We Get More Than We Give

Hey everyone, this is Keith. You probably won't see me posting very much but this is something I wanted to share.

As Holly has mentioned, I really was never on board with the whole adoption thing when we talked about it years ago. Over time my feelings never changed and I was fine with that. It all started to change when we sponsored our first child through Compassion International. His name is Daniel and you could say he was really my first son.

I remember looking through pictures and profiles (hundreds of them) before a Phil Wickham concert and still my heart was hard towards these sweet, innocent children. The doors opened, I went to the concert and loved every second of the show. Phil is amazing live and just a really cool guy who I respect and admire. During a little break in the set he talked about his family and the kids they sponsor each month through Compassion. Now, sorry to say I have no idea what he said that sparked my interest but I wanted to learn more. So after the show I hooked up with a volunteer and we started to chat.

I saw a little boy that was around Sophia's age and picked up his profile. All around me, everyone was snatching up these little girls from all over the world to sponsor them and I kept seeing these boys just sitting there. I knew without any doubt Holly would have sponsored them all if we could so I decided to take the plunge. When I came home and told her we were sponsoring a child she was in shock because I honestly never cared at all before. So every single night since then we have prayed for Daniel and it started to make me think. Who is he? What is he doing right now? Is he sick? Is he hungry? Does he have clothes? What does he want to be when he grows up? Are his parents both alive and healthy? Does he enjoy the things we are blessed with every day that we NEVER give a second thought? Is my money really being put to use in helping him? I had no clue but we kept praying every night.

Then shortly after our first letter came in the mail. It had pictures he had drawn and a letter that had been translated as best as it could be to tell us that "I am thankful for you and I pray for you every day." Man, talk about a gut punch. This dirty, skinny, smelly little boy prays for ME everyday. Me, the guy who could have cared less about him or the rest of the kids over there. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. In fact, I am.

Fast forward a year later. We get letters and drawings here and there but then we received an updated picture of Daniel. I saw it and just started crying. Our little boy was clean, well-clothed, had gained weight and looked healthy, was in school and was doing great. This time he "thanked God for us everyday." Amazing. Our little contribution every month was really impacting his life in an extraordinary way.

Now this entire time we were praying every night with the girls for Daniel and so many questions popped up? Where is he? What does his house look like? One after another over time the kids were asking about him. It gave us such a great opportunity to share how God has really blessed us and how we are called to share those blessing with others. We have had countless conversations with our kids about missions and how other kids across the world don't have all the things we do. What a great opportunity Daniel has blessed us with to share these things with our children. I wish I could really explain to you how much this little boy has blessed our family. It is incredible.

I am not really sure where this is going but I just wanted to share with you a great opportunity to really help some kids that desperately need it. There are children everywhere that need a sponsor to help them have their most basic needs met. Food, clothes, medicine and education.

I have made a link just above my picture on the right that will take you directly to a page to sponsor a child in Ethiopia. I can tell you that the money DOES go to the kids and that everything is done through the local church. Not only are you giving them the basic needs in life, you are introducing them to eternal life.

Daniel - Age 6

God bless you, Daniel, you have made a much bigger impact on my family than we ever could on yours. I hope to see you one day and have the chance to hug you and tell you that you changed my life forever.