Lessons on Perspective in the Dominican Republic

Last month, my staff director Eileen Kirkland and I went on a five-day ministry trip to the Dominican Republic, visiting a series of areas where Compassion International works. I regularly speak and share about Compassion, but had not previously had a chance to see their on-the-ground work in person. Plus, I have two sponsored children with Compassion (and Eileen actually sponsors a boy she met on the trip!) so I was eager to get a sense for the kids’ day-to-day experience as part of the program.

I was blown away.

After this trip, I’m even more passionate about encouraging people to sponsor a Compassion child than I was before. If that’s something you’ve been considering, I’d urge you not to wait. Find a child waiting for a sponsor. (Here’s a picture of some adorable kids from a Compassion preschool class we visited, dressed in their best (which sometimes they borrowed) clothes to greet us. There were 35 kids in that class, four of whom don’t yet have a sponsor. The little kids standing with me and Eileen—who CLEARLY aren’t sure what these white ladies are doing!—are three of the four.)

I also learned a lot on this trip about perspective—especially how crucial it is to wrestle with our hearts and our attitudes.

So here are four lessons from my trip overseas, but that apply to every aspect of our lives here at home. (With a few fun pictures along the way.)

Lesson #1. We need to purposefully shift our perspective

In the research for my devotional book Find Rest, we identified “shifting our perspective” as one of eight elements that can lead to a life of rest instead of stress. Especially important is building a habit of gratitude and noticing blessings rather than frustrations.

Nothing will shift your perspective more quickly than seeing great need and recognizing the many things you have to be grateful for. For example, when in the DR, we walked from the Compassion center to the very poor neighborhood near the river (see the arrow in the picture below). We visited with a mom who lives with her two daughters in an 8-foot-by-9-foot home without electricity or running water, in 105-degree heat. They live mere feet from a river that regularly floods—leaving her family homeless until the water subsides. Yet she borrowed pretty dresses for herself and her girls, to greet us with dignity and tell us, “God is all I have.”

The corrugated metal structure behind the mom (in red) is her home. One bed and two plastic chairs take up almost the entire space. But thanks to Compassion’s “Survival Moms” program, she now had prenatal and post-natal care for her adorable baby, medical care for herself and her 11-year-old daughter (who is hidden behind my hat!), food, and vocational training to provide a way for the whole family to escape poverty. All in the name of Jesus. It’s really amazing. (Can you see why I’m so passionate about Compassion?)

I walked away asking God to help me be actively grateful, from now on, for electricity, running water …  and air conditioning. That’s a key perspective shift.

The view from the Compassion center roof of the neighborhood we would visit, far downhill by the river. (Left)

Walking through that neighborhood (in 105-degree heat!) (Center)

A mom and her two daughters, who are part of Compassion’s Survival Moms program. (Right)

Lesson #2: ALL of us can serve

In the DR, poverty was all around us. And the church members helping were often living in poverty. It was humbling and emotional to watch people who had very little for themselves pour out their hearts for others. All of us have something to share.

The churches and Compassion centers seek to lift up the kids to serve others, too. In one worship service, we learned that this eight-year-old boy was going to preach. We probably smiled a little indulgently when he stood up—and then we were all absolutely blown away when he delivered a short but powerful and engaging message from Habakkuk. (Habakkuk!) I was thinking to myself, “Whoever is sponsoring this child is sponsoring (and educating, and feeding and encouraging) the next Billy Graham.”

Walking with the local Compassion and church staff through their neighborhood. (The Compassion “hosts”/translators are carrying heavy bags of food for families we would visit.) (Left)

An eight-year-old boy delivers a powerful message in church. (Right)

Lesson #3: We must notice and honor what the church is doing well

One of Compassion’s primary ministry policies is that Compassion works through the local church. Each Compassion center partners with a church that God is already using in that community. So all week in the DR, I was watching what the church was doing well.

We can do that, too.

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus told those who follow Him, “You are the light of the world.” And yet, how many times do we engage in inadvertent (or overt) church-bashing instead of honoring what Christ has built? We may have legitimate concerns—and God has given us biblical mechanisms to confront those. But we should be very careful about publicly tearing down what Christ sought to build up.

When Eileen and I visited the home of her sponsored child, the director of the Compassion center at the local church came with us. (The man in the gray checked shirt in the photo below.) On the long walk to and from the child’s home in this impoverished area, the Compassion director couldn’t go thirty feet without interacting with local residents. Everyone knew and recognized him. They knew he loved them, and they loved him.

The church is GOD’S plan, not ours. It is so important to see that the vast majority of churches, pastors, and Christians are trying to follow His plan as best they can. We must always be willing to look for and honor the GOOD things our local churches and their leaders are doing.

Eileen, the translator (next to her) and the Compassion center director, praying for the family of Eileen’s sponsored child (the boy in blue).

Lesson #4: God is always at work

Finally, we must not just stop to notice what the CHURCH is doing, but what GOD is doing. Over and over on the trip, we saw the truth of Jesus’ words from John 5:17: “God is always working, and so am I.” Here’s one example:

At one Compassion center, one of the pastors of the church was leaving the next morning for another Caribbean island to speak about marriage at a women’s conference. At the end of our day there, we were giving the staff the gifts we had brought for them from the U.S. (For example, I brought several deflated soccer balls and pumps, to give the kids some additional options for outdoor play.) 

One couple in our group—a lead singer for a well-known Christian band, and his wife— pulled their final gifts out of the extra duffel bag that they had brought along, then looked at the now-empty bag.

“Hmm,” the singer said to the pastor, “Could anyone use this duffel bag?”

The pastor looked thunderstruck. Almost to the point of tears. Through the translator, she told him that she had prepared her message and had set everything in order to leave early the next morning. But the one thing she didn’t yet have (and couldn’t really afford) was a bag to pack her clothes into for the trip.

All of us wanted to cry, right along with her. What a small signal of a big God working—always working—behind the scenes in our lives.

A final note: If you feel God calling you to be a part of what He is doing through Compassion, I’d urge you to take the leap. I’ve seen firsthand how He multiplies the resources needed to sponsor a child. For $43 a month, you can lift a child out of poverty by providing them with food, clean water, education, medical care (for their whole family), encouragement (you can write and get to know them if you want!) and learning about Jesus. Sponsor a child with Compassion.

And if you are interested in having Shaunti speak on kindness for your workplace, church, school or community group, please contact Nicole Owens at nowens@shaunti.com.

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