy's little brother, would be joining us or we would have gotten him the same gift as the other kids. Luckily, we had a special teddy bear to give him. He was so excited when we gave it to him right before he got on the bus! Just had to add this precious picture.

Click here to watch a video picture compilation from the day.

Click here to sponsor a child and start discipling your own little cutie!