All is not lost.

Photos can be found at Flickr, and videos can be viewed at YouTube; although, Internet access in Uganda is slow and intermittent which is affecting what can be uploaded for the time being. For now, you can feast on the stories the bloggers feed you through Google Reader or you can visit their blogs directly.

Won’t you join me in enjoying this meal? It’s not as good as being there, but it’s not airplane food either.

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We arrived at the airport in Entebbe Uganda at approximately 11:00 p.m. Uganda time yesterday. We are thankful for the following:

• a safe journey
• all of our flights were generally on schedule and no flights were missed
• all of our luggage arrived at its intended destination
• good Christian travel companions
• a friendly and helpful Compassion Uganda staff to meet us at the airport
• good health for everyone on the trip

We are currently experiencing some problems getting access to the Internet in the hotel. It’s slow and intermittent access. Please pray that the Internet access will improve and we will be able to blog aggressively about Compassion’s work in this beautiful country.

Everyone is in the process of eating breakfast at the hotel. We will be leaving shortly to see some of Compassion’s Christian child development projects. Stay tuned for more updates!

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I’m writing from the Columbus, Ohio, airport waiting to begin my trip with 14 other Christian bloggers to see Compassion’s ministry to children in need in Uganda. We will combine the power of our blogs to educate and inform within our circles of influence about the impoverished children in this country. Check out the list of blogs, then read our blogs and get an insider’s view of Compassion’s work in this African country.

Each blogger will tell the story in their own unique way. You can read along as we share the emotion, sights, sounds and smells with you as our travel partner. If you sponsor a child from Uganda, we may even interact with the child you sponsor.

I will be meeting up with the rest of the bloggers at Chicago’s O’Hare airport later today. We’ll arrive back in the United States on February 18^th.

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Did you know that February is Compassion Blog Month? We’re encouraging you to blog about your Compassion experience and link to compassion.com. If you do, we’ll send the first 500 people who sign up a free Compassion scrapbook!

My prayer is that we will have more than 500 people adding a link from their blog, MySpace, Facebook or other site to compassion.com.

Imagine how blessed you will feel if a child is linked with a caring sponsor or receives essential support because of your effort! Learn more about this opportunity.

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I shouldn’t say travel with “us” to Uganda, because I’m not going. The “us” I mean is Compassion. Compassion is going.

Travel With Compassion to Uganda. Grab this great widget for your blog, MySpace page, Facebook profile, etc., and follow along with the folks who are actually going, as they get a firsthand taste of Compassion’s ministry in the developing world. And we invite you to come back here to read what you won’t read anywhere else.

Please show some love to Shaun Groves for creating the widget and for joining us on the trip.

I’m Chris Giovagnoni, Web Communications Specialist, and I approved this post. I’m “that guy.”

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Hello and welcome to Compassion’s blog! As a tent evangelist, the Rev. Everett Swanson was a grass-roots man with a grass-roots ministry. So it was no surprise he started a Christian charity when a pastor handed him a $50 check. Rev. Swanson used that small seed to help create a global ministry to fight child poverty.

Since that time more than 55 years ago, Compassion has remained a ministry of the people. Our sponsors, donors and supporters are family. And while we’re now an international Christian ministry serving nearly 1 million children, we cling to that homey, under-the-tent feeling from the old days spent evangelizing others to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. That’s why we created Compassion’s blog. We didn’t create a blog because it was the cool thing to do, or because someone else did. We created it as a way to keep Compassion’s ministry partners, like you, connected — with us and each other.

So what’s the deal with Compassion’s blog? In this blog you’ll get an inside view of Compassion’s ministry. You’ll hear from:

• people who work here,
• Compassion Child Sponsorship graduates,
• Leadership Development Program students and graduates,
• church staff who work with our children around the globe,
• and many others.

These posts will give you a behind-the-scenes view of Compassion at work and at play and, of course, exclusive looks at our child development ministry around the world. And don’t be afraid to talk to our bloggers. This is our first blog, so we ask for your patience. Our bloggers are committed to interacting with you, and we appreciate your grace in advance as we endeavor to answer your comments, questions and inquiries. Remember, our bloggers would love to engage with you. So speak up! We want to hear from you. Share your comments, thoughts or general musings with us. Tell us what you like about our ministry, how you evangelize others, what we’re doing wrong, and how we can be better. And if you just want to give us a shout out, that’s cool too.

As blogs go there’s no right or wrong. Well, not quite. The usual inappropriate behavior won’t be tolerated. No clue what that means? Well, if you can’t say it in church you can’t post it here!

Our blog will be moderated. But we pledge to allow open and honest feedback here. After all, this blog is a two-way radio — from us to you and from you to us. Oh, and if you just want general information about Compassion or to make a charitable donation, try compassion.com or our Sponsor and Donor Relations Department. You can:

• Contact them online,
• by e-mail,
• or call (800) 336-7676, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT.

Thanks for supporting Compassion’s ministry to children in need. And let us know if you like the blog. Good or bad. Remember, we’re family. We can take it.

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