For where your treasure is, there your heart will be

An article by Frank    1 Comment

As part of a determined “giving strategy” (which I may explain here at some stage), I sponsor a child in the Philippines. Her name is April.

April has been our sponsor child since 2005 and will be for as long as she is within the age to receive the support we have to offer. Prior to sponsoring April, I didn’t know much about the Philippines and certainly felt no connection to the region, investing money in a child there changed that.

I now have a rough knowledge of the Philippines and the area that April and her family live in. I somewhat understand the struggles that her family face and I use Google Earth often to look at the area that she lives in so I have a mental picture of where she is.

Note: Google Earth is brilliant when researching humanitarian issues as it can provide a visual awareness of any area you are looking into. Also, there is new information being added to it regularly. Anyone with an interest in humanitarian issues should use it.

A while ago I made a commitment to use the resources I have to serve a purpose greater than myself. Over time, it is amazing how this has shifted the things I feel attached to and the things I feel passionate about. In other words, it is amazing how this has changed my heart.

Sure, there are things I enjoy simply for the sake of enjoying them and sure, often times I still wrongly act like I’m the center of the world and can’t see past my own nose, but ultimately I do my best to bring my resources together to focus what I have on humanitarian issues. Because of that, my awareness of, and desire to be active in such issues has only grown. The ageless adage has proven itself to be true“where you treasure is, there your heart will be”

If you are someone who wants to learn, who wants to feel compassion, who wants to place your heart in the hands of the poor; if you are someone who wants to advocate for the voiceless, but just feel like your heart isn’t there – try investing some of your resources and see what happens. If you do, tell us your story. If you have, if you give in some way to humanitarian issues and it has worked on your heart in some way whether it be big or small, tell us your story. If you sponsor a child, tell us about your child and what you’ve learned about their situation. Email your thoughts and your story to frank@tearfund.org.nz.

If you would like to sponsor a child, call TEAR Fund on 0800 800 777.

Haiti Child Sponsorship Program