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Wrecked.

There was one specific moment at Catalyst that just messed me up. It was an unplanned and self-obliterating moment. Perhaps you had to be there, perhaps not. I just know that I can barely think of this moment without tears. I’m not even sure what to do with something as pure and powerful as this.

Compassion International introduced us to Jimmy, from Kenya, who was sponsored for 19 years. He told us that he’d formed a relationship with Jesus and how he was now training at the Moody Bible Institute to become a pastor and go back to Kenya. Jimmy now is sponsoring a child from Haiti. To say that his life has been changed is a dramatic understatement.

He was asked if he’d ever met his sponsor. He said no. They brought out Mark, the man who had chosen to sponsor Jimmy for those 19 years. Jimmy couldn’t handle it. He began weeping and sobbing and couldn’t stop. There were a massive amount of tears as Jimmy and Mark embraced. Eventually Jimmy couldn’t stand. He could only sit on the stage at the feet of his sponsor, sobbing, surrounded by 13,000 people. He was wrecked.

This is the uncontrollable response of someone who is introduced to his Rescuer.

Catalyst Compassion-Tom Howe (Photo by Tom Howe)


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5 Comments

Wow, what a beautiful example of how we should view what Jesus did for us.

Thank you for sharing.

Posted by Trina on 12 October 2009 @ 9am

That was the highlight of the entire event for me. And like the host said- that wasn’t a commercial or advertisement, that is the reality of how lives are changed through Compassion.

Posted by jason on 12 October 2009 @ 9am

This might come across bad: Im glad you got chance to be humbled by that experience. Im glad God messed you up. even just for a day or 2.
Cait.´s last blog ..Pro + Verb My ComLuv Profile

Posted by Cait. on 12 October 2009 @ 6pm

God has blessed us with a friend like Jimmy, who is a young(17) student/orphan in Uganda that we met indirectly via Christmas box project.
Your post/story motivates me to want to be more faithful because I can tell that Jimmy and our friend have the same heart for Jesus.

Thank you~

Posted by terry on 13 October 2009 @ 10am

Thanks for the comments guys. I am still floored by this. Working through what I believe God may want me to do with this. It's impossible to do nothing.

Posted by evanblackerby on 14 October 2009 @ 2am

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