“Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord.
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.
– Isaiah 54:1-3 –
I didn’t expect these to be the scripture verses that God had for me. I am blessed with a wonderful, godly husband who loves me quite dearly. Like most people when we got married, I expected we would have children in a few years. We trusted God in this situation – but that wasn’t our path. We didn’t have children and we weren’t led to adoption as His plan for us. I am a caretaker by nature but didn’t have children of my own to care for.
I know I am not alone in not having that desire for my own children fulfilled, but it was a bit perplexing. But I realized something was changing in my heart – there was fire igniting in me to fight for children who didn’t have anyone to fight for them, for children who needed help and hope and Jesus. Then God gave me these verses reminding me that He had children for me to love and care for – for me, these children weren’t next door but in different lands where they needed the refreshing living water of Christ.
This burden was general until my first day visiting Trigo y Miel, Forward Edge’s program in Oaxaca, Mexico. We were challenged by our Facilitator, Jeff Thompson, to ‘make a friend’, get to know one person at Trigo while you visited. I was willing to try to connect with someone but knowing my high school Spanish was more than rusty, I wasn’t sure how it would work.
Then we arrived at Trigo – all the children were so welcoming and excited to meet us. It was wonderful! We completed our portion of the VBS which was not the most inspirational moment (we have learned a lot since then), but afterwards we got to interact with the children. With the help of our translator, I spoke with a few of the girls about family and school. I talked with one of the girls, Maria, about her favorite subjects, her dreams for the future, her family and the Trigo y Miel program. She was such a sweet soul – it was such a blessing.
During the rest of the week, I saw her regularly at meals and activities. Our team was working a lot that week, but we were always blessed by the time with the children.
When I returned home, I knew I wanted to sponsor Maria. Jeff explained that each child needs three sponsors at $38 each or one at $114 per month to be fully sponsored. After spending a week seeing all the amazing support and care that Maria (and all the children) receive from Victor, Lety and the whole Trigo team, I decided to fully sponsor her so her future would be secure – that fire in my heart wouldn’t be satisfied with less than a full commitment.
Since that time, I have had the joy of visiting Maria and her family during four annual mission trips to Oaxaca. What a blessing it was to sit in her home with her mom and brother, just having a conversation! Through letters and photos, I get to share in her life and growth.
She is now enrolled in Siloe, Trigo’s private Christian school, instead of a public school that she attended in the past. She and her mother were both baptized in 2023. Maria sings on the Worship Team, and their team recently participated in a local 24-hour worship event.
For Maria, she gets nutritious meals, quality education, safe drinking water, medical check-ups, spiritual discipleship, mentoring, small gifts for birthdays and Christmas, and the confidence that she has been chosen…she is seen…she has someone praying for her…she is known and loved.
Through sponsorship, I get the joy of supporting, encouraging, and praying for this wonderful young woman. It is such a simple, yet powerful way to support the global Church of Christ – helping a child grow and discover God’s purpose of her life.
As the Director of Development at Forward Edge, I have the privilege and joy of helping support our Program Directors and staff around the world as they share the love of Jesus to their communities. All the children in our programs are dear to my heart, but it is especially personal with Maria, Silvestre and Mariam as we now sponsor all of them.
So, as Isaiah 54 says, I will sing and enlarge my tent for there are more children to love….
I just returned from a mission trip to our children’s program in El Cobre, Cuba and spent several days with not only my sponsored child but some of yours as well! What a joy to see them face to face, hug them, and to share some quality time. TyAnn Hunt,
Two Lives Forever Changed Adriana and Itzel both grew up with difficult home lives but everything changed for them when they joined Trigo y Miel, Forward Edge’s program in Oaxaca, Mexico. As children, they didn’t have many material possessions, but because of the program they were privileged to hear about
2021 has been an incredible year. At Forward Edge, our hearts swell with gratitude for all God has done. His awesome faithfulness through another difficult year has been such a blessing to witness. Children around the world are discovering their true worth and purpose and growing in intimacy with Jesus,
We are so excited to be starting 2019 off with the addition of a brand new Forward Edge ministry location. Our newest Child Sponsorship program, Light A Candle, serves 400 children in some of the most difficult areas of Kampala, Uganda. Kampala comprises 3.5 million people within the city limits,
13 yrs. old
Entered the program: March 2023
Bless lives with his grandmother and sister in a two-bedroom house built with mud and roofed with sheet material. The family has access to potable water but no electricity. Though there is access the community, his grandmother cannot afford to pay the bills so they are not connected to it.
Bless’s family is Christian. His parents are divorced. His grandmother took him in after his parents separated and neither of them was able to provide for him. Bless’s grandmother is the sole provider, and through the support of Create Hope, she has been able to start a small-scale business which is helping her to provide meals and basic necessities for Bless. Before coming to the program, he sometimes went the whole day without food. He prays that things will continue to improve. Living without his parents is hard on him.
Plus bonus group fundraising ideas!
