A Friend You've Never Met

This is Bakari. My wife and I have known him for 4 years now, but until a couple of months ago, had never met him in person. Recently, I got a chance to visit Kenya and observe the work that Compassion International does. Their mission is to release kids from poverty in Jesus' name.

Bakari is one of those kids.

He lives in a rural community and enjoys the simpler things in life. He likes rainy weather, he enjoys playing soccer and planting flowers. When I first had the chance to sponsor him through Compassion, he was a part of the project (the chapter through the local church) but didn't have a sponsor who specifically gave to him and would write him letters. My $43 a month goes towards his basic needs like food, water, and a school uniform. Plus, when the kids attend the project on Saturdays, they hear the gospel from the local church staff. On average, 8-10 people hear the good news about Jesus for EVERY kid sponsored. 4 years ago our friendship began, though we never thought we'd get to meet.

Compassion gave us the opportunity to meet, and it instantly became a day neither of us would forget. I sat with Bakari, his dad, and a director from Bakari's project. The conversation was basic, as we had trouble understanding each other to some degree. But the smiles from all of us were evident. This meal, with this family, helped me start to grasp how BIG the world is. But even if we have nothing else in common; we are unified in the body of Christ. That day, while we enjoyed talking about each other's cultures and points of view; the differences didn't matter. What mattered is that we are family.