A Child's Story

Lois is a formerly sponsored Compassion child from Uganda and I had the unique pleasure of listening to her share her testimony a few nights ago while at the Compassion national conference. Her story was so compelling, I actually found myself on the edge of my seat, my head cradled on my palms in order to hear her better. I hope and pray my retelling of a small portion of her story does it justice.

Lois is a survivor.

She grew up living in poverty and during the most turbulent times in Uganda's recent history; a period of horrific genocide. Lois recounted those days prior to her being sponsored.

"The rebels would come at night, house to house killing everyone, " she told us.

Lois related how it was no longer safe for the children to remain in their homes at night, so in the evening the children of the village would walk, en masse approximately 10 miles to a hospital where they could sleep safely until morning. They would then make the 10 mile trek back to their homes, only to repeat the trip again the next day as the sun began to set.

Occasionally, as the children walked the road, they would see or hear the rebels and would have to run off into the woods as far and as fast they could. There they would hide until they felt the rebels had past or had given up looking for children. The children learned to run off separately, for in this way if one of them was to be captured, the rebels would only have caught the one child.What Lois said next chilled me to my core.

"The following year, when I was 8 years old..."

It seemed simple enough, Lois was merely continuing her chronological story, but then it hit me. My daughter is 7 years old! In the next few seconds, Lois's story became so vivid, so real to me, as I envisioned my precious little girl running into the woods, alone, fleeing for her very life, hiding from men who sought to abuse and then likely kill her. My heart suddenly ached with pain and tears began rolling down my face. The thought of my baby in Lois's shoes chills me even now as I recall her words.

Lois is a survivor.

In time, things had settled down and normalcy returned, that is however normal a life being lived in extreme poverty can be. A Compassion project was coming to her village.Lois was accepted into the project, her picture was taken, and it was placed into a child packet along with a biography. Within a short period of time, a person who would ultimately become Lois's child packet, picked it and became her sponsor.

If you were not aware, Compassion has a slogan, "You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world for one child, " and I suspect that was the very thought that went through this sponsor's mind as she gazed at Lois's photograph, "I can't do much, but I can help this little girl.". But then, as Lois continued her testimony, it occurred to me--her sponsor had in fact changed the world.

Lois you see, excelled in her school work and in sports, to the point where she became eligible for Compassion's Leadership Development Program (LDP). Lois would be able to attend college and achieve her degree. But things would get even better.

Lois was a volleyball player, and while enrolled in the LDP program, her talent on the volleyball court was caught by college scouts. No fewer than 3 universities in the USA were offering scholarships. Eventually Lois was offered, and she accepted, a full scholarship to the University of South Carolina. She has since graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Service and is currently working on her masters degree. It is her hope to return to Uganda after her schooling in order that she may serve her Lord and Savior by giving back to her community. Additionally, Lois has begin giving her testimony across this country at churches and Christian events, resulting in scores of children being sponsored.

I don't know the name of Lois's sponsor, but I hope she knows that she did change the world for one child and, she has also changed the world, for this world will no longer be the same with her and Lois in it -- willing tools in the Master's hands.I challenge you to change the world for one child and in doing so, change the world, for His honor, glory, and praise.

Sponsor a child right now.