Have you ever felt pressured to give to a cause or buy another bag of oranges for that school fundraiser? You know it’s for a good cause, but you aren’t completely sold on getting mediocre chocolate in exchange for sponsoring the middle school band’s new uniforms.
I hear you and I get it.
I’m Lara and I had the privilege of checking out Compassion Ghana in 2022 with John Owens and Carol Davis. I found out that Compassion is not just another cause. When you give to Compassion, you’re truly making a difference – let me tell you why.
Compassion provides a lot more than meals for the month.
Before our trip, I thought, ‘Compassion is a nice ministry that does nice things and it will be a good experience.’ I was wrong. God flip-turned-upside-down what I thought I knew about Compassion, but even more, what I thought I knew about Him.
God is bigger than I could have ever imagined, and the glimpse I saw of His goodness in Ghana is something I pray I will carry with me for the rest of my life. You see, before I saw the children’s faces and hugged their necks, I wanted to get them out of there. I wished I could take them back with me. Now, I know that God has them exactly where He wants them – and because of the work of Compassion and the Gospel of Jesus, they will flourish.
Your $38 a month goes far beyond food – it gives them chance after chance to hear the Gospel, and to really know Jesus. When I tell you the precious people we met all over Ghana are so incredibly blessed and full of joy, I am in no way exaggerating. They are blessed because somehow they have grasped the goodness of the Gospel more tangibly than I ever have.
When you sponsor a child, you’re giving life to a family and a community. You’re introducing the light of Jesus into a dark place and you are part of God’s redemption story for that child.
My sponsor child is Isabella, the most bright-eyed toddler you could ever meet. Her mother is 22 and helps her husband with their farm. The struggle they’ve had is more than I can imagine, but there is a deep joy and hope. It’s all because of the Gospel. Because of Compassion, I know that Isabella and her family will have the food they need each month, Christian discipleship and a Gospel-centered education that will set her up for a very bright future. My monthly gift matters and yours does too.
The Light FM’s Morning Show Host, Carol Davis (and her daughter Ella) met Gilbert, their sponsor child, in Ghana. He’s been through so much, especially after losing his father (their primary provider) this past year. But, do you know what? Gilbert knows Jesus. He knows he’s loved and he believes God can change things for his family. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Gilbert showed Carol and Ella his folder that contained every note they had ever written him over the last 12 years. Their monthly gift matters and yours does too.
Carol says: “It’s hard not to feel joy when you see the smiles in the faces of the children that Compassion serves. It’s a gift to be able to sponsor a child through Compassion. You become the beneficiary and get to see how God is at work.”
John Owens, General Manager of The Light FM, and his wife, Tamara got to hug the necks of their sponsor child, Daniel, and his parents on this trip as well. Daniel loves Jesus and uses his beautiful voice to sing worship songs like you’ve never heard. He studied abroad in France over the summer and is now working for Compassion Ghana. Without the Owens family consistently sponsoring Daniel for 14 years, he would be living a very different life. Their monthly gift matters and yours does too.
John says: “When the Lord asks us to step into something like child sponsorship with Compassion, He has a child picked out ahead of time. We met Daniel twice over the years and most recently in 2022. He really is a part of our family. If it wasn’t for the Lord using Compassion to bring us together, we would never have met.”
Check out the videos below to see part of Isabella, Gilbert and Daniel’s stories.