Perspective: A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.
Growing up in church I remember always being mesmerized by videos and stories of missionaries that were being supported and sponsored. The special offerings taken, the huge photos displayed... How exciting and adventurous their lives must be! What great things they are doing helping those poor, desperate people who have no food, shelter, and certainly no hope.
Then through the years, as concerts and events brought children's faces on sponsorship cards, I thought how awesome it would be to sponsor one. But I could never quite convince myself they were real, or that the money went to those specific children.
Visiting the village of Marmont in 2019, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Three hours up a mountain and off the beaten path, graciously, what I found were a group of people unlike anything I had imagined. I saw the most beautiful faces with the biggest smiles and hearts full of joy... Children running and squealing with laughter and mothers washing clothes and bathing babies in the river while teasing and splashing them. I experienced a village of people, who have barely any food to eat, prepare and feed our team with ALL THEY HAD. I was blown away by the humility of a woman who washed my muddy feet, and that of a boy who ripped his clothes to tend a slightly bleeding scrape he saw on my arm. Adults who sang loudly in church, praising the Lord with all their hearts... Children who held my hands to walk me down a mountain so that I didn’t fall, but also giggled at me when I slipped and made a funny face. Those are not just random faces on post cards. They are real people, with real hearts, real desires, and real dreams. I’ve been blessed to hold my sponsor children in my arms!
Looking back, at first glance, I saw through the wide eyes of a child, then later, the cynical eyes of an adult. BUT GOD. He, along with Love Haiti Partnership, has given me new eyes and a new perspective. The people I thought were poor turned out to be the richest of all. The people I thought missionaries went in to "save" were the ones saving me! They live without all of the distractions that we have. They have shown me what it means to value the most important things. To love with all I have. To give of everything I have. To praise the Lord and give thanks for ALL I have. Even if outwardly, all I have, doesn’t seem like much.
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:11-13
[Written by LHP Ambassador, Heather Alderman]