I’ll start by saying this: It’s very hard to explain impact a Compassion trip can have on a person.
For most of my life, the only thing I knew about poverty was the Sally Struthers commercials. You know, those spots from the ’80s with all the slow-motion shots of children crying. I have been given the opportunity to go with a video production crew to various countries to film the work of Compassion. In some way, I expected to see this Sally Struthers image. I was totally wrong.
I’m a sound engineer for Student Life. We produce large camps, conferences and a variety of additional resources for churches. About the time I started working there, Student Life had just partnered with Compassion. Since then we’ve always had a Compassion presentation at our events, and work to educate our attendees about what sponsoring a child means.
Last year we were sent to Uganda to interview students from Compassion’s Leadership Development Program* (LDP). Our hope was that some of the students would travel with our camp teams throughout the summer and lead the Compassion presentation from stage. What better way to show the work of Compassion than to put living proof of that work on stage?
Before this trip I had already been on one Compassion video shoot, but it was a 48-hour whirlwind trip to Guatemala. It was a fast turnaround, and we were only able to see a few children. Our video focused on one child’s experience meeting her sponsor. I could see the impact Compassion was having on a single child, but what would the finished product look like? All I knew going into the Uganda trip was that LDP students had grown up through the Compassion child sponsorship program, graduated, and were then sponsored through college. These students were the cream of the crop.
We arrived in Kampala and tried to get some rest. The next morning we had our first LDP student interview. His name was James.
This was initially a typical setup for our team. We had done hundreds of interviews. What I did not know was that my life and perspective of Compassion would be changed forever by the testimony of this man.
James was more educated, well spoken and passionate about his relationship with God than I could say I have ever been. He described his childhood –- one that was riddled with loss of parents and siblings, leaving him alone to live with an aunt. He spoke of being malnourished and without hope. Then he said all that changed when he joined Compassion.
I could have probably predicted most of his interview to this point. We had asked most of the questions, and it was the picture of so many nonprofit companies and others who serve those less fortunate than most Americans. He was a child in poverty who was given a chance. It was his answer to our last question that stopped us all cold.
Chris, our producer asked, “What would you say to your sponsor if you were able to meet her?”
James has had the same sponsor with Compassion since he entered the program when he was 9 years old, and she had sponsored him throughout his LDP education. He leaned in as if he’d thought about this “meeting” for years and years, and said, “If I met her, I would give her a hug and tell her ‘Thank You.’”
He began to tear up as he expressed his gratitude toward this woman he’d never met. He spoke about how amazing it was that although he had never seen her, she has been there for him his entire life. He expressed he would want to tell her, “Mom, thank you for being there for me.” All of their correspondence is written as “Dear Momma” and “My Beloved Son James.”
That was the first and only time I’ve cried during an interview. I looked over at Chris and our video director, Taylor, and they were crying, too. It was at that moment, standing there holding the microphone, sweating like a hog in the hot African sun, that I realized Compassion is really giving people hope. REAL HOPE. Hope for a future that does not include what they have known up to the point they were sponsored. This moment will forever be frozen in my mind.
It wasn’t just the fact that James spoke of such an amazing, life-changing experience. It was all about seeing how much one person could really impact another person who is halfway around the world. It wasn’t the money that James cherished –- it was the relationship and the fact that someone believed he could make a difference. It was at that moment I saw that Compassion works, and James is proof.
We went on to do four more interviews in Uganda, all with LDP students, all just as amazing as James. And since Uganda, we’ve taken a similar trip to the Philippines to interview Philippine LDP students.
All of the LDP students we’ve interviewed believe their country will change, and they believe they’ve been called to be a part of that change.
Each of them has a passionate vision of how they can impact their culture. All over the world Compassion is developing a generation of students that will impact the future simply based on their testimony.
A sponsor once said in an interview with us, “I can make a difference in the world, maybe not change the whole world, but I can change the world for one child.”
This statement sums up everything that I have seen through Compassion. These trips have also allowed me to photograph the amazing cultures and people we visit. My desire is that my pictures portray children, families and cultures that don’t necessarily need our pity — they just need some hope.
View a Flickr slideshow with all of Eric’s Compassion photos.
*This content honors our historical Leadership Development Program. To learn more about our current youth development opportunities, click here.
21 Comments |Add a comment
MAY I GET CHANCE TO JOIN WITH LDP PROGRAM ?
Hi Noel! Are you already registered in our program? While our formal Leadership Development Program is ending, Compassion remains committed to discipleship and leadership development opportunities for all youth that are in our program. Please talk to the tutors at your project and they will be able to give you options that are available to you and help you make the best decision depending on what your specific skills and goals are :).
okay fine
Thanks a lot for sharing that great experience with us. I am also an LDP student in kenya and although the story of james similar to mine i was touched so much. I pray that one day i will also be an LDP sponsor. Please next time visit kenya.
Jesus is awesome! It’s amazing how God has blessed this ministry.
I am a new sponsor for a child in Brazil and I hope that one day I can sponsor her in the LDP too. Thank you for sharing such a poignant story. I am even more convinced that this is the thing God wants me to be doing. Great photos too!
This was so touching. Thank you for sharing hope with the rest of us.
Amazing story and pictures! Thank you so much for bringing it to life for those of us who have not been blessed enough to visit these countries yet. Truly amazing!
Eric, I read this and sat at my desk with tears streaming down my face. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you.
Thanks for all the compliments! To Sara Benson, unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to interview Careen. I love meeting LDP students, and I’m sure she has an amazing story, hopefully there will be a next time in the Philippines to document more of these students.
I agree–the photos are great! Thanks for sharing them. I loved reading about James–what an impressive young man. I, too, have sponsored a girl for many years (in Thailand) that is now in the LDP program. I want so badly to meet her some day–we’re very, very close. I hope to attend her graduation in a couple of years.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. God bless!
So many views of God’s heart! Thanks for sharing these great photos, Eric!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience and pictures. 🙂
Great story, Eric. Amazing God.
Great article! I long to one day meet my LDP student.
Did you happen to interview a girl named Careen Malahay in the Philippines?
Great read….Great pics!
Eric, I just looked at your Flickr page and your pictures are BEAUTIFUL. Thank you for sharing them with us!
Great article Eric! The Lord is changing his people through Compassion. Thanks for reminding us of that.
Wonderful article!
Thank you for sharing this story. I can relate. I recently was on a compassion tour to visit my sponsored child in Ethiopia, and I too left with some of the same feelings. Feelings that will certianly affect the rest of my life.
I am a 40 year old man and can only remember crying three times in my entire life. The third was after sitting in a one room hut with a blind Ethiopian man about my age who has a sponsored child. Despite his condition, he expressed nothing but thankfulness for our visit and how he felt so blessed for knowing God’s love. I did not cry because of the conditions of poverty I witnessed (as myself and others may have expected when doing a trip like this), I cried because of the conditions of my own life (how dare I not constantly be thankful for all that Christ has done for me).