Samuel Orlando: Living With Purpose

Abandonment is one of the hardest feelings a person can ever experience; it is even harder when that person is only a 5-year-old child. This is how I felt while growing up without a father and knowing that he passed away when he was 25 years old.

My father, Orlando, was a pastor in a small town in the Dominican Republic and my mother became a widow at the age of 23. I was only 6 months old.

I remember I started calling my uncle “Dad”; however, my cousins told me not to call him “Dad.” They told me he was only their dad and that I did not have a dad.

At that time I experienced the feeling of abandonment and thought my father had left me. As a child I didn’t understand why he wasn’t there for me.

My heart became bitter at my family and friends and then I started blaming God. Yes, I felt God abandoned my mom and me.

At 5 years old I became the provider of the house, working on the streets selling corn bread. I experienced not having healthy meals, a lack of clothing, and no school supplies. I experienced the lack of hope and no more desired to accomplish my dream of becoming a recording engineer, singer and musician.

I thought that my father’s death was the worst thing in life, but later learned the worst thing in life is living without a purpose, without a dream or hope.

I am sure I am not the only person that had felt abandoned. I know I am not the only person who questioned God.

As you read this, you may feel the same way. I want to tell you that God never abandons His children. He is never late, but He is never early either. Rather, He is ALWAYS there.

God will use even the abandonment feeling to make us stronger and to show us His love by using people and ministries like Compassion.

My sponsor read my story at one of the Compassion events and sponsored me. After this, I was able to believe, dream and hope again in Jesus’s name. I became a recording engineer, musician and singer.

Now, I proclaim Jesus’s gospel through music. Compassion was the tool God used to teach me that He never abandoned me and that He was only waiting for the perfect time to show me His love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Samuel Orlando is a graduate of Compassion’s program and Compassion International speaker. Samuel recorded his first music album “Luz Verde” in 2011. For more information about Samuel, visit www.samuelorlando.com.