If you’ve ever been hiking in the wilderness, you know that if you see bear cubs, there’s probably a protective mother bear nearby. She’s keeping an eye on her offspring and won’t hesitate to protect them! I had a chance to meet up with some rather fierce mama bears recently.

I’m Paul Perrault, the producer for Mornings with Carmen on Faith Radio. Faith Radio is part of Northwestern Media which runs radio stations throughout the Midwest. A few months ago, we were invited by OneChild to learn more about their work in helping children in 14 countries. OneChild works in developing parts of the world helping children grow in their faith and knowledge of Jesus; and live empowered, redemptive lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

I had the honor of being Faith Radio’s representative on a visit to see firsthand the work OneChild is doing in Honduras. OneChild works with some powerful, spiritual “mama bears!”

On this visit to Honduras, we had the opportunity to tour four Hope Centers. Hope Centers are run by local churches in their neighborhoods. The leaders and most of the volunteers at the Hope Centers I visited are women…some of the most tenacious, loving mama bears I’ve met.

Ok, I did meet a few loving papa bears, as well. But the women I met really stood out to me. These mama bears have a heart not just for their own children, but for the children of their impoverished and dangerous communities (crime and gang violence is the norm in many of these places). They want better for these kids. They want the Gospel to permeate their cities! Like us here in America, they want a future for their families and their country!

They work hard every week to make sure the neighborhood children (and their families) are supported spiritually, emotionally, educationally, and physically. There was more than one time I heard of one of the mama bears going out to help a child who were being roped in by street gangs!

From the Hope Center director down to volunteers who clean and cook (and they can cook! Yum!!), they are wise about their surroundings and committed to lovingly fight for these kids. We hope you join them by sponsoring one child!

We’ll be talking more about OneChild in the coming weeks on Faith Radio as we encourage you to think about how you and your family can make a difference in the life of one child.

This article was written by Paul Perrault, producer of Mornings with Carmen LaBerge.