International Day of the Girl Child

Yesterday... I was volunteering at my son's school for his FIRST Lego League team and when the morning announcements came on, I learned that yesterday was the first ever observance of International Day of the Girl Child!

On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

~ from the United Nations website.

The observance of this day is to basically raise awareness of the importance of empowering and investing in girls in order to help them to escape extreme poverty and discrimination, among other things.

Our girls...

Joy and thanksgiving filled my heart as I suddenly realize that God, in His grace, has allowed us to be a part of three such girls' lives through child sponsorship with Compassion International!

My girl, with our Compassion LDP student Rechelle... when we met her last year in Cebu, Philippines!

Hubby and myself, with our Compassion child Florianlyn and her mom... in Masbate, Philippines!

Happyness, my girl's Compassion sponsor "sister"... she lives in Tanzania.
We hope to meet her one day!!!

Because of Compassion's ministry... 
These girls will escape poverty. They will have an education. They will get medical care. They will be empowered. And most importantly, they have come to know and love God... they have an Eternal Hope!

And, friends... do you know what's so exciting about all this? Our family gets to be a part of these girls' lives and see miracles take place right before our very eyes! Oh. Such. Inexplicable. Joy!

Honestly, the blessings we have received from sponsoring these girls have overwhelmed us... and I'm not talking about material blessings, but heart-blessings... they have been abundant, overflowing, indescribable!

And at the last, this is what will determine a fulfilling, meaningful life, a life that, behind all the facades, every one of us longs to live: gratitude for the blessings that expresses itself by becoming the blessing.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

God's endless cycle of grace is truly beautiful! We are blessed and God's love compels us to become the blessing. Yet in blessing these girls and their families, we have found that we are abundantly blessed in return. Blessing upon blessing, joy multiplying joy! 

A beautiful thing to celebrate, if you ask me! :-)

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!