"To be able to help is privilege because we were blessed to be a blessing."
Since 2013, one of the daughters of the owner of Aster DM Healthcare, expressed her intention to sponsor Filipino kids for scholarship and asked me if I could help her find some of them. This was after being able to help several children with congenital heart defects through our Save the Little Hearts program. It was a thrilling thought but I realized it was not easy to qualify deserving children and left me frustrated not having shared this blessing to anyone. In the meantime, we continued with our charity of saving "little hearts" in our quiet way, reaching out to more families with this need through our FB page's 1Like, 1Heart to Save.
Last Wednesday morning (30 July 2014), I got a call from Wish Ko Lang asking me if we would be interested to sponsor a street kid who is a Math genius. Not hooked up on Facebook nor TV regularly, I didn't know about him. When they sent me the link to his video, I was fascinated by his talent and did some background check. They wanted an immediate answer because they needed to air it in three days so the shooting should be made immediately. I politely said it is quite impossible for us to do it at this time given the Eid holidays in our head office and we didn't desire to be shown on TV. That night I prayed for signs to know His will and watched the kid's video several times which had already hit more than 100,000 views.
On Thursday morning (31 July 2014), I prayed again that if they have not yet found a sponsor at that time, then we will do it, taking full confidence in God's provisions. I called to get more details and to my surprise discovered that the child's desire is to take up Civil Engineering, not in any ordinary school, but in the University of Santo Tomas (UST). What a coincidence! I am a Thomasian myself where my daughter is also finishing her final year in Advertising Arts. Added to this, they live on the streets of Sampaloc where I was born and spent most of my life. By lunchtime, getting all the confirmation I needed from God, we finalized our sponsorship for full scholarship from grade school to college.
I am writing this to remind us that indeed God works in ways we do not understand. He uses ordinary people to deliver His love, inspire others, and bring hope. IT IS NOT TO TRUMPET OUR GOOD WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE SHOULD BOAST (Eph. 2:9)
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!" -- Ephesians 3:20-21
Joyce Socao-Alumno
Country Manager - Philippines
Hello fellow Thomasian!
ReplyDeleteHis ways are always magnificent. The people that sorrounded that little boy whiz were made instrument by the Lord to be led to you. That boys' life and his family will change forever. May he continue to do well in his studies and 1 Filipino family is saved from poverty. Goodness always prevail through people like yourself.