When we arrived at the batey, we assembled all of the parents for a meeting. The assembly was mostly mothers and the lack of fathers present at the meeting was very noticeable.

At the meeting, we explained the importance of the baseball league and how critical it is that the parents and children take care of the equipment and uniforms about to be handed out. We told them that this league isn’t about finding the next Major League Baseball player, although in this area, that is not necessarily a long shot; this is more than a chance at the big leagues, it’s a chance to have their boys know what it means to be real men – to understand and develop responsibility, leadership and character.

Those things are not only what we will teach them, but what they learn to emulate in the home. If the home is not in order, what we teach them may not do any good. They represent – God first, their families, Pujols, Compassion and their own good name.

Once we concluded, the parents turned in signed sheets of paper promising their support, which means, among other things, that they will not sell the uniforms and equipment. Otherwise, the boys won’t play.

The line of boys ready to receive uniforms in front of the batey was incredible! These kids have never had anything new and really never had anything that fit. These uniforms were complete with Nike undershirts, sliding shorts, batting gloves, belts, socks, pants, jersey, hats, cups – every piece of equipment they could possibly want. For boys who play with sticks and use milk cartons for gloves, this was quite a shock.

One young man, about 15, leaped in the middle of the field once he received his shoes. He was overjoyed! And that’s the other thing – the field.

When I was here a few months ago, this field was disheveled. Animals roamed it, grass and weeds grew throughout and it was difficult to think that it could be cleaned up enough to play on it.

When we arrived, the field was fenced in with foot length to the home run fence – almost professionally! But then we noticed the grass was still long – too long to field an infield hit. We remarked on how badly they needed a riding lawnmower for the area and were told they only had a push mower and it was broken.

As we handed out the uniforms and photographed the children walking through the village with their new uniforms, we were told that the field had just been mowed and chalked! This community pulled together to make this field the best they possibly could.

We knew they had it in them. They just needed the motivation and opportunity. It was amazing to see them rise to the occasion and let the kids know how valued they are, especially on Father’s Day.

When the kids assembled on the field and began playing, the greatest thing to watch was not just the purity of the ballgame at hand and the incredible talent of these young boys, but the fact that many men lined the field to watch – most of them, fathers. These men would normally be in the bar in the center of the batey.

Today, they were supporting the boys. They were proud. It makes the verse, “and a little child will lead them” even more powerful than it has ever been to me personally. I felt it there.

In fact, I thought, “If you build it, He will come” and the “he” was not Pujols or any mortal being. The “He” was God. There was no mistaking it. Yes, indeed, if you build it He will come.

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All this political hype has me thinking a lot about who will be the next leader of our country and what that means for children in poverty. While global poverty may not be one of the “hot button” items on the agenda for the convention, it is by no means an insignificant issue.

In fact, I just read this article about how, according to the World Bank, global poverty is much worse than previously thought. Working at a place like Compassion where we are faced daily with stories of injustice and suffering, I have a hard time not making it THE issue of the election.

However, this post is not about politics or my feelings about who should be elected. It’s about children in poverty and our responsibility to care for them.

Don Miller is one of my favorite authors. He said the closing prayer for day one of the convention, and I thought his prayer was worth sharing.

“Father God,

This week, as the world looks on, help the leaders in this room create a civil dialogue about our future.
We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation.
We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.
Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.
Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.
Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.
Give those in this room who have power, along with those who will meet next week, the courage to work together to finally provide health care to those who don’t have any, and a living wage so families can thrive rather than struggle.

Help us figure out how to pay teachers what they deserve and give children an equal opportunity to get a college education.
Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.
We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there. We need your help.

Father, will you restore our moral standing in the world?
A lot of people don’t like us, but that’s because they don’t know the heart of the average American.
Will you give us favor and forgiveness, along with our allies around the world?
Help us be an example of humility and strength once again.

Lastly, father, unify us.
Even in our diversity help us see how much we have in common.
And unify us not just in our ideas and in our sentiments — but in our actions, as we look around and figure out something we can do to help create an America even greater than the one we have come to cherish.

God we know that you are good.
Thank you for blessing us in so many ways as Americans.

I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice.
Let Him be our example.
Amen.”

Whoever takes the reigns of leading this country in November has an enormous and very difficult job ahead of him. He desperately needs our prayers. One of the best ways I think we can help children suffering from poverty is to pray for the new leadership of our country.

Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” We are the richest nation on earth. The man who leads this nation holds great power. Let’s pray that he uses that power to help right the injustices in this world.

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A crisis is anything from a natural disaster like a hurricane or an earthquake, to a man-made one like civil unrest or war. It might be a bus accident, or a building collapsing, or a shooting, or a volcanic eruption … any event that affects a group of children in our programs. Because of the volatile nature of the developing countries where we work, crises occur frequently.

Unless you are Super-sponsor and check out the crisis update page daily, you probably are unaware of the wide variety of dangers our children face. I know I was. Even as an employee, it’s hard for me to keep up with all the events occurring around the world. It just seems like an unending list of prayer requests.

And it’s been easy for me to be more or less ignorant.

Except now the crisis reports are coming to my inbox. I’m the first one to find out if dengue fever is killing the kids in our program. I get the news if one of our projects has been looted and destroyed. I’m the person who first hears of children dying in a flood or a mudslide. When a crisis occurs, it’s my job to get accurate information to you as quickly as possible.

It’s a huge responsibility. Even as I write this, I’m overwhelmed by the responsibility God has placed on me and the trust that you place in me (and all of us who work for Compassion.) I take this responsibility seriously.

For the sake of the children we serve, I hope my job is extremely unexciting … boring even. The way the world has been lately, though, I have a feeling things will just get worse.

While this new position is emotionally heavy, I have hope because I am confident that none of this is outside of God’s control. He is not surprised by the crises. Only saddened, at times, by our response. We as Compassion employees, and you as sponsors, have been specifically appointed to be miracle-workers for children in poverty all over the world.

What a calling, huh?

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