For those of you who don't know, "Student Life" works with Compassion International to promote sponsorship and release children from poverty. They get a few Compassion LDP , (Leadership Development Program) students from Kenya and fly them to the states. At each of the camps a student will share their story and help work the Compassion table. :)
Maureen (side bar), my sister from Kenya came to the states for SL back in the Summer of 2010. That was before we knew her. :( Mandi met Maureen, on her trip to Kenya in the fall of that year. -_-
I knew I would meet a LDP student at camp. That was one of the reasons I really wanted to go to a SL camp in the first place. Well my mom was SO excited that I was going to meet a LDP student ( I was pretty stoked too!) she found out who was going to be at my camp, found him on Facebook, and sent him a messege telling him I would be there. Oh my mom. . . I love her! :)
Tony was who would be there at my camp. The first night of camp after worship I walked over to the Compassion table and looked at the beautiful faces. The guy at the table looked Kenyan and this is how are conversation went. . . " Hi, are you Tony?". . . "Yes." . . . " Hi, I'm Lysa". . . " OH! Is your mom the one who sent me a messege on Facebook?!" . . ." haha. .Yeah that is my mom!" . . . " She was so excited you were coming" . . . " Oh yes!"
It was so funny!!
It was great getting to know him.
Tony grew up in a slum in Nairobi with his mom and two siblings. His dad died when he was very young. He is the youngest of the three children. In Kenya women without husbands and have kids are looked down on. Tony's family needed a place to live and sometimes their own family would not let them stay with them.
They were able to rent a little house in the slum ( a hut). One of the things he said that almost made me cry ( It takes a lot to make me cry. BTW) was that his mom would have nothing to eat for dinner, but she would not want to tell the kids so she would put water on to boil and act like she was cooking and just wait for the kids to fall asleep. Tony said the next morning he would realize they never ate.
One day when Tony was walking on street a guy told him he should go to the church and they will give free food. It was the day Compassion was registering kids! He would go to the project a few times a week and hear about God and how He loves him. He would get a meal and medical care. Then one day, when Tony was a teen he came home from school and his mom had died. :( The children were older and able to care for themself but it was hard for them I am sure.
Because God intervened through Compassion, Tony now has a degree in finance and accounting!! How AWESOME is that?!?
YOU can do that! You can change a life for Christ! You can make a difference! Sponsor a child!
It is amazing what God has done and is doing in Tony's life! I am so thankful I was able to meet him and get to know him over that week!
All for Him,
2 comments:
That is SOOO cool! :)
we were at a concert where an LDP student shared their story. so touching! :)
We met Tony last year at Kingdom Bound and we were able to talk to him for quite a while over a few days. My husband and I were bent over laughing, he was such a funny guy! (At one point he described his experience on a big rollercoaster and I had tears from laughing so hard!)
Meeting these young people is a great experience. So far I have met 7 or 8 Compassion graduates and their stories and attitudes stick with me!
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