Day by day
October 28, 2020
Ever wonder what we do in any given month? What does it mean to be a ‘Global Child Advocate’?
As simple as it sounds, what we are doing on a daily, weekly, monthly basis is just this: Pushing for real change while giving real kids a safe home, one day at a time.
To better understand, try to imagine you’re with us for a day in the life of a GCA team member in Thailand.
You start the day at our office. As you walk in, you hear multiple languages spoken amidst laughter and warmth. You hear exchanges in Burmese and Thai. Karen and Chin. Sojourn Studio artisans are arriving for the day at our brand new studio and coffee is already brewed. The morning bustle fills you with energy for your day.
Then you load up. Your first stop is in a local community facing extreme poverty. As you hop off your motorbike, you greet neighbors. Friends. These are not strangers, these are people you have devoted your life and time to getting to know. Before you make your first stop, you wave to another friend down the street and smile broadly. No one bats an eye as you roll up, because they are used to the GCA team being here.
You step inside the first family’s house. A single mother lives here. Her babies were born early and struggled with health challenges, but she brightens as you enter the home. She smiles as she tells you how much joy you bring her home every time you come check in on her.
Next, you visit an elderly couple. The husband’s health issues have drained their savings, so you bring in food support and assess sustainable ways they can earn more. You’ve visited more often during COVID and you’ve shared about the hope in Jesus.
Lastly, you stop by the house of another young mother. This woman married a man who had another family back in Burma he neglected to mention. She has wrestled to untangle herself from her husband’s unfaithfulness so you have visited often to remind this mama that she is not alone. You’ve found that she needs a unique blend of support, both the emotional support and happiness your visit brings to her home and help budgeting her finances. This time, you sit with her to explore ways she could earn income and share local resources that will help her save money. Before you leave, she says it feels like a weight has been lifted and you see newfound confidence in her eyes.
As you get back on your motorbike after the last home visit, you breathe a deep sigh. None of this is easy and you wish you could simply snap your fingers, and poof! These families’ pain would be gone. But today you were here. You remind yourself that you’re following in the well-worn steps of Jesus, who indeed became a human and “moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14).
Before heading home, you stop in at the dump community to see if your teammates need any help. A swarm of kids rush to your bike and beg you to play soccer but this month you’re needed home early.
As you pull into your house, your wife and son spill out of the front door. Their laughter and joy immediately fills your lungs with hope afresh. Then behind them, another little boy emerges, a bit more shyly, but with a sweet grin nonetheless.
This is your foster son for this month.
His foster mom is getting some much needed rest and relaxation, so the kids from our foster home are being loved well by their extended GCA family. You grin as you bend down to greet him and ask him about his day. As small as this feels at times, you know… this too matters.
From pushing for policy change, to helping refugees collect proper paperwork, to delivering rice, to playing soccer at the dump, to bending down to greet your boy and your foster son. It all matters.
It’s heavy, it’s hard, it’s brutal and it’s beautiful.
Our teams are working hard to change the world for children.
Kid by kid. Day by day.