All of us have burdens in our lives, so it is no surprise that orphaned and vulnerable children feel them as well. These are children who have lost their families, their safety, and their hope of a future; children who do not know where their next meal will come from; children who don’t have someone telling them they are loved every night.
Children from these difficult circumstances often have many things weighing on them. But the truth of Jesus' life, death and resurrection can lift those burdens away. During the His Little Feet Children’s Choir Tour and Life Training Academy, we strive to instill this hope and peace in children and allow them to experience the love of Jesus. In this, these children can find true rest from the burdens of this world.
Ten-year-old Falencia from Haiti, who was part of the 2010-2011 His Little Feet Children’s Choir, shares about her experiences while a part of the His Little Feet tour- what she liked to do when she was here and what she learned along the way:
“My name is Falencia. I loved coming to America to be a part of His Little Feet. I liked days off with my host family because we did a lot of fun things. I really liked going bowling, skating, and to Incredible Pizza. My favorite song in the concert was ‘Today is the Day.’ I liked singing for Jesus in concerts because God loved it when I did. My favorite state is Tennessee because I have a sponsor that lives there. This past year I learned how to talk French well. I also read 'Pilgrim’s Progress'. The book was about a man that had a burden on his back. He went to the cross to get his burden off. The burden was his past sin. Jesus made the burden get off. Psalm 101 is my favorite Bible chapter.”
Psalm 101:1 says, “I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise” (NIV).
What an amazing testimony from this little girl, who has seen Jesus remove burdens from her life and bring her to a place of love and peace.
This serves as a reminder for all of us that Jesus died to take the weight of sin, death and sorrow off our shoulders. We praise Him for what He has done, and we praise the Lord for the work He is doing in children just like Falencia.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
TODAY IS THE DAY
How much do you remember from your childhood? Perhaps you can recall your first day at preschool, learning to ride a bike or the time you broke your arm falling off the monkey bars at recess.
For many of us, the days of our youth have faded to just a handful of memories. Like old photographs, we only have a few mental glimpses of what it was like to be a child.
Yet, if you think about it, those years shaped our lives perhaps more than any other period of time. The way we interacted with our parents, friends, and schoolteachers, the things we learned, and the joys and fears we encountered in many cases followed us straight through adulthood.
And most importantly, what we learned about God, Jesus and the Bible set the trajectory for our faith throughout our lives.
As Compassion International President and CEO Dr. Wess Stafford says in his book, Too Small to Ignore, childhood is too often viewed as a time of insignificance:
“Too many of us tend to treat childhood as a preamble to actual life, a vulnerable period of time merely to be survived in order to get on with the real business of being a valid, contributing member of the human family. This is the mind-set that causes us to speak of children as 'tomorrow’s world' or 'the church’s future.’ As noble as those phrases sound, they are all about pushing off the value of children to the Realm of Someday. Someday they will add value. Someday they will make a difference. Not today.” (page 15)
But the truth is far different. In reality, childhood is the time when humans’ hearts, minds and lives begin to take shape. What better time, then, to instill them with the most important knowledge and experience they can possibly have!
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
Today there are millions of children around the world who are in need of help. His Little Feet is committed to making it possible for these children not only to receive necessary help and love, but also to encounter the truth and love of Jesus Christ. This encounter changes lives and puts children on an entirely new path.
And the exciting part is that each of us has the opportunity to make this kind of life-changing difference for a child. There are several ways to “(be in on it)” today, including…
GIVE: Your tax-deductible gift will help equip His Little Feet to continue the work of helping, loving and training orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide
SPONSOR: Sponsor a child overseas in need of care. His Little Feet works with Compassion International to provide opportunities for people, like you, to sponsor a child. Compassion International provides that child with a loving, church based child sponsorship program that provides the following: food and clean water, medical care, educational opportunities, life-skills training, and most important of all, the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.
GO: Go on an international mission trip to serve orphaned and vulnerable children. His Little Feet works with Visiting Orphans to help enlist and equip individuals, groups and churches to go overseas to help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of orphaned children. Visiting Orphans offers missions trips all over the world.
ADOPT: Adopt a child that needs a family. His Little Feet refers families interested in adoption to America World Adoption. America World is committed to helping America’s families and the world’s orphans experience the love of God in Jesus through the “Spirit of Adoption.” America World is a Christ-centered organization that values the right of every child to have a family and believes adoption is a God-ordained way to build a family.
You can learn about each of these opportunities through the “(be in on it.)” campaign on the His Little Feet web site.
What an incredible opportunity we have to help set the trajectory of a child’s life! Please consider forwarding this blog to friends, family members, church leaders and others who are passionate about caring for orphaned and vulnerable children.
We all know how fast childhood goes – most of us couldn’t even make it past the first monkey bar anymore. For the millions of children in the world today who need the love of Jesus, we have no time to delay.
Today is the day!
For many of us, the days of our youth have faded to just a handful of memories. Like old photographs, we only have a few mental glimpses of what it was like to be a child.
Yet, if you think about it, those years shaped our lives perhaps more than any other period of time. The way we interacted with our parents, friends, and schoolteachers, the things we learned, and the joys and fears we encountered in many cases followed us straight through adulthood.
And most importantly, what we learned about God, Jesus and the Bible set the trajectory for our faith throughout our lives.
As Compassion International President and CEO Dr. Wess Stafford says in his book, Too Small to Ignore, childhood is too often viewed as a time of insignificance:
“Too many of us tend to treat childhood as a preamble to actual life, a vulnerable period of time merely to be survived in order to get on with the real business of being a valid, contributing member of the human family. This is the mind-set that causes us to speak of children as 'tomorrow’s world' or 'the church’s future.’ As noble as those phrases sound, they are all about pushing off the value of children to the Realm of Someday. Someday they will add value. Someday they will make a difference. Not today.” (page 15)
But the truth is far different. In reality, childhood is the time when humans’ hearts, minds and lives begin to take shape. What better time, then, to instill them with the most important knowledge and experience they can possibly have!
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
Today there are millions of children around the world who are in need of help. His Little Feet is committed to making it possible for these children not only to receive necessary help and love, but also to encounter the truth and love of Jesus Christ. This encounter changes lives and puts children on an entirely new path.
And the exciting part is that each of us has the opportunity to make this kind of life-changing difference for a child. There are several ways to “(be in on it)” today, including…
GIVE: Your tax-deductible gift will help equip His Little Feet to continue the work of helping, loving and training orphaned and vulnerable children worldwide
SPONSOR: Sponsor a child overseas in need of care. His Little Feet works with Compassion International to provide opportunities for people, like you, to sponsor a child. Compassion International provides that child with a loving, church based child sponsorship program that provides the following: food and clean water, medical care, educational opportunities, life-skills training, and most important of all, the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.
GO: Go on an international mission trip to serve orphaned and vulnerable children. His Little Feet works with Visiting Orphans to help enlist and equip individuals, groups and churches to go overseas to help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of orphaned children. Visiting Orphans offers missions trips all over the world.
ADOPT: Adopt a child that needs a family. His Little Feet refers families interested in adoption to America World Adoption. America World is committed to helping America’s families and the world’s orphans experience the love of God in Jesus through the “Spirit of Adoption.” America World is a Christ-centered organization that values the right of every child to have a family and believes adoption is a God-ordained way to build a family.
You can learn about each of these opportunities through the “(be in on it.)” campaign on the His Little Feet web site.
What an incredible opportunity we have to help set the trajectory of a child’s life! Please consider forwarding this blog to friends, family members, church leaders and others who are passionate about caring for orphaned and vulnerable children.
We all know how fast childhood goes – most of us couldn’t even make it past the first monkey bar anymore. For the millions of children in the world today who need the love of Jesus, we have no time to delay.
Today is the day!
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