It was a dark, rainy and cold night. On the top of a hill, inside a straw hut, with the company of some llamas, Marta gave birth to Pablito (little Pablo) when she was only 14 years old.

In the countryside of Bolivia, it’s normal to have your baby at home with the help of relatives or neighbors rather than going to a hospital. But being only six months pregnant, Marta wasn’t prepared. She had gone to the hut with her brothers to put her family’s animals away when she went into labor. Her two little brothers didn’t know how to help. They were scared and cried. Marta had her baby alone in a hut.

Marta, the second child in her family, lived in the countryside of the city of Potosi, Bolivia. She helped her family with the cattle and the household duties. Marta was only able to study part of the first grade because her father didn’t want her to attend school and didn’t want to buy her any materials.

“I wanted to study very much but the teacher got mad at me because I didn’t bring notebooks. I had a hen so I sold the eggs and was able to buy a notebook. However, my teacher didn’t want me to take the notebook home — he didn’t want me to lose it — so my father thought I wasn’t learning anything and he took me out.”

Marta had a difficult childhood. She had to live with the frustration of not accomplishing her dreams and work hard to help her parents and grandparents take care of their animals and other obligations.

At a community party Marta met a man, a widower who at that time was 37. Marta got pregnant and became a very young mother who didn’t receive support from her family.

Six months into her pregnancy, Marta went to get some roots to cook. She almost fell into the river and hit her stomach with her knee. Two days later, her premature baby was born.

“He was very small and thin, he didn’t have any hair. Since I didn’t have clothes for him I covered him with a plastic bag.”

At first Marta lived with her parents, but since baby Pablito was sick he cried all the time. Marta’s mom told her to leave. Marta went to live with her grandfather, who performed many strange rituals in order to heal the baby.

Rather than go to the doctor, many in rural Bolivia go to witch doctors who practice an indigenous religion. They use herbs and massages to heal, or even at times people must drink the blood of animals.

To heal Pablito, Marta’s grandfather killed a black chicken and covered Pablito with the blood. But nothing worked.

Some months after Pablito was born, Marta found out that her baby’s father was back in town, so she found him, and they moved to Cochabamba.

Andres, now 39, is a widower with two children, Noelia, 12, and Emilio, 16. However, he doesn’t live with them anymore. His family, which now includes Marta’s second child, shares a rented room on a hillside in the south part of Cochabamba.

In spite of the difference in ages, Andres seems to care for Marta and his four children very much. He encourages Marta to improve. Marta is learning how to build a better life for her family through her participation in our Child Survival Program (CSP).

“When we met Marta, she was extremely shy. She hid behind her stepdaughter. However, she agreed to be part of the program.

“Now we can see a sociable Marta, and she isn’t afraid to speak in front of people. She is very responsible and loves to attend the CSP meetings. She is also very punctual,” says Rosalia, the CSP Coordinator.

There are even greater accomplishments with Pablito. Because of the conditions he was born in, he has always been sick, and there is a great difference between him and Marta’s 3-month-old baby, Elena.

“Elena is very lively. She already has a strong and firm body, the opposite of Pablo. When he was 6 months old he couldn’t keep his head steady. Elena did that when she was only 2 months old. It was very sad to see him like that. When he was 6 months old, he started to have convulsions. He was lying down, and suddenly he had convulsions and his eyes turned white. But Elena isn’t like that,” says Marta.

Pablito was undernourished, which affected him in many ways. The left side of his body wouldn’t function properly. He had infections, diarrhea, chronic anemia and was dehydrated. He was pale, had convulsions and needed blood.

Thanks to the Child Survival Program, Pablo received a blood transfusion and treatment for his malnourishment. Strengthened by the medical interventions, Pablo learned to walk and is developing in a healthier way.

“He still needs to gain a little more weight, and that’s our challenge. Also, with Marta we are at 80 percent. We want her to learn to read, write and study a technical career. We also want her to receive Christ as her Savior. She attends church, but we want her to become a member,” says Rosalia

Marta enjoys being a part of the Child Survival Program, including everything she is learning and the benefits she is receiving. She likes to learn about the Bible and knows it is good for her. She can affirm there is a great change in her life.

“I want my children to study and not to be like me. I want them to study because I don’t want them to suffer. I want them to be better in life. I can’t even get into the bus to go somewhere because I can’t read what number it is, but now I am learning.”

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“For nothing is impossible with God.” – Luke 1:37 (NIV)

Most Holy King,

We stand before You right now in complete awe. In awe of who You are, of what You have done, and what You are doing.

Thank you for being so visibly present in the circumstances of today. We are so humbled by Your greatness and by Your presence in our lives. You are the Creator of the heavens, the orchestrator of the orbits, and the breath of life.

Thank you for being so present in our individual lives. You are so faithful to us and to this ministry. You are faithful to FELLOW, as You are to each of us.

Lord, as You have brought Compassion to this incredible point of growth, we turn it back over to You. This is not our ministry, we do not want to run it our way. Rather we desire Your direction and guidance.

You have brought this ministry so far and have used it to touch so many lives. I ask that You would continue to use it in such a manner.

Jesus, I pray for all of the workers of Compassion as we continue to grow. I ask that You would meet each of us where we are, regardless of country, language, and circumstances.

I ask that You would allow each person to be so individually centered on You that You would inevitably be the core of the ministry.

I lift up to You the children enrolled in the Compassion program. Allow the faith and heart of the employees to influence and teach these children — that every child would inherit a passion for Christ that is continually growing. Give them faith of great warriors that they might penetrate the dark world they live in and be a light for You to everyone around them.

God, You have told us that we do not have because we do not ask, and we do not receive because we don’t have right motives. We come boldly before You today and ask this: Please purify our motives that we might honor You in our request.

And we ask that You would bless Compassion International in ways that we have never dreamed of.

Lord, I ask that You would bring us to a point where there are 2 MILLION precious children receiving spiritual and physical healing and growth. Use Compassion to spread Your truth to countless hearts.

You are a Lord of impossibilities. Jesus, You came to Earth fully man and fully God, you have caused miracles to happen on every level, you cause our lungs to draw breath, and you hear the whispered prayer of every tiny child on the face of this planet.

Please make the impossible possible and give Compassion exponential growth, not for our own sake Lord, but rather that your truth and your love would reach every corner and every person on this earth.

You, God, are what makes life worth living. You are the reason for our joy. You are the reason for Compassion’s success. Thank you. Thank you for FELLOW, for his new mother and for every sponsor-child relationship.

Lord, this ministry is Yours. I ask that You would remain the core purpose and inspiration of every person here. All glory is Yours for this incredible moment. May You receive all the honor for Compassion International and for its wide-reaching impact.

Thank you for allowing us to be a part of Your story.

In Your Holy and Precious Name, Amen.

*Wess talks about our “ambassadors to the future” — Ali Anderson and Amman Beeftu — in our What the Future Holds video.

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