A Youth Led Conspiracy: Love All

In November we, the student ministry staff, attended the National Youth Workers Convention in Nashville. At one of the general sessions we were introduced to Richmond, a young man from Uganda.  He was asked to speak briefly to the crowd about his life and what he is doing now. What he said changed our view of child sponsorship, and eventually changed the lives of over 60 children through Compassion International. 

Richmond comes from a family of 8. His father was shot and killed in front of his mother one day while he and his siblings were away at school. His family was soon afterwards forced to move into one of the biggest slums in Uganda.

His mother was unable on her own to afford school for him and his siblings and food grew more and more scarce. Soon he began to wander the streets with his sister in search of any food they could find, often stealing bananas off trucks passing by on the roads. Thankfully his mother learned about Compassion International and was able to put Richmond and his sister on the waiting list for sponsorship. After four months Richmond had a sponsor and soon afterwards his sister also became sponsored. Both were able to return to school and food no longer became a worry. He talked about how grateful he was for his sponsor's financial help, but more precious to him were the letters he received from his sponsor. Because his sponsor took the time to write to him and ask him questions about his life and even tell him about their life, he began to feel like he mattered in this world. He said one of the worst things about poverty is how it robs you of your humanity. You feel like you are not important, nobody cares about you. Richmond told us that through the letters his sponsor told him that he was loved, that he did matter. After several letters telling him this, he was finally able to accept that someone did love him and did care about him. With this revelation he had gained confidence and believed he had a purpose, where before he had been unsure of himself and feeling inadequate.  He also states that because of the love offered to him through his sponsor, he was able to experience God’s love. This led him to accept Jesus as his Saviour which led to his entire family becoming believers.

As of today Richmond has graduated from college with the highest honors and a degree in financing and accounting. Besides being a professor of finance the last couple of years, he has also been the youth pastor at his church in Uganda.  In September he came to the U.S. to attend Moody Bible Institute. With the help of Compassion he is getting a degree in Discipleship. Richmond says one of the biggest problems with the church in Uganda is the lack of discipleship and training in scripture. Two problems I think the Western Church can relate to as well. He says many of the church leaders don’t know how to interpret scripture. and they pull scripture verses out of context. After he finishes school, he plans to return to Uganda and pass on what he has learned to the church leaders.

Moved by Richmond’s story, we invited him to come one weekend and speak to our students. Eventually he was invited to tell his story to the church congregation in all 3 of the Sunday Services during a Sunday that has become known as “Advent Conspiracy Sunday” (stay tuned for more stories about Advent Conspiracy Sunday). The church’s response after hearing Richmond's story was overwhelming as over 60 Compassion Children became sponsored on that one Sunday.

I have recently become a sponsor of a little girl named Uli from Indonesia. She is precious and I am excited to be a part of her life even if it is solely in the form of letter writing and financial aid.  One thing I am excited about with Compassion is they offer trips where you can visit your child which I am hoping to do one day. If you can spare $32 a month, I strongly suggest you look into Compassion International and begin sponsoring a child. Remembering the importance of not only providing monetarily, but also giving of yourself through communicating with the child through letters and letting the child know they are loved and important not only in your eyes, but also in the eyes of their Creator. If you already are a child sponsor, I hope this encourages you to write to them if you do not already, and if you do write to them I hope you are encouraged to know that it makes a difference. Also, don't forget about stickers. I've been told they make any letter more exciting no matter the age or gender.