Tuesday

Day 6: Maureen

Maureen grew up in a one room shack with dirt floors and one family bed for six people. The poorest of the poor. Breakfast and lunch were a luxury and dinner usually consisted of porridge without sugar. She didn't know what it felt like for her stomach not to rumble.


Once after going several days without food, she and her sister decided to go look for some in their Nairobi slum. They found rotten vegetables and rotten fruit and thanked God for it. "I was around 6 years old. It was a breakthrough," she says.

Maureen was invited to register in a Compassion project and got a sponsor when she was seven years old. Her life slowly began to improve. She says at first she only went to the Saturday project for food. It was the first time she'd had a balanced meal, which is enough to prevent malnutrition. She would pretend like she was going for seconds and fill her bag with food for her three other siblings. Compassion dropped off monthly food supplies to her home and paid for her school uniforms, shoes, education.

After some time as a sponsored child, she asked Jesus into her heart. "I let go of my bitterness and God came into my life."


Maureen is a special young woman. She is now 24 years old. After completing the child sponsorship program, she interviewed and was accepted into Compassion International's Leadership Development Program, designed for bright students with leadership skills who want to go to the University. There are 275 LDP students in Kenya (one of them is the man from the video yesterday who met his sponsor at the Catalyst conference). It costs $300 a month to sponsor an LDP student. This pays for their college education and gives them a living allowance.

She will graduate in May with a degree in Education. Her eyes welled up with tears when she mentioned the sponsor she'd never met. She said, "Do you know them? They are well-known because they sponsor sixty LDP students." I quickly calculated $18,000 in my head and thought I misunderstood her.

"Yes, it's true," they are great donors to Compassion and they write us all letters. They are creating a legacy in us.

Mckmama and I spent a lot of time talking and the more I got to know Maureen, the better I began to understand the beauty of Compassion International and the total picture. It was so fulfilling to see this young girl escape poverty and learn that she used her LDP monthly allowance to move her entire family out of the slum and better their life.


We exchanged email addresses and she said, "Are you on Facebook, I'd like to friend you." I laughed at the unexpected question! and said yes, of course.

When she was asked, "What would you say to your sponsor if you could right now?"

She answered confidently, "I'd tell them I'm a hero because of them."

___________________________________

I have now seen the ends and outs of Compassion International. I have never been more impressed or blessed with a ministry that answers the high calling of God. It's the real deal. If you still haven't sponsored a child, this is your day. Don't neglect the tug you feel in your heart. It's God.



23 comments:

Tina said...

Awesome story. I enjoy reading your Compassion journey everyday. May God be with you and keep you safe as you travel. Take care!

Unknown said...

I am praying for you, I already know that God is using you in mighty ways, thank you for allowing Him to! This journey you are taking in Him will change, not only your life but other's lives forever. May God Bless it!

Alice said...

thank you for these wonderful messages about the compassion program. we sponsor one child, now i'm wondering if God wants me to sponsor another. thank you and may God richly, richly bless your time there. it is not without purpose.

Kelley with Amy's Angels said...

Yesterday I was reading your blog and a coworker came up to me and said, "Is that a camel?" (we were looking at the post about your meeting with your Compassion child). I told her about Compassion and she said, "Do you do that? Sponsor a child?" I said "Yes! I do!" She looked at me wide eyed and said, "You're kidding!" Her father is a pastor and she shared about mission trips and things that she went on as a child and how it changes you. She put her hand on my shoulder and said, "You're doing a good thing."

So, dear Kristin, if I was standing next to you, I would put my hand on your shoulder and say "you're doing a good thing". Sharing your trip with those who read your blog and how they can make a difference. As this young woman said, we can make them heros!

Mom and Dad said...

What a story! A life saved!!!!! Our prayer are with you today, Kristen. Mom

Elaina M. Avalos said...

What an awesome story. Maureen is an inspiration.

Nicole @Team Pipkin said...

what an AWESOME story! i hope she will get to meet her sponsor one day. what amazing people they are to sponsor 60 LDP students. God Bless them!

God Bless you and your team today! what an amazing journey you all are on.

Genesis said...

I can't tell you how much reading your updates has been impacting me. Thank you for sharing.

Cathy said...

I just expect the goosebumps and tears to come now when I click over to your blog.:)

These REAL LIFE stories of people allowing God to use them to help others and then those others turning around and allowing God to use THEM are just so...so...well, shoot, there are NO words to describe how incredible it is.

Thanks for continuing to share your heart, your passion, your light with us, Kristin!

Cherie said...

Kristen I almost couldn't bring myself to click here today because it has been a gut wretching week jouneying with you through Kenya. My heart hurts for those forgotten souls. Thank you for sharing your heart and your journey. You have blessed so many this week!!

Anonymous said...

I've been following your and MckMama's posts with tears in my eyes. Last night, dh finally gave the go-ahead and we were blessed to add a family in Kenya to our family.

We're blessed to be sponsoring a boy named Nathan (because, if we'd had another boy, we'd have named him Nathan). I think this is going to bless my family ten times more than it blesses Nathan. It's an opportunity to think about someone other than ourselves.

When I told my youngest (8) that Nathan had three kids in his family, just like us, she replied, "Except now, we kind of have four."

Yeah, we do...and we can't wait to meet the fourth member through letters and pictures.

Thanks for getting the word out about all that Compassion does. I know your life will never be the same and you've changed countless other lives by being willing to go and tell the story.

Peter and Nancy said...

Thanks for being willing to step out into unknown territory so the rest of us can see what you're seeing.
Nancy

Holley Gerth said...

We have been Compassion sponsors for almost ten years. Thanks to your posts, we just signed up for a new child from Kenya. Mukami...isn't that beautiful? Thank you for changing the world with your words, Kristen. You are beautiful too, more than I could ever convey.

Amanda said...

WOW! what a beautiful story! She is a very beautiful young woman too! It is exciting to hear the sucess stories after hearing and seeing all the odds they have to face- she IS a hero!

ohAmanda said...

Isn't that amazing? I want to be someone who sponsors that many kids--I want to have THAT kind of legacy. Thanks so much for sharing Maureen's story.

a

acox26 said...

God is working through you and through Compassion. Today I sponsored a 9 year old girl from Kenya. Your blog brought me to tears today. Thank you for pulling my head out of "my world" and placing it in God's world. Ann

acox26 said...

God is working through you and through Compassion. Today I sponsored a 9 year old girl from Kenya. Your blog brought me to tears today. Thank you for pulling my head out of "my world" and placing it in God's world. Ann

My Heart said...

Wow! "I am a hero because of them"...wow. I never thought, when I clicked on a link to your blog, that I would cry at every post I read...so far you are two for two...

She truly is a hero! I am speechless

GladMom24 said...

I've been following your blog and have often prayed God 'how can I sponsor a child? You know how tight our budget is?" yesterday I sat down and opened a basket of week old mail. For some extraordinary reason my mortgage company just lowered our monthly house payment by 44$ :) some would say 'keep paying it toward your home' but I know, God just answered my prayer.

Mrs. Ohtobe said...

Brought tears to my eyes...again!

Anonymous said...

Wow.

Kimberly said...

I see you went with Mckmama! I follow her blog too! She gave me the idea to sponsor a child!

Maureen Anyango Owino said...

WOW! Kristen your blog is amazing, in deed you are doing a great and good work for compassion and children living with poverty all over the world.
Every time i read your blog i have hope that needy children with their families are rescued from poverty in Jesus name. Thank you for the good work and may the Almighty bless you abundantly.