Complete | January – International Child Care Ministries

January 10, 2012

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Completing the Circle

Linda Adams, International Child Care Ministries Director

Sponsoring a child is an act of faith. We know we will probably never meet the child or learn the outcome of our long-term investment. We accept it as part of the reality of this unique embrace that reaches halfway around the world. We give, we pray, we accompany the child throughout the journey of their education, and then we say our goodbyes and let go. As loving, long-distance “aunts” and “uncles,” we entrust the outcome to God.

Of course, you never know who’s in a basket! You don’t know which child will grow up to be God’s next great leader.

Once in a while, the circle gets completed. I once spoke at a retreat about how God rescued baby Moses through the Pharaoh’s daughter. I then compared that to a sponsor using her resources to help one child. I said, “Of course, you never know who’s in a basket! You don’t know which child will grow up to be God’s next great leader.” A woman spoke up: “I sponsored Jean-Marc Zamor when he was young. Now he heads the Free Methodist relief work in Haiti after the earthquake!” Today I could add that Jean-Marc is the founder and president of Haiti Providence University. By God’s grace, Jean-Marc is investing in new generations of Haitian children and the future of his country. Full circle.

On the other side of the world, Niyigena Ephaste applied for the position of National Coordinator for ICCM in Rwanda. On his application, he wrote that in the 1980s he had been sponsored by Alice and Charles Bland of Bunker Hill, Illinois. He mused that probably they had gone on to meet Jesus by now, but he was forever grateful for the kindness they showed him. He gave them credit as role models who influenced him to want to help destitute children.

In a near-miraculous experience of completing the circle, Ephaste discovered that although Charles Bland had gone on to his reward, Alice was still living in Illinois. Ephaste was so overjoyed that he insisted on giving a monetary gift to his former sponsor! He said, “When I was young and had nothing, she shared her bread with me. Now she is old and has no one, and I will share my bread with her.”

To extend our hands around the globe is to believe God meets our embrace on behalf of the vulnerable ones whose lives we touch. We may not discover the results in our lifetime, but, ultimately, when we all meet around the throne of God, we will join as one grand family and the circle will indeed be complete.