Poverty is real...

 

Tear filled eyes blurred the image, when I took this picture in Nicaragua in 2009.  14 people called this shack their home in an alleyway filled with many more of the same.  I couldn’t imagine my children and grandchildren living this way.  Could you?  Playing barefoot in the filth and garbage, with no promise for the next meal, no running water, and no hope for the future?  Sadly, I tried to file it away as just one isolated area of the world that had been stricken with such poverty. 

 

But as I continued to travel internationally, I found I couldn't hide from it.  I discovered that this deeply etched memory resurfaced many times as I came across other scenes that were far too similar to ignore.  But what could I do about it?  How could I even make a dent in such a widespread problem?  So, I went back to my comfortable, predictable life.
                     
That is... until Isaac entered my life.  In the strangest of circumstances, while attending a concert one evening, I collided with a serendipitous opportunity to change the story for just one child – little 6 year old Isaac.  The eyes of the child pictured on the front of the little packet of information that I was handed immediately captured my heart.  The images of this shack came flooding back.  Isaac lived in similar circumstance in a poverty stricken area of Uganda, halfway across the globe from the scenes that I had witnessed and had long since buried in an effort to forget.  I knew in that moment, that I could actually make a difference - even if it was simply in the life of just one child.  Through letters and support, Isaac now knows that God loves him, and someone across the world cares for him, believes in him, and prays for him!  And, you know what?  He prays for me too!  What I didn't realize at the time was how much Isaac would change my personal journey.  But, that's a story for another time....

Is there an Isaac praying for you?                   Compassion International