Friday, March 8, 2013

Take-A-Hand Sponsorship Program


Imagine this.  You are on a leisurely stroll near a large lake.  The shining sun hits the water in just the right way—like glitter it glistens.  No one else is in sight.  It’s just you and the vast beauty of God’s creation.  You inhale deep and all is right with the world. 

But as you walk further along on the shore, you see something.  There ahead of you is a small boy child, alone and barefoot, skipping rocks quietly out into the water.  You wonder where his mama could be but there’s no time for your curiosity.  The boy slips and falls into the water.  You hope he can swim but he can’t.  He splashes frantic, gasping for air, his cry screams, “help!”  He is sinking.     

This boy is going down.  What do you do?  Your eyes are the only eyes to see this child.  Your ears are the only ears to hear his cry.  Surely it’s no coincidence that at this particular moment you are strolling along this exact location of this specific shore.  This is a divine appointment.  You were created for this moment.    
 It makes no difference what color of skin this child has, what language he speaks, or how he fell into this trouble.  You don’t stand there and ponder whether or not someone else might possibly show up to do what you know you are perfectly positioned to do yourself.  Right there before you is desperate child life drowning.  

How do you write the ending of this hypothetical story?  

Without questions or hesitation you respond with urgency, right?  
  
You take off in a hard sprint straight toward the sinking child and jump in the lake to save him.  You drag his small frame onto the shore and he coughs up a little water.  He’s okay.  You did it.  You got to him before it was too late.

And he can’t believe you just did what you did for him.  You assure him there was no way you could have just left him there to drown. 

His eyes stare deep into yours, peering into your heart.  There he finds the grace and love of Jesus...he chokes out a thank you.

He thought he would always be alone and forgotten.  You were the first one ever to see value in his life—the first to ever sacrificially love him.  He feels hope he never knew before.    

That was just an imaginary scenario.  But what if it wasn't make-believe?    

Enter reality with me.  

There in the breathtaking mountains of Haiti is an awful lot of desperate child life, splashing frantic, screaming help, sinking in the lake—the lake of absolute poverty.  It’s happening in Pastor Nahum’s small village.  All is not right with the world there.


 Who sees? 

Who hears?

It’s easy to respond with wild urgency to the imaginary scenarios but what about real life?  What about when it means we have to jump in and get dirty, when we have to give up something?  Do we just watch them drown or are we willing to dive into their broken world to show them what the sacrificial love of Jesus looks like?  Will we take their hand and pull them up out of the poverty rising quickly over their heads? 
These are the young child lives the world has forgotten and what they really need now is to feel God’s love touch their souls in a real way.  They need someone to reach out, take their hand, and pull them up before they sink too deep.
 
By God’s grace and for His glory, Back to Life Ministries is happy to present our Take-A-Hand Sponsorship Program.  Before any programs or projects we wholeheartedly believe prayer is the most important thing we can do for the hurting children in Haiti.  But following our prayer comes the overflow of our love in action.  Take-A-Hand Sponsorship Program provides an open door for the body of Christ to participate in something with kingdom value. 

We can’t just stand there watching them sink because we think someone else will come to their rescue.  God has called the church to care for the orphans and the least of these.  And I know this is exactly what you desire to do only you haven’t figured out exactly how or what this will look like in your life.
You've been asking how you can help—how you can lighten the burdens of these children and bring them hope.  

Take-A-Hand Sponsorship Program is the answer!  It’ll require you to make a small sacrifice but you’ll be making an eternal investment.  So now you’re pumped.  You’re determined not to watch these kids go down when there's something you can do to help.  You’re ready to jump straight in and grab hold of a child’s hand in Haiti…but how is that possible? 

It’s actually quite simple.  I’m taking a team to Haiti next week and we will trace the hands of 200 of the most vulnerable children in Pastor Nahum’s village and bring back both their picture and handprint.  

We are bringing the hands of these children to you!  You can reach out and take a hand right now!  It’s super easy!  Here’s how:
                                                      HOW TO TAKE –A-HAND

·   Visit the Back to Life Ministries blog site here:  http://back-to-life-ministries.blogspot.com/

· Click on our donate tab, scroll down to the Take-A-Hand Sponsorship Program, and sign up to sponsor one of Pastor Nahum’s children in his village using either a credit or debit card.  Please include your mailing address when you register.  This is a one year commitment.  The card you use will be automatically charged $30 every month for 12 months. 
  
· Once you register to sponsor a child, Back to Life Ministries will mail you our Take-A-Hand Sponsorship welcome packet which will include a picture and handprint of the child you will be sponsoring. (*If you take a hand today you can expect to receive your child’s packet in the mail the last week of March.)

Let go of something temporary to take hold of something eternal. 

When you take a hand of a child in Haiti you will be caring for their overall wellbeing—including spiritually, physically, and academically.  

You take a hand.  I’ll take a hand.  And together, we’ll watch Pastor Nahum’s entire village in Haiti be transformed for the glory of God one hand at a time.

"For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you."  Isaiah 41:13

No comments:

Post a Comment