The building resembled a small plaza.
There was the room you entered from off the streets, then a family
room, then a small bedroom, then a door that led outside to their
kitchen and another small shed-like building. That was all that was
visible of the house. My first home visit to this house introduced me
to a grandmother/guardian who took care of 7 children, ages ranging
from 3 years of age up to around 15 years of age.
The room in which I first met the
family was dark. No artificial lights shone in the house; the only
light present was whatever spilled in from the faraway doorways to
the outside sun. Having no flash to my camera at that time, no
suitable picture could describe what I saw and experienced. It was a
family of mix-matched individuals. There were some cousins, some
siblings, and even one orphaned neighbor. They loved each other and
viewed each other as full siblings.
My visit began as a quiet one. Most of
the children were shy except for a couple I had been teaching in my
music class. Booti was especially shy. He sat with his brother, shyly
eying the new foreigners. His social worker caught wind of his
shyness and pushed him out of his comfort zone slightly and had him
sit by me. In a matter of minutes his shy shell shattered, and he
lost control of his heart-piercing smile. Giggles resonated
throughout the room from him being tickled or played with.
I visited Booti three times during my
time in Ethiopia and never could I resist responding with my own
smiles in reaction to his bubbly spirit and broad grins. God has
protected his spirit from the stains of bitterness that far too often
poke at the spirits of children and adults alike in Ethiopia. His
story is hardly different than the rest of the children (his father
was shot, and his mother had a break down and left him with his
grandmother), but he maintains his high spirit.
Booti is currently only one of two
children in that household sponsored through Blessing the Children
International. Neither of the sponsored children is even fully
sponsored, and yet it is through these two children's sponsorships
(and whatever income the grandmother can earn through her in-house
cafe) that they survive. Eight people living off of the partial
sponsorships of two children is hard to accomplish, but God is
sustaining them.
Would you look into the life of Booti
and consider sponsoring him? He is presently at the 2/3 mark; so he
only needs $30/month to be fully sponsored. Won't you be the one to
fully sponsor him?
Please pray, seeking God's will in this matter. It's literally one dollar a day that can bring this family the hope and provisions they need. --A dollar a day. Think about it. A soda is at least a dollar at restaurants; a single new garment could cost at least that $30. So you could, if God lays it on your heart, go without soda each time you eat out so you can sponsor Booti; or you can withhold purchasing that new piece of clothing each month; or you can lower your cable plan and save money that way. There are a lot of things we take for granted—a lot of things we needlessly have that we could give up if we are willing.
Please, pray it over for two days whether it is God's will for you to sponsor Booti.
After reading this article, would you pass along Booti's message? After praying for two days, could you send out the message again if God isn't the one calling you? You may not be the one to give the money for Booti's sponsorship, but you may be the person that shares his story to the one who does sponsor Booti.
Thank you for sharing his message. Thank you for praying.
For further information on how to sponsor Booti, email either email me at kevin2ethiopia@yahoo.com or Melissa Strawn at Melissa@blessingthechildren.org or call her at (989) 667-8850. Or you can even go to BCI's website at BCI's Sponsorship Page.
1 John 3:17-18But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
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