One Life: Standing in the Gap
For a decade, Westsiders have dedicated themselves to serving the Last, the Lost, and the Least around the world through the One Life Child Sponsorship program. This program operates in five countries and continuously provides a way for the most vulnerable children in their communities to have educational opportunities, skills training, and daily nutritional needs met, all alongside the love and teachings of Jesus.
Each year, a One Life advocate visits each site to perform assessments and check in with the site leaders and children they serve. Recently, the team met with the leaders of Restore. This particular One Life site operates undercover in a Southeast Asian country known for persecuting Christians and minority ethnic groups.
One Life team member, Lauren Benson, shares this update from their visit. Even when things don't go as we would hope, God is moving in the darkest corners of the world.
When COVID hit and normal world processes shut down, our One Life team was unable to travel to see our partners and sites. Thankfully, through our constant communication with staff overseas, we knew the sites and the children were in good hands.
Restore’s Site Leaders
One by one, as countries began opening back up, we could see the sites with our own eyes again, and we were amazed by what God had done despite the pandemic. During this time, He also opened the door for us to partner with a couple already ministering and caring for 30 children in a country filled with daily persecution of Christians and various ethnic tribal groups. Most of the children in their care have backgrounds in human trafficking.
While we had been connected with this couple for years, it was now that the Lord was saying yes to opening a site that would come to be known as "Restore." However, shortly after Restore opened, the military staged a coup, and the country retreated further into a lockdown.
The pandemic and a military coup wrecked the daily lives of the citizens of this already war-torn country. On paper, this should have been a terrible time for One Life to open a site in this country, but the Lord is a provider and a way-maker, and we do not always understand His timing.
Not all has gone the way we would have hoped. Some of the children have been forced into the military to serve as child soldiers, and parents have sold some of the daughters into marriage for money despite the help we have provided. We have wept, and we hold fast to the Truth of Jesus. God sees each one of these children and knows them by name.
This is exactly why One Life exists. We stand in the gap to share the Gospel and provide a new way for these children. As it stands, there are currently 33 children being cared for at Restore and learning about what Jesus has done for them. Additionally, they are receiving an education, and we are exploring alternative options for them to learn marketable skills that would provide them with more opportunities to support themselves. Without the generosity of our One Life sponsors, we would be unable to provide this care for the children. Sponsors are truly changing lives and making an impact in communities around the world.
Please lift Restore up to the Lord in your prayers for the safety of the site leaders and the children. We pray for those who are no longer on the program to know the Lord and walk with Him. He holds these children in His hands, and his reach extends farther than we can fathom.
Currently, 10 children await sponsorship. For just $38 per month, you can change a child’s life. To learn more about One Life child sponsorship or to sponsor a child, visit http://www.onelifechild.org or email our One Life team at info@onelifechild.org for more information.