Children Disguised as Statistics

If I gave you a list of statistics such as this:

     “There are children all over the world sick, starving, dying, unloved, and uncared for. The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million, who starve to death or die from preventable diseases, and the 8.6 million who work as child sales, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions, and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million children.”

      It would seem overwhelming. Helping them would seem like an impossible task. But there’s a way to change that mindset. First of all, realize that you cannot save the world on your own-for it will be Jesus who does that. Second, realize that these are not just statistics and numbers. They are young children and babies with their own backgrounds, testimonies, and lives. I've had the privilege of getting to know some of these “statistics.” They happen to love being held, rocked, and talked to. Each has a personality that is so different from the rest. Please don’t think of “orphans” as a whole, but realize that every single “number” is a unique gift from God who is worth every oz. of love you can give them.

      In Haiti, I have already fallen in love with all the children. I can't wait to come home and tell everyone all about them. One of the preemies that I had the chance to cuddle often was healthy enough to go home with his papa. I love playing with the toddlers, making the babies smile, and being covered with the young children who climb up my legs for me to tickle them. In just a week and a half I seen the joy of watching babies go home with their families and have felt sorrow for the ones still waiting for a forever family. I do know this though; “God is a Father to the fatherless and a defender of widows…God sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:5-6).

     “Though at first glance 164.8 million children look like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians. The truth is that if only 8% of the Christians would care for just one more child, there would not be any statistic left. This is the truth and I have the freedom to believe it. The freedom, the opportunity to do something about it. The truth is that He loves these children just as much as He loves me and now that I know, I am responsible.”

So, how do you reach a world with 143 million orphans?

One at a time.