Meet Betsy Mabry

My name is Betsy Mabry and the Lord has changed my life through children. I became a Christian at a children’s crusade when I was 5. I grew up in the church and was blessed with many mentors and people who invested in me. The Lord graciously gave me three wonderful children of my own. When my oldest was a high school student here in the Faith Bible Student Ministries, we went to the Dominican Republic with VisionTrust International. I was in charge of crafts for the VBS on that trip and the children I met grabbed my heart. I returned to the DR the next year; again, I supervised the crafts. I have to say I complained to God that doing crafts was not really Kingdom work and was a waste of time.

When we arrived in the DR and went to the Grace School the next day, I was standing on the second story roof overlooking a huge mass of jumbled cinderblock or wood, tin covered shanties. In this overly crowded poor section of the city you could hear roosters, people yelling, cars and music blaring. I looked down into the alley below and a father came out of his tiny dwelling holding his little girl who has Down’s Syndrome, Emilia. I had met this smiley faced little girl the year before. The dad must have recognized me (why, I don’t know) and held up his finger for me to wait. He went back inside and quickly returned holding up for me to see, a small construction paper “Bible.” It was the craft that we had made the year before. I was humbled to the point of tears. God, this sweet dad, and his precious daughter taught me that there is nothing too small for the Lord to use to show His love to the “least of these” and further his Kingdom.

From that year on, I have sponsored children through VisionTrust. My first sponsored child, named Elian, was a skinny little 4-year-old boy who had no joy in his eyes. When I met him in the DR he wouldn’t look at me.  He was sickly and very shy. My worldly perspective was that sponsorship was not a satisfying experience. However, I knew that my support was significant for him to be able to attend the Grace School, learn about Jesus and be fed. Elian is now a 15-year-old young man who is a tall, healthy student, and strong Christian. I am proud to be his sponsor. The funny part is that I am now on staff with VisionTrust as well. So, indeed, the Lord has changed my life through children.