Before & After — Part 1

This week's blogging assignment for Compassion Blog Month is to write a letter to God. I decided to write two letters. Both are written from the perspective of a child in Uganda—one before she learned about Compassion and the other after being in the Compassion program for several years. Some of the details were inspired by the story of our first Compassion child, Gloria.

Dear God,
I don’t know if you’re listening or even if you’re real, but I don’t know who else I can talk to. My name’s Maria and I’m seven. I just moved to a new village with my grandmother. She woke me up in the middle of the night and said we had to go. I didn’t get to say good-bye to my mom or my brothers and sisters. I didn’t even get to bring my dolly. She was my best friend in the whole world. I hope my sister will take care of her.

We walked all night and my feet hurt so bad I thought they would fall off. A few times, we heard people coming up behind us, and my grandmother dragged us into the bushes on the side of the road and told me to be really quiet. Why was my grandmother so scared of those men?

When the sun came up, she told me that we could rest for a few hours. I curled up on the ground under a tree and tried to sleep. She said she would stay awake to watch for the bad men. When I woke up, she told me we had to get moving again. I didn’t want to because I was so hungry and thirsty. My grandmother said we didn’t have any money for food but she found me water hole to drink from. The water was brown and tasted like dirt in my mouth, but my grandmother said to drink it anyway.

When we finally got to our new village, I was so tired. My grandmother said she knew a lady who would let us stay with her while she looks for work. The lady seems nice. She smiles a lot. And she shared her food with us.

I finally asked my grandmother why we had to leave home. She said the Lord’s Resistance Army was coming. She said they take boys and girls out of their beds at night and make them do bad things. She didn’t want them to take me so we ran. God, I’m scared. Will the army find me here? Will they take me from the lady’s house? I don’t want them to take me from my grandmother. I don’t want to do bad things.

I miss my mom and my brothers and sisters. I don’t know anybody here. I sure wish I had a friend here.

Uh-oh, I hear my grandmother calling me. I better go. God, it was nice talking to you. If you’re even there.

Maria

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Many children around the world have similar stories. Stories of hunger, fear, poverty, and loss. But Compassion's goal is to "release children from poverty in Jesus' name." With the help of men, women, children, families, and churches, they are doing just that—one child at a time. The goal for Compassion's Blog Month is to find sponsors for 3,108 children. So far, 837 children have new sponsors! Praise the Lord!

Will you take a few minutes and pray for sponsors for these waiting children? Ask God to turn their stories of hunger, fear, poverty, and loss into stories of hope, peace, and fullness in Jesus Christ.