All over the Bible God makes it clear that His heart is for the poor, weak, and helpless. One of my favorite scriptures is James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself pure from the world." There are over 147,000,000 orphans in the world. That number can intimidate and overwhelm you at first glance but if every so called Christian would live out this verse by either sponsoring or adopting an orphan there would be no orphans.
The fatherless child God asked me to care for is a little girl named Ruth.
Ruth's mother struggled to care for her and her three older sisters so one day, in desperation, she sent Ruth and two of her sisters to a neighboring village to look for food. On the way to the village all three of them were raped and infected with HIV. Ruth was only 4 years old. Her twin sisters, Faith and Mercy were 6.
When I read her story, out of obedience to James 1:27, I knew I had to sponsor her. It was no accident that I stumbled upon her story. God knew all along that He wanted me to be in this girl's life. By God's grace I not only got to sponsor her, but I got to spend a whole week with her.
The moment I met Ruth I could feel the presence of God. I was so overwhelmed that I just cried. I cried because she was so small and someone violated her. I cried because she has hope in Jesus Christ. And I cried because she had the face of an angel and she was standing right in front of me. So young. So innocent. So amazingly beautiful. She is God's precious treasure.
I was able to stay in her home and sleep in the room next to hers. I held her hand walking home from school. I helped her button and tie her school uniform. I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with her. I laughed with her. I read books to her. I carried her to bed when she fell asleep in the living room. I simply shared life with her. To some that might not seem like much but to her it meant the world.
I went to Africa with the hope of pouring as much of Christ's love as I possibly could into Ruth's life but little did I know that He would use her to show me His love in return. The way she responded to the love I poured into her could only be from Him. He was loving me through her! Ruth hasn't learned much English yet so our verbal communication was a bit limited but the nonverbal love was powerful. Proverbs 22:2 says, "The rich and the poor have a common bond. The LORD is the maker of them all." So thankful that we are one in Christ.
My stomach was in knots the last two days in Uganda. I hid the tears as much as I could in front of them but when I was alone taking my last "bucket shower" I cried. I did not want to leave her. I had grown to love her as well as all the kids at My Father's House as my own. I had also grown to love Rebecca as my sister.
The last day each of the girls in the house gave me the sweetest letters thanking me for coming, for the gifts I brought, for sponsoring Ruth and for being their auntie Amanda. An older girl helped Ruth write hers and it said, "Dear Aunt Amanda, How are you? Back to me. I am not fine, because am going to miss you so much. But I am going to be remembering you. I thank you for all you have done for me. I thank you for you love you have shown me. I want to tell you I have nothing to give you but I know God will pay you for all, and he will give you what you want in your life. Thank you for the clothes you gave me and care. I am going to miss you so much. I will never forget you. I love you so much, love Ruth. From your lovely daughter to Aunt Amanda."
Rebecca and the girls laid hands on me and prayed for me before I left. Afterwards I was saying goodbye to everyone. I cried some but tried to be strong for them as much as possible. I looked at Ruth and she was crying. What? Why God? Why is she crying? She has a home, she has a family, she is being fed and she is getting an education and medical care, why is she crying? I initially didn't want her to go to the airport but Rebecca and I agreed it would be good for her. It was her first trip to the airport. We said our goodbyes there.
A week or so later I was talking with Rebecca online and I knew at that moment the girls should be getting ready for school (I was getting ready for bed!) so I asked her to tell them all that I love and miss them. A few minutes later she wrote, "Ruth cried when I told them you love them. I guess that means she loves and miss you, too."
I've struggled with this intense feeling of love for her. If I could adopt her and bring her to the U.S. I would in a heart beat. The reality is, though, there are so many children in desperate need of a home and a family but she isn't one of them anymore. Sponsoring her so she can get an education, food and medical care in her own country is the best thing I can do for her. Taking her away from everything she knows, her home, siblings, mother, school, etc may not be. I know that her life is in His hands and I thank Him for using Rebecca to love her when I can't be there. However, I still can't shake how she can cry over me when she has a mother close by that she never even asks about but I just have to accept that she is right where she needs to be. She may never have my last name but she will be my inheritance in heaven!
My hope in sharing this story is that people will see that it only takes one person to impact another person's life. Individually we may not be able to change the world but we can change the world for one. There are so many children just like Ruth that need someone to reach out and be the hands and feet of Christ to them. Store up your treasures in heaven. PLEASE consider sponsoring or adopting a child! Making a difference in a child's life is only $35 per month.
