When our most recent photo of Robert came in the mail something about him looked different. He was a college student in his early twenties so I surmised it probably wasn’t that he had grown a foot between the two photos like Issouf, who is only ten.

“Does Robert look different to you?” I turned to my husband and handed him the photo.

“Yes,” he answered with certainty. But he couldn’t put his finger on it either. Suddenly the reality struck me and I ran to our refrigerator to compare his last photo to the one I was holding in my hands. It confirmed my suspicions.

“Michael,” I said with a wobbly voice. “The difference is that in the new picture Robert is actually smiling.”

Someone like Robert, who has grown up in a slum and gone to bed hungry on more nights than he can count, doesn’t have much to smile about. Friends, relatives and neighbors waste away to nothing in front of his eyes and he wonders if he will be next. It’s hard to dream about the future when you’re wondering where your next meal is going to come from.

In 2006 Michael and I began sponsoring Robert through Compassion’s Leadership Development Program. He is now a student at Kenyatta University studying sociology. In his letters Robert shares his dreams to change the world. He has an interest in politics and hopes to gain a position of influence so he can shape his nation and share Christ with many.

Robert’s faith is rock solid. And he constantly writes to us about prayer meetings and Bible studies he takes part in. Several months ago Michael and I sent Robert an outline of how to read the Bible in one year.

He excitedly wrote back to us saying that he had never read the entire Bible before. But he started using the reading plan and recently read books in the Bible that he had never opened. One of the books he read was Esther.

“Reading this book has taught me that God can place you in a certain position so that you can become a savior of a certain situation,” he wrote, “just as He raised Esther to be queen to save Mordecai and all the Jews from the hands of Haman.”

As a result of reading the book of Esther, Robert felt led to start a Christian club on campus at his university. He has assembled a team to help him, and the club will launch next month.

Robert has gained a position of influence on his campus, and other students will be shown their need for a saving relationship with Christ because of Robert’s boldness.

Once he completes his degree he will also be able to make the kind of income that will allow him to lift his entire family out of poverty. The slum where he grew up will be a distant memory. Someday Robert will likely get married and have children of his own, and to them poverty will be just a word and not a reality.

Sponsoring a leadership development student costs $300 a month, which isn’t a small amount. But if an entire youth group—or college group—joined together, I’m sure that $300 would be raised quicker than you might think.

Most American college students think they’re starving because they have to scrounge for change to make a Taco Bell run—I lived with that belief for four years. I know that the cost of going to college in America is steep, and it can be hard for college students to come up with extra cash.

Right now my husband, Michael, is a student at Biola University, and we have to write out a check each month to cover tuition. But we’ve been faithful to write out a check each month to pay Robert’s tuition too. And God has faithfully provided for us to make both payments every month. He will provide for you if you’re willing to take a step like that too.

Will you approach your youth group or college group this week and ask them to join you in investing in a leader who can make a difference for God’s kingdom and break the cycle of poverty in his or her family?