For our family, it is a
way to love and feed fatherless children around the globe, some of whom we may
never meet. As a mom of seven children, ranging in ages from ten to
twenty-nine, I have seen God lead our ordinary family on an incredible
adventure as missionaries with Vision Trust International; my husband, Scott, often
traveling into remote places.
On a recent trip to
Central African Republic, Scott met two Vision Trust workers who were unable to speak of what they
witnessed for two weeks after returning. Their job was to prepare mush in
a large pot at a makeshift cook station. Beyond the pot, was a fence,
which surrounded those children fortunate enough to be sponsored*, and excluded
more than a hundred children hoping for sponsorship. Three or four of the smallest unsponsored orphans watched the workers spoon mush out of the pot into the bowls, child by
child, until there was nothing left, and the spoon scraped the last precious
mush out. Their eyes grew moist in the dry dusty air; they held each
other’s hands tightly using the t-shirt that hung on the tallest one to wipe
the lines of tears from their dirty faces. The children’s ages were much
too hard to determine, perhaps three or four years old, but they were old
enough to understand that the pot was empty, and they would not eat that
day. Some in similar situations attempt to fill their swollen bellies
with dirt, rocks, anything available. 
Inside the fence, there
had been many children lined up, too many, and workers had shared portions with
as many unsponsored children as possible until there was barely a serving for
the children inside the fence. Whose food could be taken away so that
others could eat? There are a hundred more children waiting for
sponsorship, and a hundred more after them, and a hundred more after
them. It is a seemingly impossible situation that most of us with incomes
and grocery stores on every corner cannot imagine. I understand why those
workers could not speak of what they witnessed when they returned. It is
too impacting, too raw. And so the workers do what they can to comfort
crying children, stretching every spoonful to include as many as
possible.
I want to hold those
outside the fence and comfort them. That is what my Daddy created me to
do. To be hands that hold, hands that love, hands that feed those I don’t
even know or may never meet. It is a big world with a big list of hurting
kids, but we serve a HUGE God, and Vision Trust IS making a difference, one
child at a time. When we give just one cup of water in the name of Jesus,
we are giving one to God. Now, that’s truly amazing!
* When a child is sponsored, their food, medical care, education, housing,
etc. are paid for by an individual or organization through a monthly commitment
or one-time gift. Click on www.visiontrust.org for more information about Vision Trust International, or contact Scott or Tonya Couch at Scottc@visiontrust.org or Tonyasnotes@gmail.com.
Tonya Couch is a writer of inspirational topics and lives with her husband and children in Lewisville, NC. Scott and Tonya serve as missionaries with Vision Trust International, a 501c3 with headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO.; impacting children and orphanages in over sixteen countries for Christ.
Tonya Couch is a writer of inspirational topics and lives with her husband and children in Lewisville, NC. Scott and Tonya serve as missionaries with Vision Trust International, a 501c3 with headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO.; impacting children and orphanages in over sixteen countries for Christ.
