Sardines or Lessons From the Field
I can’t get this photo out of my head. In my job each day, I look at tons of photos from the field, but some stick with me.
When I was a little kid I had a nickname: Heater Legs. At night, my legs would reach roughly 375 degrees and, allegedly, flail wildly all night. My sisters would fight over who had to sleep next to Heater Legs on vacation, ‘cause it wasn’t gonna be a fun night.
I wonder if one of these cute little kids is a Heater Legs. Or a Snorer. Or a Bed Hog … umm, I guess that would be a Ground Hog in this case. And yet despite this sleeping situation, here they lie smiling. Some days this family only eats bananas. Some days they don’t eat at all. And yet when Edwin asked them to show him how they sleep, they rushed to their places, laughing and pushing each other playfully. They don’t mind it because they keep each other warm.
It reminds me of something Paul Henri, our communications specialist in Burkina Faso, said to me. Paul Henri just recently started working for Compassion; he goes out to the projects to get those great stories about how children are affected by Compassion’s ministry. And this is what he had to say about the kids he gets to meet: “Something great that I have learned from children I interview is their happiness despite poverty. They seem not to be affected by poverty. When I talk to them, I usually see a large smile on their faces. This makes me remember Jesus, who was sleeping in the stern of the boat while a storm was raging.”
These children in the Philippines and Paul Henri in Burkina Faso sure give me perspective. It’s hard to keep up my attitude of grumbling when I remember those little faces lined up on the floor. Faces that reflect joy despite the storm they’re in.
It’s not that we don’t have real problems here, too. We might be facing unemployment or divorce or infertility or cancer. Our problems are real and hard. But what I’m learning from the field is that I can’t wait for life to be perfect to live in Christ’s joy. I sometimes think that if only this one thing happened, I’d be happy. But I can’t wait to have joy and peace until my storms have passed.
Oh, for the day I can become like a child — to live each day with a kid’s playful smile on my face. To have Jesus’ peace and joy today, despite my worries, just like those cute little kids in the Philippines.
Continue Reading ›Historic Registration in Tanzania: The 50,000 Registered Child
Compassion International Tanzania (CIT) registered* its 50,000 child two months ago on Februray 16.
This historic registration ushered in a new era for us. It was a moment to put down our tools, celebrate the Lord’s favor, and thank Him for what he has done and for His faithfulness. It was a milestone for the Tanzanian ministry, an achievement worth celebrating.
Now let’s see how we reached the 50,000 child mark and also learn about how our child registration process works.
The milestone occurred in Tabora, more than 650 kilometers from Arusha, where the head office of CIT is located. But the search actually began months earlier.
Finding Church Partners
Before going into a new area, CIT conducts country mapping to determine the level of poverty in one area as compared to another. Country mapping is necessary so we can determine where the greatest ministry need is.
After country mapping, we conduct a baseline survey to determine if the areas identified with a high degree of poverty have Christian churches whose mission matches ours.
This is critical because we work through the local church — it is the local church that actually implements the program and cares for the children. If there is no church, our ministry model won’t work, regardless of the degree of poverty that exists there.
We ask questions, such as:
- Does the church have classrooms to accommodate the children?
- Do they have people who can teach and work with children or who can learn to assist children?
- Are there peopleand children who can help the program continue?
This baseline survey helps us decide which areas and churches are a good fit. Of course, in all the stages we keep praying and asking God to lead us in the right path and to bring people who will be willing to sponsor children and release the resources needed.
After the baseline survey, we gather all the potential church partners for vision casting. In this gathering we share the importance of ministry to children and call on the church to awaken to the call of Jesus Christ to fulfill the Greatest Commandment.
After this, we choose the potential church partners and invite them to a partnership meeting. At this one-day meeting, it is time to pray together and for us to give relevant partnership documents to the new church partners.
If the partners agree on the conditions, they sign a partnership agreement with us. These partnership agreements give room to church partners to start preparing environments to begin the ministry. They start recruiting project workers and create a child ministry committee formed from church members.
The church has to find those able and qualified to work in the project as project coordinator, project accountant, project social worker, and project health worker.
Once all the project workers are chosen, they attend the “One-Month Child Ministry Foundation Course” that all project workers go through.
In this course, the newly recruited project workers are trained on how to implement the ministry and how to minister to each child individually.
They also learn what is expected of them and different ways and procedures of reporting and giving feedback to us. They get to know the organizational structure of CIT, the departments involved, and how each department works.
Screening and Registration
All this leads up to child screening and registration. (more…)
Continue Reading ›National Reconciliation
“Let’s not curse the darkness, instead let’s light a candle.”
– Anonymous
Hello everyone. By now, I am sure some of you may wonder where I disappeared to. My blog absence has been for a good reason.
From December 27 to late January 2008 my country was plugged into what is now famously referred to as post-election violence; violence in which over 1,000 people lost their lives and over 300,000 more were displaced from their homes.
The impact was even more devastating in the slums, which saw the biggest brunt of the violence and left many people wondering, questioning, hungry, displaced and grieving the deaths of family and friends.
It was at this time that I decided to start a reconciliation program at one of the child development centers I grew up in. I wanted to try and help the children, who mostly live in the slums, understand what was going on, to give them a platform to share their feelings and a place for them to come and heal.
On March 20, I received a letter from the local government representative that I had been selected among 15 other young men and women in Kenya to join the national reconciliation program, which is a special program started by the government to bring the people of Kenya back together and help prevent a similar scenario in the future.
So all this time I have been traveling around the country talking to various political groups, communities, churches, elders and youth on the need for unity, and more importantly, forgiveness.
It has been tiring, but its all worth it. And it gives me a chance not only to share with people the love of God but put into practice the skills I learned through the Leadership Development Program,* to teach the importance of servant leadership, which I believe is the solution to the many problems here in Africa.
The program will come to an end on May 23 and hopefully by this time a nation will have been saved through the candles that were lit by 15 young men and women.
*This content honors our historical Leadership Development Program. To learn more about our current youth development opportunities, click here.
Compassion Sunday Testimonies
“The Lord used Compassion in our church when we began to look beyond ourselves and to see how we could be less of a ‘holy huddle’ and more of a Jesus impact on the world around us. We challenged ourselves to see if we could become more involved internationally with being just a small part of the solution to world poverty.
Compassion came to our aid and showed us the way to be Jesus to the developing world. As a result of this service, we were able to reach beyond ourselves and build actual relationships with children living in poverty through Compassion.
Forty-six families in our church have become involved sponsoring children and have been so blessed because of the interactive nature of this ministry — they love to hear from the children and love investing money and time in a relationship.”
– Don Taylor, Pastor – Ni River Community Church, Spotsylvania, Virginia
Jesus on American Idol
I’ve just gotta shout out an “Amen!”
For two weeks in a row now, the name of Jesus has been mentioned on American Idol.
Last week, Jason Castro sang Traveling Through with these lyrics:
We’ve all been crucified and they nailed Jesus to the tree
and when I’m born again you’re going to see a change in me.
Oh sweet Jesus if you’re out there, won’t you keep me close to you?
Shortly after, Dolly Parton performed her song, Jesus and Gravity.
I’ve got something lifting me up, something holding me down
something to give me wings and to keep my feet on the ground
‘cuz I’ve got all I need…I’ve got Jesus and gravity.
Wednesday night, if you watched the Idol Gives Back program, Mariah Carey sang:
He said He’d never forsake you or leave you alone.
Trust Him. Right here by my side.
Carry me home. Jesus!
And then they closed the show with the popular worship song, Shout to the Lord. Even though they replaced the name of Jesus with the word, “shepherd” in the first verse, they were still singing this song, written as a praise to our Creator:
Shout to the Lord all the earth let us sing
Power and majesty praise to the King!
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
at the sound of your name!
I’m not sure if there’s necessarily a spiritual “movement” taking place on America’s #1 rated television show, or if the program is just trying to appeal to a Christian audience to get them to donate to the causes they support. But the fact that millions are hearing the name of Jesus and hearing songs meant to worship Him, is amazing. Becky, one of my co-workers (and another regular contributor to this blog), reminded me of this verse in Philippians:
But what does it matter? The important thing is that
in every way, whether from false motives or true,
Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice.
-Philippians 1:18 (NIV)
It’s Almost Compassion Sunday!
It’s almost April 13 — the official date for Compassion Sunday (CS) — the largest sponsorship effort of the Advocates Network during the entire year. Our on-call workers are still feverishly working through stacks of material orders that are inches thick, and we’re fielding calls from sponsors wanting to place a last minute order or asking when their materials will arrive. There is a buzz around here. One of excitement and anticipation of what God plans to do through our sponsors, advocates and church partners on April 13.
This is my first Compassion Sunday. I mean, it’s my first Compassion Sunday to coordinate. I’ve heard about Compassion Sunday since I first started working for Compassion over four years ago. But this year, it’s my job to help make it happen.
What I wasn’t expecting when I started this job last June was that my first project was Compassion Sunday (CS). I’m thinking to myself, “but that’s not until next year!” I had a lot to learn.
86 work orders, which are work requests that needed to be submitted to get the CS materials designed, dozens of meetings, and hours of analyzing and preparing later, it was finally go-time. The letter asking people to host an event at their church was sent in early January. Our physical inventory of CS supplies had arrived, our tracking database was updated and we had more resources available for download on the web than ever before. I thought we had reached the time to sit back, relax, and…wait…wait for the flood gates to open and the orders to come, along with the inevitable craziness that comes with them.
But a few weeks ago, we were all buzzing along with business as usual. It was time to submit over 1,000 pending material orders in our order system for the fulfillment team to begin processing, and this is when I realized we would soon run out of buttons calling others to “Join Me” in the fight against poverty.
I contacted procurement to ask for an early reorder on the buttons. They placed the order for 7,500 more buttons, and we sat back to wait (and pray) that they arrived before we ran out.
I’m expecting the buttons to arrive in just a few days, and then I learn that we have under 300 buttons in inventory and will run out that day — three days before the buttons are supposed to arrive. I pick up the phone again and call procurement.
“Is there anything we can do to rush the order to arrive sooner than Monday?” I ask.
“It’s doubtful, but I will call and ask,” comes the reply.
While I am waiting, I get an email from an on-call worker that we have over 7,500 buttons in inventory. WHAT?!
It turns out the buttons had shipped early and had arrived while I was planning for an outage and strategizing for Plan B. What an amazing God we serve! He knew our need before we even uttered it, went before us and took care of our needs. God loves us and he loves what we do here at Compassion — and He always takes care of us in our time of need.
Amanda Ceren is a project specialist for the Advocates Network. She helps fight poverty by providing advocates with materials to connect a child in need with a loving sponsor.
All My Bags Are Packed, I’m Ready to Go
Embarrassing Fact: Each time I’m about to take a trip, I start humming “Leaving on a Jet Plane” all day long for at least a week before I go.
I’ve been planning a trip to Haiti for several months, and this small Caribbean country has gotten to me. I’ve studied up on the language — Bonswa! I’ve tried Haitian recipes and read stories of its people. I’ve even packed and repacked my suitcase, so excited am I to meet this culture face to face.
Well, all my bags are packed, but I’m not going anywhere. I was supposed to leave on April 12th, and I was hoping to pack you in my suitcase to experience Haiti with me through this blog, but the situation is too unstable to travel right now.
The Haitians are calling it Clorox and Battery Acid — a famine that leaves their mouths white and dry from hunger, like powdery Clorox, and leaves their intestines feeling like they are being slowly eaten by battery acid. Unlike many famines, though, there’s plenty of food on the store shelves in Haiti. The people just can’t afford it.
Because of inflated food prices over the past three months, the 80 percent of Haitians who live in extreme poverty are getting desperate. In January, it cost $2 for a bag of flour. Now it costs $3. It might not seem like a lot to us, but when you live on $1 a day, this 33 percent increase hurts. Thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets in the past week protesting, some holding signs saying “We’re Hungry.” Most are peaceful, but some are getting violent, burning tires and breaking car windows.
The good news is that no Compassion project activities have been affected, although each family is affected by the rising prices as they struggle to feed all their little mouths.
Would you join me in praying for Haiti?
- Pray that the Haitian government can effectively address the situation.
- Pray for the survival of those who are starving.
- Pray for the safety and the health of all the Compassion-assisted children, their families, and Compassion staff.
The trip I was going to attend was called “It Works,” a 5-year interval trip, on which we follow-up on the stories of sponsored children to find out if, indeed, sponsorship works. I hope to still travel to this needy country that has wheedled its way into my heart. I hope to hear the story of Yvette, a Compassion alumna who is now a doctor, and of Jean Robert who five years ago was studying accounting through Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, and, of course, I hope to still see the faces of the precious children, who in a glance, despite poverty and beyond reason, remind us of what joy is.
Idol Gives Back
I’m a fan of American Idol. I’m an especially big fan this week.
Wednesday marks the second year that the Fox reality show takes a break from their regular programming to do something virtually unheard of on television these days — focus on something other than making money.
Idol Gives Back is an effort to raise awareness and funds for children in need around the world. Last year the event raised $76 million. This year they’re shooting for $100 million.
Whether or not Fox brings in the millions this week that they normally make on the show, the event probably does enough for their public image to make the monetary sacrifice well worth it.
Whatever their motivation, though, it’s refreshing to see the spotlight shining on those who truly need it but rarely get it — children in poverty.
Among the recipients are organizations like the Global Fund, Malaria No More, Children’s Health Fund, Children’s Defense Fund and Make It Right, Brad Pitt’s campaign to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.
There will be celebrities. There will be music. There will be tears. Millions of viewers will undoubtedly be moved to donate. Some will likely be profoundly impacted by the stories they hear and the images they see. Hopefully many hearts will be softened towards the plight of children in poverty and people will do more than just give once … they will begin to get involved.
I’m just excited that for a couple hours this week, children in poverty will have a real voice. That’s really what Compassion is all about.
What do you think? Do you agree? Will you be watching?
While Compassion might not be featured on the show, we are working just as hard to fight for children in poverty. Here are a couple specific things you might like to know about:
Malaria: A Plague of the Poor
In recognition of World Malaria Day on April 25, Compassion has produced a new radio special.
AIDS
Compassion’s AIDS Initiative is focused on Africa. Yet HIV and AIDS are also significant threats to children outside of Africa and for that reason Compassion is also conducting HIV/AIDS work in non-African countries.
Equipping the Church
An short video explaining how we work with the local church in the developing world to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
I Love Our Advocates!
The Compassion Advocates Network is made up of an amazing group of sponsors that want to do more than sponsor a child. They want to help get children sponsored.
Advocates give of their time, their talents and their money (e.g. like driving to work at a Compassion booth during a Jeremy Camp concert). They talk to anyone they know, and even don’t know, about sponsoring a child.
And each year we have a lot of sponsors request a planning folder for Compassion Sunday. The planning folder gives you everything you need to plan your event. But a lot of people stop there. They get sidetracked, nervous, or convinced by the Enemy that they should not participate.
Enter our amazing advocates. They again give of their time and their talents to call these sponsors to encourage them. And what do we get?
E-mails like this:
Howdy in Christ, Mark. I just got a return call from a potential Compassion Sunday’er, who I had left a message with earlier during the sponsor, pre-Compassion Sunday calling campaign. She was so-o-o happy that I’d called! She was bubbling and described how she had received the CS Planning Folder and had even sent in a completed Materials Order Form, but was having serious self-doubts about following through. The Enemy was tossing roadblocks in front of her wherever she turned—and flaming darts at her confidence that she could actually do this thing. Then she received my encouraging phone message. When she called back, we talked about presentation possibilities, helpful videos, my experiences with Compassion Sunday events, and ideas for increasing the effectiveness of her CS. (Adding a signup table, bulletin inserts, maintaining the signup table for a few weeks after…) Her excitement is renewed! The Holy Spirit left me feeling I’d soaked in a hot-tub of heavenly joy. THIS is why we’re making these calls, right Mark?
– Jeff Carpenter, Volunteer Area Coordinator
I love our advocates!
Amanda Ceren is a project specialist for the Advocates Network. She helps fight poverty by providing advocates with materials to connect a child in need with a loving sponsor.
Why Me, God?
For about 35 years, once I first heard of such a possibility, I wanted to sponsor a child. But for most of that time, I simply could not afford even $10 per month.
About mid-2001, watching a commercial on TV for another organization, I realized I could finally afford to do something. But through which organization? Who could I really count on to use the money for the child’s benefit? Could I trust any of them, and how would I know? Having no answers, I did nothing.
I spent all of 2002 praying for God to show me what area of ministry He wanted me in. Almost every Sunday, I heard, “Find your passion and use it!” “Hmm…where can I get a ‘passion’?” I couldn’t have found a passion in me with a flashlight or a search warrant. So I prayed, and I waited.
Two weeks before Christmas, I walked out of church on a cold, gray day in a mood to match. I walked down three or four steps into the fellowship area and began to pass a row of ministry tables. Above and behind the first one was a banner saying something about Compassion.
I kept walking, but my inner skeptic wanted to know: “What are we being ‘compassionate’ about, today?”
I turned, looked down at a sea of packets, each with a photo of a child; the world stopped, along with all sound and movement around me. I knew what these packets represented.
I stood there, saying half under my breath, “I can do this! I can do this!” About the fourth time, a Voice inside said, “Yes, you can do this. This is it!”
A warmth started at the top of my head and flowed over me and through me, right down to my feet. I took home two packets, unsure about one child.
That afternoon, I went to Compassion’s website to look at more children. I didn’t realize how many photos they kept on there, and I quickly felt overwhelmed. “God, I can’t sponsor them all!” soon changed to “God, we’ve got to find sponsors for these kids!”
About the fourth time (what is it with four times?!), I heard, “Yes, we do!” Then I realized the “This is it” meant more for me than “merely” sponsoring. And I do not mean to minimize the importance of sponsoring!
So, as is true of so many advocates, if not all, I came into this ministry with a clear calling. There have been times when I have needed to remember that, when church doors refused to open, when people walked by the tables with hardly a glance, and I wanted to use a 2×4 on their heads to get their attention. (Thank God, I’ve grown past that!)
But let me mention some of the things that continually reaffirm the rightness of Compassion in my life, and as a real ministry in this world. (more…)
