“Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”
The time was 1947. The place, China. The communists under Mao Tse Tung had begun “The War of Liberation”, and Chiang Kai-Shek’s government armies were being pushed hack.
Nonetheless a young American evangelist by the name of Bob Pierce had preached with good success in Shanghai, Hangchow, Nanking wherever Christian missionaries could arrange meetings. His last stop was at the University of Amoy on Amoy (now Xiamen) Island in the Formosa Strait. Hundreds of college students made decisions for Christ. Upon hearing him, a tall Dutch reformed missionary named Tena asked Bob to stay over and speak to the 400 children who attended the mission school she ran nearby. He agreed. He spent four days telling, as simply as he knew how, the good news of Jesus to the Chinese schoolchildren. When he felt the time was ripe, he appealed to them to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, then go home and share with their parents their new faith. Many young hearts were gathered into the Kingdom.
The next morning, as Bob prepared to leave Amoy, he stopped by the school to say goodbye to Tena and thank her for the opportunity to minister to the children. Instead of the gracious early morning reception he had expected, a distraught woman met him at the Front door. In her arms was a child. The little girl was still sobbing. Her back was a lurid pattern of red lines and purple splotches. She obviously had been whipped and beaten. Her thin dress was soaked with blood. Her eyes were puffy from crying and she hold on to Tena’s neck as if her life depended on it.
“What happened?’ Bob asked. “White Jade did just what you asked, Tena replied. “She went straight home and told her parents she had become a Christian and would worship only the one true God. Look what it cost her! Her Father screamed that she had dishonored her ancestors, beat her and threw her out of the house. Tena thrust the traumatized little girl into Bob’s arms and asked, “Now, what are you going to do about it? I have six other children already sharing my rice bowl!
Bob held the child awkwardly. White Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Every few moments, she shuddered with the residing sobs. Tears streamed down Tena’s red face. Her lip quivered, but her jaw was clenched. The pain in her eyes demanded an answer. Pierce was shaken to the core of his being. The enormous social implications of Christ’s gospel began to unfold in his mind. The incredibly vulnerable child in his arms was a child of the King. And she needed to be cared for.
Tena stood, unmoving, waitinq for an answer. “All I have is five dollars..” he said meekly. The bold, confident evangelist-before-thousands was humbled and quieted by the needs of the precious child he held, “That’s fine”, she answered. “I’II take it. Five dollars will buy enough cloth for a new dress, some rice and a new slate for school. When you get home, send me five dollars every month. I’ll let White Jade sleep in the kitchen. I promise you I’ll take care of her.”
World Vision was born with that five dollars; a ministry dedicated to caring for the white jades of this world, propelled by the prayer Pierce wrote in the fly leaf of his Bible- “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”
(Excerpt from One Life at a Time by Robert A. Seiple, compiled by Burce Brander, WV Information and Communications Group)
what an exceptional story of faith…salamat kaibigan!
very nice background. i have seen how World Vision has succeeded in their goal to help the marginalized. this definitely gave us a bigger outlook.
thanks for sharing.. napakagandang istorya. Napakalawak na ng narating ng isang 5 dollar.. napakarami na nitong natutulungan sa buong mundo.. at mga sumusuporta sa proyekto ng World Vision…
as in eto ba yung World Vision na NGO? ang ganda naman pala ng simula nya… a bit heartbreaking but look at it now.. still growing and really helping a lot of children.
nice entry. ngayon ko lang ito nalaman.
Hi Mark!
Wow, I pass by World Vision’s office almost every day, dito sa QC. I have heard so much about World Vision but it is only now that I’ve read how it came about. Inspiring post, and very interesting.
Happy Mother’s Day pala sa Mom mo, kapatid. I will be offline tomorrow kaya pasensya na at advance itong greetings ko.
Thanks for the email, Mark. Nag-reply na po ako
ah… the 5 dollar really has a way of moving around and touching lives. very inspiring.
you have a great blog here! more power
hey friend, thanks for dropping by. indeed when you subsumed all your comments you may have ended in one nice article. add it with numbers and you’ll have one whole package. hehehe
love your posts here.
Bless you by God always. 
mind if we exchange link?
hope to hear more from you about World Vision. sa kwento ng mga kaklase kong tsino at vietnamita, patuloy pa rin ang pag-uusig sa mga kristyano sa bansa nila.
ngapala, alam mo bang may mga ka-blog tayo na puro kalokohan ang laman ng blogs pero mga regular contributors sila sa mga ganitong parehong projects?ü
God bless!
hooops sorry, you already enlisted me. my turn sir.
by the way, may i have the right to ask you to put TóTómel instead of inkblots?if you wouldn’t mind of course.hehehe.
**{{pabulong}}**
…letter P ang start ng name sa blogroll mo…
shhh… wag ka maingay.
baka mahuli akong itsinitsismis ang kanyang alteregong mala-mother teresa. hehehe…
yes, i will. thanks Mark
What White Jade experienced is the same thing happening to Christian and Catholic bloggers. No further explanation. Just observe and you will see what I mean hehe nangintriga pa ano?
Anyhow, I always heard of World Vision from people in and out of the blogosphere. But I never knew the story behind til now. Never thought it was a Christian NGO. I thought it was a non-sectarian NGO like Habitat for Humanity. Bahay Kalinga is I think founded by the Couples for Christ President. Tama ba?
“Small missions always start from Big Realizations” – anonymous known as bluep
lagi kong naririnig ang tungkol sa world vision pero mas naunawaan ko ito ngayon.
matindi parin ang pag-uusig sa mga kristiyano kaya naman patuloy nag-aalab ang Kristo sa puso ng mga kapatid at kahit anong gawin nila, patuloy na dumarami at lumalawak ang kristiyanismo sa china at iba pang bansa…
Kagaya ng pahapyaw na sinabi ko kay Blu, meron lang akong dinidiligan na pangarap along White Jade’s vision. Kung Kanyang kalooban ay bubuka ito na parang bulaklak at yayabong sa Kanyang panahon…Ipagdasal mo ako…God bless.
Wala talaga akong alam sa World Vision so thanks for posting this inspiring story.
di ba un ung 600 monthly to help 1 child?
wow. that’s faith. you know? kung wala nun.. kahit na 5 dolyar mo, walang manyayari.. Nice story bro..
Hi! I just want to thank you for helping us spread the word about helping children through World Vision Child Sponsorship.
I tried to google World Vision’s founder Bob Pierce in search for more photos. Right there,
I saw your blog on top of the list. Because of supporters like you, World Vision’s work for the children goes on…and through the generation we are reaching out today, may our cause live as long as there is a poor child needing help.
I am part of World Vision’s fundraising team for more almost 5 years now.
And I will always be privileged to witness the generosity of Filipinos like you
every single day.
You’re most welcome!:-)
Sir, ang ganda ng photos and blogs mo.
I hope someday we can engage you more as one of our sponsor – volunteers.