As we last shared with you in May, Compassion’s Prayer Network is focusing on gratitude this year. We sent out a call to our field staff across the globe, and I am genuinely thankful for the stories of thanksgiving they have shared. And that I get to share them with you!
This month, I want you to meet Odette, a supervisor in our Compassion Burkina Faso office. Odette shared about her own childhood growing up in rural Burkina Faso in a large family that struggled in desperate poverty … I was touched by her story, and as a sponsor, I was incredibly moved by the way she compares the staff in Compassion Burkina Faso to the love of her amazing mother.
Enough from me, though …
A Letter From Odette
Dear Friends,
I am from a large polygamous family with many households and many kids. My late father was a primary school teacher who struggled to send me and my 12 siblings to school. Unfortunately, in March 1984, he lost his job due to a strike. The future looked dark and compromised for me and my brothers as some of us were to drop from school.
Determined to see her children succeed, my mother started a small business and my siblings and I supported her during school breaks, selling all kinds of vegetables and fruit.
Later, she started working on mining sites pounding stones, winnowing to look for gold. Whenever she got some thin gold particles, she would come back home, sell them and buy some cereals and pay our remaining school fees before returning to the sites.
The Lord rewarded her sacrifices as we all got a good education, and now the neighbors call her “the mom of officials” because they view my siblings and me as important people!
When I see the amazing ministry of Compassion International in Burkina Faso, I am reminded of a mother tirelessly working to provide her children with a better future. I am grateful our dedicated supporters and donors, like this brave mother, give their best to save the lives of many vulnerable children.
Would you please pray that the Lord bless sponsors and staff, so they can see these special children succeed in many ways?
Thanks and shalom,
Odette
Share Your Gratitude
I hope Odette’s story reminds you that each child Compassion serves is surrounded by tutors, pastors, directors, sponsors and family who are invested in their future! We also want to invite you to share your own story of gratitude and praise with us on our virtual Gratitude Wall today!