Brian and I have been feeling called to support a ministry to orphans, so I was on the Compassion International website to see what they offered. When Nathan saw me looking, we had a conversation about Compassion and the various ministries they have (unfortunately, none specifically to orphans, though lots to prevent them!) and Nathan was overwhelmed by the need.
He immediately pulled out his guitar and enlisted his sister to form a street band to play for money on the corner. Can you tell this child has grown up in an urban environment? Well, besides that I wasn't super cool with the idea of my four and six year olds begging for money on the corner, I wanted to make sure that Nathan understood the concept of giving sacrificially. To be honest, we haven't covered the idea of tithing at all with him.
So anyway, I talked with him about giving some of his own money. He had about $20 saved up from birthday money, lost teeth and coins stolen from his parents. He was a little worried about that. I told him to pray about how much he should give, and that God loves a cheerful giver, so not to give more than he could feel good about. Then I sent him upstairs to figure it out. I really had no idea what to expect.
He came down shortly (much sooner than I expected, actually), with a big smile. He'd settled on $2.07. I was so proud of him! He assured me that he could give that much cheerfully. Then we talked about asking his grandparents to match him. He called each of them, and they gave, and Brian and I also matched him. He raised a total of $11.21. Big money when you're six!
So we sent it off with a note explaining what he'd done. And now I love Compassion even more. This arrived about a week later.
How awesome is that?
Beyond awesome. Thank you for sharing this, Miranda. I am always inspired by the conversations you have with Nathan.
ReplyDeleteThat's really cool! I love that Nathan was moved to help support them and excited about giving some of his own money.
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