Dear servants, I have learned about God’s grace just like you but in different ways. In 2008, I had just finished my degree in human resources management, though my marks were not very good. It was during that time when God continued teaching me how His grace works.

He didn’t give me the chance because I was strong, had wisdom of the world, or because I came from a good and wealthy family. No way. He didn’t look at my background.

But for His glory He made me number one out of all other applicants. His grace paved the way for me. His grace marked the initial stages in my career, and now, three years later, I can still tell of His grace as my doorway to join Compassion.

So am I proud to be in this ministry? Compassion is my name, my pride, my rope, and my hope for many. Joyous? Yes. Blessed? Indeed, just because of His grace.

So, never qualify or disqualify yourself by the world’s standards. Just know one thing: You are seasoned and purposed to display His splendor to many generations. His grace covers up all other qualifications.

JESUS UP!

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” — 1 Corinthians 1:27, NIV

Prayer: Our Lord and Father God, may You teach all of us on how to live, knowing that Your grace covers our weakness in Jesus’ name. May You increase the amount of grace to whoever needs Your presence to overcome. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Raphael Joachim Lyela works as a Field Based Partnership Facilitator in the Dodoma region of Tanzania.

Read all the One in Spirit devotionals. 

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

The word jai in Thai means “heart,” and it is such an important concept to the Thais that the word can be compounded with more than 100 other words. A few examples:

• Hen jai (see + heart) is the ability to “see into the heart” or “sympathy.”
• Jai dum (heart + black) is “a cruel lack of humanity.”
• Jai boon (heart + merit) means “generous and full of merit.”
• Sabai jai (wellness + heart) means “easy going” or “comfortable.”
• Kao jai (enter + heart) means “understanding.”

The term nam jai (water + heart) means “water from the heart” and is used to describe genuine acts of kindness. It implies that these acts of kindness are done without any expectations – with no strings attached.

When someone brings food to the office to share with everyone else, or when a stranger stops to help when your car stalls — that’s nam jai. When your neighbor helps you fix a leaky faucet, or when a local takes you to your destination rather than just giving you directions, that’s nam jai.

Nam jai is grace. It’s unmerited favor. It’s a gift that doesn’t have to be, and cannot be, repaid. It’s what all Christians are called to show to those around them. We should be looking for opportunities to practice nam jai everywhere we go and with everyone we meet. Think of the difference it would make in this world if we did!

Jesus set the example for us. He practiced nam jai throughout His ministry. From healing the sick to raising the dead to allowing the little ones to come to Him, His life here on earth was a constant “pouring of water from the heart.”

He showed us nam jai in life but even more in death. Remember when one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear? It brought “a sudden flow of blood and water” from Jesus’ heart. The ultimate Nam Jai.

This post was originally published in February 2008 on Michael’s personal blog, Build Your Walls! Guard Your Gates!

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Villages destroyed by chemical weapons. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) by the thousands who still migrate from their homes every spring and autumn in order to protect their families from the seasonal bombs that are dropped on their villages and farmlands.

A hike into the mountains can bring you in touch with lush vegetation and flora species such as you have never seen, and it can also thrust you into fields of land mines. The people here are ever so hospitable and welcoming, but they are slow to trust too deeply.

The Kurdish Province of Iraq is not alone in having a desperate history. Many other countries sing the song of their homeland in the painstaking melody of a minor key.

Think of places where Compassion works – places like Rwanda and Colombia. The people of those nations recount stories with tears and heartache. Many resort to a cycle of violence that binds their communities like a chokehold – tribal warfare, gangs, drug lords, etc.

Yet some are able, ever so carefully, to move past their devastating and violent histories and rebuild community.

Which people do this? The few who are willing to embrace forgiveness, reconciliation and grace. Where do we find these characteristics that surpass human wisdom in their scope and power? We find them in the person of Jesus Christ.

Compassion’s very strategic approach of working exclusively in partnership with the local church assures that its holistic child development programs — designed to release children and ultimately families, communities and nations from poverty — always bring with them the hope of the gospel of Jesus.

As the gospel exemplifies the power of redemptive grace, people are given the power to break not only the cycle of poverty, but also the cycle of violence.

Being in this area and contrasting what I see here with what I have seen throughout my travels to Compassion countries, I am increasingly thankful for Compassion’s clarity of vision and acute understanding of the importance of the local church in truly changing the lives of our sponsored children around the world.

The hope of Christ in tandem with the education, health care, nutrition and social development provided by the child development centers in Compassion countries is a powerful force against the hopelessness and lies that violence and poverty tell their victims.

It is why I am proud to be part of this ministry that releases children from poverty: because we unabashedly do this work “in Jesus’ name.”

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

I’m an introvert. I don’t like attention. But visitors to child development centers get lots of attention, and that means I’m experiencing a lot of discomfort and fear on this blog trip to Kenya.

My dislike for attention is connected to a fear of being “seen.” If I’m seen my “true self,” my inadequate self, might be recognized.

I embrace this lie of inadequacy often because I don’t recognize it as a lie; it feels like the truth, which I realize puts me in the same place as the children you sponsor … vulnerable to the lie of poverty.

No one told me I had “what it takes” when I grew up, or if they did, I didn’t get the message. And now, when people do tell me, “Good job!” I don’t believe it. This lie found fertile soil in my heart and now has deep roots.

The poverty in my life is emotional and spiritual. The poverty in the lives of the kids you sponsor and the kids we’re meeting here in Kenya is that and more.

I want you to sponsor a child, and I’m asking you to sponsor a child even at the risk of prostituting my emotions.

Prostituting my emotions, that’s my inadequacy talking. I feel I have to address any accusations or negative reactions about this in advance, in order to protect myself, and in order to somehow justify writing a post focused on me rather than on you.

My wife tells me you want to hear this stuff and that you want me to personalize this Kenya blog trip experience, but I don’t agree. I don’t think you want to hear about me; I’m not why you read this blog.

However, I am a newlywed, so I am trusting what I’ve often been told, that the wife is always right. So, this is what I’ve got for you.

I’m going to leave it to the other Compassion Bloggers to tell you about this boy we met today, to let you know about his situation and what makes him a highly vulnerable child in the midst of more than 300 other vulnerable children ministered to by Kabuku St. John Child Development Center. Hopefully they will do so.

For me, I can tell you with complete honesty that the only true emotion I have felt on this trip was when I met Samuel and learned that he is eight years old. He’s too small to be eight. He looks to be the size of a four-year old.

Samuel was enrolled in our Child Sponsorship Program three years ago. At the time he couldn’t walk, talk or even stand up on his own. His mother had abandoned hope of him living.

What I felt when the group I was with met Samuel (I was discreetly in the back of the group) had nothing to do with the successful intervention that Compassion helped make in his life.

I didn’t feel grateful or encouraged. I didn’t feel moved to pray for Him or to thank the Lord. I didn’t think, “He’s made it” or anything else that I imagine you may have felt or I should have felt.

In the midst of my ever present fear and the very vocal lie that was speaking at the moment, I felt his vulnerability and I respected him. I felt amazement and what I imagine to have been Jesus’ love for him.

Sadly, it only lasted a moment.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

He leaves home at 6:30 a.m. and takes 45 minutes to reach his office.

After morning devotions with all Compassion Rwanda staff, which normally start at 8 a.m. and last an hour, he shifts his focus to Tours and Visits communications.

“I make sure that I have enough relevant information about the child before confirming a visit date for a sponsor or a tour.

“Having gotten the news that a child will be visited on a certain date, the student center social worker visits the child’s home ahead of time to prepare the family members or guardians living with the child, and of course some preparations are made at the student center as well.”

Eugene enjoys his job, which he longed for even while he was still at the university.

“Ever since my university time, my ambitions were to work for a Christian organization, and so this is an absolute answer of prayer to me.

“I am always happy and motivated to advocate for people in times of need, and I enjoy learning about different cultural values.”

Gifted with cultural diversity, mostly resulting from his country’s (Rwanda) history, Eugene was born in Uganda in 1976, where he had his primary education. He later moved to join his brother who was living in Kenya, and from there had his junior secondary education.

He returned to Rwanda with his parents right after the 1994 genocide. He successfully completed high school and began university where he gained greater influence in both academic and spiritual aspects.

Eugene holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a specialization in human resource management.

He is a devoted Christian, married and has worked as Tours and Visits Team Lead for three years.

“I am married to Joy, and God blessed us with a wonderful, precious and treasured daughter whose name is Grace.

“We all love God. My wife and I are in charge of the English service at our local church, and God has used us as instruments of His word to the congregation. We serve in the ministry closely with our senior pastor.”

Eugene’s job is quite demanding in terms of commitment and dedication. At times he overworks himself and returns home late at night, but he’s driven by the kind and caring hearts of sponsors.

“I have been touched by the heart of sponsors and the love they have for children. I love the sponsor and child hug. It’s a natural feeling that builds intimacy between them.”

“I would like to give an example of a couple from Australia who met all their 12 sponsored children at once, had a fun day and shared lunch together.

“Each of these children had a story to tell and they said they would never forget that day because of their sponsors who shared a special day with them, chatting and playing games together.

“They gave them the best dish for lunch and each had a take-home package of various items from the supermarket for their first time.”

When sponsors do individual visits, they either visit the child at the development center and do a home visit, or meet in a good environment for recreation with the child and the center staff.

In Rwanda, offices and business enterprises close on some special days, like the last Saturday of every month, which is set aside for community work, countrywide, and during the annual genocide memorial, April 7-14.

Scheduling visits can be tricky if sponsors have requested to visit on those days.

During a visit, the center staff takes some time to educate and share with the sponsor about their local programs for holistic development of the child as well as social benefits.

As Rwanda is a country of a thousand hills, its topography affects field activities often, particularly with communication and transportation issues.

“Some of our church partners are located in places which are not easily accessible due to lack of proper roads. At times, visits are long days and are very tiring for the host and sponsors.

“Some of our visits occur in places where there’s no mobile network coverage and at certain moments a cell phone becomes useless.

“Also, I am dreaming of a day when the church partners will no longer have a language barrier. For the case of my country, many people at church partner level are not able to express themselves in English.

“I am thinking that if the learning materials would be available to them, they would quickly learn the language and this would be an advantage for sponsor visits.”

Working with and for children is a blessing to Eugene.

“My job has taught me not to be self-centered, but instead to think about others.

“It’s been a blessing to work with and for children, and this gives me the hope and courage to look at them as future leaders and influential people in the society.

“With all that in mind, I believe that God will continually do wonderful things in our lives if at all we are bound together in His love.”

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates