Indonesia (MNN) — When you think of third world countries, do you expect kids to have big dreams for the future? Many of us might answer no, whether we think it’s because of a lack of opportunities or resources.
However, AMG International’s children’s sponsorship program educates impoverished kids so they can one day accomplish their dreams.
Children Sponsorship in Indonesia
(Photo courtesy of AMG International via Facebook)
AMG’s Bill Passons recently visited a school in Indonesia that is sponsored by the ministry.
While Indonesia is primarily Muslim, and #38 on Open Doors World Watch List, Passons says the school has a good relationship with the community because the people know how kind, loving, and caring they are to their children.
When Passons arrived at the school, the children were very excited.
“To be in the mass of kids and all their happy, smiling faces, and jumping, and running, and grabbing a hold of you and that’s always a joy,” Passons says. “But, probably my favorite part is going and doing home visits. We get to walk to their house and talk to families and kind of hear about the impact that the program is making in their life.”
One of the home visits Passons made was to a Christian woman’s home. She had two kids of her own that were in AMG’s program. She had also taken in two Muslim children in the program because their parents divorced and their mother went to another city to try to provide for them.
Passons noted that the house the Christian woman had was a small shelter made of wood. “There’s probably 12-by-12-foot room and five people are living in this one room, sharing this one bed, eating in this room. So you kind of see, I guess, the poverty,” he explains.
Yet with the little she had, the Christian woman provided for these two children who weren’t hers because she wanted to show them the love and kindness of Jesus, which acts as a testimony to them and others around them.
A Vision for the Future
Passons spoke with one of the children whom the woman took in. Her name is Riya and she’s 11-years-old.
“Riya’s in the fifth grade and so we got to hear a little bit about the challenges of her life and the poverty. But when you look at her, the thing that is so striking is the joy that she has.”
Though Riya comes from a Muslim family, she’s been so moved by the love believers have shown her. This includes the woman she and her brother live with and her teachers. They’ve had such a big impact on her heart that she’s chosen Jesus as her savior and even wants to be baptized.
“We were rejoicing with her for that and then she started telling us about how she had been doing well in school and how because of the love that the teachers were showing to her, she really wanted to do well and to achieve,” Passons says. “She was ranked high in the top ten percent of her class. And again, despite her circumstances, [she] was doing very well.”
Riya is just one example of how AMG’s programs impact children.
(Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash)
Many impoverished children in Indonesia don’t have the opportunity to attend school because they can’t pay for tuition, books, or uniforms. However, AMG and child sponsors have blessed kids by giving them the tools, sponsorship, and resources they need to succeed. This has given them a vision and hope for the future that many other children may not have.
With the support Riya has received, she is excitedly looking forward to the future and even hopes to go to college one day.
“She doesn’t have any earthly possessions, but because people have loved her and chose to help support her, not only is she thriving now, she has hope for the future and even aspires to be a doctor, something that I would say would be almost impossible without the help and the intervention of those who love Christ and are investing in the future,” Passons says.
Act with AMG
You can help Indonesian children like Riya learn about Jesus and embrace their dreams too through sponsorship with AMG.
“We have an opportunity right now for you to sponsor…40 kids that are just like Riya that are experiencing the love of Christ, but would love to have an individual sponsor not only that would help step in financially but more importantly, that would be praying for these individuals, these young kids.”
Please also pray for kids with AMG to respond to the message of Christ.
