2nd Time with Compassion International

          "Saving children from poverty through the action of Love." 
           That is what I am and was thinking about last night at the concert where I was volunteering with Compassion International for the 2nd time. It was so neat! Every time you serve with a company like that you get different experiences and this one was different then my first. "Rend Collective" was the band in concert in Bentonville at the First Baptist Church on the square so it was right down the road from me. I didn't go because of the concert and I can say it this time because I didn't even know who the band was but now I love them. They are very creative in the way they sing and play music. They are almost like a Christian River Dance.
               They are from Ireland so that might explain a lot of their music style, which again I loved. Anyways, I was there helping with the Compassion International booth again. I signed up thinking about going and wanting to go so bad. Then yesterday I just thought I was too tried from the day and I don't know if I can make it that late because it lasted til 9:00 or past. I left at around 8:30. I got up from my nap and went anyways and I am glad I did. I also remember/thinking, "I made a commitment and I need to keep that commitment" so I went. Not only was the concert good, but the little message to go along with Compassion International was a good reminder for me. It was the leader of the band talking about love.
                The leader just got married 10 months ago so he was still learning all these new things about married life and one of the things he learned was an important thing. That thing was and this was the theme of his speech: Love is an action. It is not just a feeling. It is not just for yourself and to make you happy but it is for the other person and to make them happy. It is really a sacrifice, when you think about it. That is where he went into about sponsoring a child. It might make you make a sacrifice like cut back our your coffee, cut back on your eating out but whatever it is, don't you think it is worth it to show love to a child. I don't know how many times I have heard speeches like these at Christian concert but they still get to me every time.
                When you really think about it, it is giving up something for another human being, just like in marriage. You have to give of yourself so the other person can be happy and even live sometimes in some areas. That was the message and that got me thinking at least but what really got to my heart was this family that was looking for a child. They were looking for a specific country and we only had a few out on the table. They took one to look at, though, but don't know if they brought it back.
                 They wanted this specific country because they already had a child in their family adopted from that county. That child was also helping pick out the child but that didn't last long. It was just neat to see that a parent/family was sponsoring a child from that child's country and just think about the possibilities that could be there for both the children and families. I hope they went or will go through with it. That would be so amazing! I, seriously, almost cried right there in front of them but I held back my tears. The country they were looking for was Ethiopia, which is not a very big country to start out with.
                Then there were other people like some middle school girls that were serious about sponsoring and there was this women you wanted a teenager or almost teenager because they are the one less sponsored and she knew that. I just think it is funny how God puts certain people and kinds of people on our hearts. I don't remember way I picked my girl from the Philippians but I do know why I picked my new little girl from Guatemala. We all have our own area that God has gifted us with. I think I picked my girl from the Philippians because one I just liked little children and two I didn't really want to write her yet so the younger the chances are that I don't have to write until she grew up a bit but now she is a teenagers so I am sponsoring a teenager and it feels pretty good.
               I never want to miss an opportunity in NWA to help or volunteer for or with Compassion International. They are great people and they are doing some of the most amazing things in this world!