Testimonials
Since its inception, Children of the World International Children's Choir has impacted many people in more ways than we could have ever imagined. Here are some of their stories.
Shova Subedi came to us as a 12-year-old girl from Nepal to be on our very first Children of the World
choir in 2000. Through child sponsorship, and as a result of her being
a part of the choir, she is our first child to attend college. Shova
is excited to return for a third year and serve as a chaperone for the
2008-09 tour. Her life and testimony is an encouragement to her
sponsor in particular, but to all sponsors . . . you truly can make a
difference in the life of a child!
It was June 2001 and the director of children’s ministries at our
church asked us if we would host three young members of a choir who
would be singing at our church on Sunday. Little did we know that we
would have three of the most precious missionaries in our midst that
weekend, three little girls who would have a significant impact on our
lives.
Shova, Esther, and Kim were members of World Help’s Children of the World
choir. From Nepal, Burma, and India, not only did these little girls
steal our hearts, they showed us Jesus in ways we had never seen or
experienced. They brought the mission field into our home and let us
see how the Gospel was affecting lives in countries and cultures we
knew nothing about.
We remember the children singing the song, "What If I Gave All." The
children gave so much, especially their priceless gift of innocent,
sweet love. How could we possibly give that back in a way that would
impact the lives of these children or children like them around the
world?
Through World Help’s Child Sponsorship Program, we have been able to
do exactly that--provide prayers and resources for Hira Devi Mahato,
a girl living in a remote part of Nepal. Though we have never met Hira,
we receive updates and pictures from her and have been blessed as we
have watched her grow from a child to a beautiful young woman pursuing
Jesus. It is truly a privilege for our family to serve God in this way.
And what about those girls who spent that June weekend with us?
Shova has become like a daughter to Patty and me and a sister to our
children. Through personal visits both in her home country of Nepal and
here in the U.S., as well as telephone and email, we have built a
relationship that continues to encourage us to do just as she did,
following Christ’s commission to go into all the world and make
disciples of all nations.
Scott & Patty Griffin
Italo & Duda are siblings who participated in the 2005 Children of the World (COTW) tour. Before coming to the U.S. for the choir, these children had been removed from their mother's custody because of her continual drug abuse and life on the street. They had suffered unimaginable emotional pain. These children's lives have been completely transformed because of the opportunities the children's choir provided for them. Since their return to Brazil in 2006, these children have been adopted by their loving aunt and her family. World Help was honored to partner with the ministry in Recife to provide a new home complete with furnishings for this new family.
We are so thankful for the wonderful opportunity which COTW offered these children. We recently visited with their school principal and she shared that Duda has won over all with her sweet smile and talkative, outgoing spirit. Italo now has so much more self-confidence. THANK YOU for taking our precious children with great potential and giving them opportunity!!! We love and appreciate you, World Help!!!
Donna Faircloth - World Help Partner - Recife, Brazil
My husband and I started hosting children from the Children of the World choir seven years ago, before we even had children of our own. Before we met the children that were going to stay with us, we were nervous and fearful about how we were going to communicate with them and care for them while they were in our home. God’s amazing love enabled us to work through any cultural differences, and our first experience was so rewarding and life changing that we have never had any doubts about opening our home to these children every year since then. The first year we kept two little boys from India named Mangginlian and L.B.T. They were only seven and nine years old at the time, and our family grew to love them during the time they stayed with us. The boys are now both teenagers, and we are so blessed by the letters we receive from them on a regular basis, and by our memories of the time we spent with them. Thanks to this incredible opportunity, our children are growing up with a very clear understanding of the needs of children around the world. They are able to make a difference for some of these children by showing them love and welcoming them into our home. Thank you, World Help, for all that you are doing through the Children of the World ministry. It has truly blessed our family, and we look forward to many more years of serving the Lord by opening our home to the Children of the World.
Suzie & Lance Smith
I am Roldan “Rey” Mabano, one of the sponsored kids in the Philippines and a member of the very first Children of the World choir. I would just like to say thank you very much for your help for me to continue my studies. Last April 2007 I graduated high school, and that success would not be possible without your help. Even though I don’t have a father with me right now, I am still thankful to God, that He used somebody as an instrument for me to pursue my studies.
On the day I went on stage to accept my diploma, I just didn’t know how to thank God for using World Help in my life. This coming school year I will be in college, and I would like to say thank you again. I am only able to go to college through your help. I will do my best to pass and reach my dreams and goals in life.
Rey