Reading through his story, I couldn't put my head around it. The desperation that this little guy must have felt was beyond anything I could imagine. He was one of the millions of orphans in Ethiopia. But unlike most of them, he had been rescued from the streets and put in an orphanage called New Hope Center. His story was just one of many stories of rejection, loss, abuse, neglect, and loneliness and with each story, my heart was wrecked.

Six years ago, my daughter, Kassi and I had made a trip to Africa to be a part of a mission team to help at New Hope. When our church first heard of this little orphanage almost twelve years ago, it was about to be shut down by the government. Due to lack of funds, the children were starving just as they had on the streets. Upon hearing their plight, our church stepped in. As a result, the orphanage was now solid and the children were growing and healthy.

Being part of the mission trip was life changing and when the trip was over, one thing was certain. We had to go back. Fortunately we were able to return the following two years and with each trip, the children became more dear to us. But due to a number of personal issues, we hadn't been back for three years. My heart ached for the darlings that we loved so much that were growing up without us.

In order to continue being a part of them, I had taken on the role of helping to match sponsors with children, assisting existing staff who identified and brought new children into the orphanage. It was in this role that I had the privilege of reading each of the children's stories. Each story told of tragedy and loss like I couldn't imagine. Many of the children were AIDS orphans. Others had disabilities and were abandoned by their parents. All came from horrible living conditions and had no access to basic food and shelter, let alone an education.

But because God caused our church to intervene, the orphanage was growing and each child now had clothing, food, shelter, and was receiving an education. Each year, more children joined the existing family of children and this past year, eight new children had been rescued, bringing the total to 66 children. When we had our annual sponsorship weekend at church, we focused on finding sponsors for the new children as well as a few others who weren't completely sponsored. It is our goal to have three sponsors for each child in order to fund their needs.

As sponsorship weekend wrapped up, we were four sponsors short. Then I learned that one of our current sponsors who supported two children had unintentionally double paid so he asked to sponsor two more. Then, due to the connection of the doctor who works closely with the children, another woman stepped forward. But that still left one. After working for several hours on the sponsorship paperwork, I left the church, thinking of that one child who needed one more sponsor. I had barely left the parking lot when I realized I had forgotten something so turned around and returned to the church.

Walking into the church, I passed a friend who flagged me down and then introduced me to her friend. She then explained that this lady wanted to sponsor a child. I was stunned. That was the last child. God wasn't going to settle for one less sponsorship than needed. Once again, I was reminded of God's provision. He knew before those sweet children were even brought into the orphanage that they would need sponsors. He filled every single need.....just like He always does. "And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:9. Wow, God!