Many of Compassion’s sponsors are young families. Our family fits that category with children 9, 6, 5 and 2 years old. Not only do we want to help little ones overseas, my wife and I want our own children to realize the hope-stealing effects of poverty. We want our kids to understand poverty to a point where they’re compelled to do something about it both now and later.

Do you think this way? What traditions have you started in your own home to cultivate an understanding of what the poor go through in the developing world? We’re just starting out, and I know we can get more consistent, but here’s a glimpse of what we do:

• I made an 8-by-10 print of this picture taken by Tonny Tunya. It’s in our dining room. Occasionally, we pause to see whatever we’re facing through the bright eyes of these children whose playground is a garbage dump in Indonesia. At best, our conversations are speculative. But there’s truth in these talks, too. And our perspective is refined bit by bit.



• When we sit down for a meal and make the effort to think about Karen, our sponsored child in the Philippines, and her family, our gratitude to God for the food in front of us grows deeper.
• We’re moving in the direction of connecting each one of our kids to a different sponsored child. They’ll get to minister and be ministered to through sharing words of hope, art and prayers. Who knows? Maybe our kids will be some of the few of their generation to have a true pen pal.
• I’m memorizing verses about children and the poor and my son is helping me. I hope that these scriptures sink in for him, too, and that seeing his dad take the time to do this would inspire him.

I’m sure there are many other ways to teach children about poverty through day-to-day life. I’ve heard of kids initiating fund raisers and families who rethink gift-giving at Christmas. Some of these families have even gone on one of Compassion’s sponsor tours to see it all with their own eyes.

Would you take a few moments to share your traditions? It’s OK if you don’t do them 100 percent of the time. None of us do. But we want to. And it’d be great to learn from others. The kids need it. Ours and theirs.

Popularity: 47% [?]

The following letter was written by Ruzamba Niyomwungeli, a 24 year old graduate of Compassion’s Child Sponsorship Program. It was written in Kinyarwanda and translated into English at the Compassion Rwanda country office.

“Life has meaning when someone touches it at tender age. Someone stood out and shaped my life. I believe in life of fullness. Thank you my sponsor where ever you are.”
- Ruzamba Niyomwungeli

I really do not know what I would be looking like if Compassion had not touched my life when I was at the age of four - sick, starved, almost naked and frustrated with no hope. Thanks God.

God has been on my side since I was a child up to today. I really extend my sincere gratitude to my loved sponsor who stood by my side up to now, and I do promise that I will never disappoint him or God, who has been witnessing my daily life. Thank you my sponsor.

Presently, I am a mature adult, and above all it’s through your hands I grew up to become an adult with a mission to change my family, my community, my country and the world at large. My dear sponsor what can I give you and what can I say if it had not been your incomparable love you extended to me and my family. I believe in the next day, that I always count as a day of grace and new hope.

My sponsor, I do love you and wish you to see God’s grace day by day. My prayers rest in the hands of God. God of mercy bless my sponsor and Compassion. By God’s love I am who I am because of what you did for my life, where my parents were unable to support me in all the aspects of life.

I cried in my neighborhood, but no one listened to me. I called to my neighbors because of hunger, but there was no boon coming to me. I was sick in my bed, but no one could render a service. But not far from God’s hands, a sponsor, a parent, came to me from the far country that is beyond the sea where my eyes could not imagine a thought. What a blessing and love. God I am too special in your eyes. Thank you God.

My sponsor stretched out both his arms to bring me back to the foundation of hope where I stand right now - with all the courage to make a difference which is positive for my life, my family and my community. God of mercy, bless my sponsor and Compassion.

My sponsor, you became the spiritual, economic and intellectual garb I wear now. You became a friend where many people were not able to welcome me.

My sponsor, I believe that God will always be with you. I really want to assure you that what you did in my life has touched thousands of lives through me; for now I am grown up and am making a positive difference in my family, community, and more especially in my church where I was blessed from.

The God of mercy who brought me to your life is the same God who gave me this real time to say that I really thank you. My sponsor, you came into my life when I could not speak write or read, but now I do write and read. What a friend I do have!

My sponsor, you are my friend, and I do credit you most of my blessings. I believe God has heard my prayers for you, as you pray for me.

Blessings to you.

Ruzamba Niyomwungeli

Popularity: 53% [?]

Have you ever wondered how your sponsored child’s letter gets to you? The long journey it takes from Tanzania or Thailand to Connecticut or California? There’s a lot more to it than you might think!

Samuel Llanes, Guatemala’s Field Communication Specialist, gives us a peek at the journey of one letter from Guatemala to a sponsor in Australia. (Did you know that Compassion International has sponsors all over the world from Australia to France to South Korea?)

Pamela, a little girl sponsored by a married couple in Australia, says, “I love writing letters to them! When I write my letter, I wish I was right there with my sponsors.”

She has received two letters in the two years she has been sponsored, and she keeps them safely at home. She knows who they are and what they do, and she prays for them before bedtime each night.

When Pamela receives a letter, it has gone through a long journey. First the letter is sent from Australia to the Compassion International field office in Guatemala. Each country Compassion works in has its own field office. The letter must then be translated into Spanish for Pamela to understand.

“Translating is such a blessing to me,” says Julia Zepeda, a pastor’s wife and translator who has been working for Compassion International Guatemala for eight years. “I have taken this as a ministry that helps children, and I know is worth it.”

The translators are given one week to complete all the translations once they’re given a group of letters. The average number of letters that must be translated a week in Guatemala is usually around 180 to 200! After translating, the letters are brought to the student centers where they are distributed to the children. Receiving a letter is a special moment for children — they know that someone out there cares about them and is praying about them.

Letter Day
“Letter day” happens every four months. Pamela, along with all the other children at her Guatemala City student center, writes a letter every four months, though her sponsors may not write her that often.

When Pamela writes her letters, she uses a notebook to write a first draft. She does not want to miss anything that her sponsors asked her in their letter. Pamela’s tutor reads her sponsors’ letter to her, and as it is read, Pamela answers all the questions they asked. If they have sent something special, like stickers, she makes sure to thank them. Then once she has decided what her letter will say, she writes out her final draft.

Letter Day is an exciting day. The student center celebrates all the children for their efforts in writing letters on Letter Day. They give prizes to celebrate every child — and sometimes they even have a clown and piñatas!

Once Pamela’s letter is written, she gets to take her letter from her sponsors home, which she gets very excited for.

On Its Way
Once Pamela’s letter and all the other letters are written, they are brought to the Guatemala field office and translated into English. The packages of translated letters are then labeled and sent to be processed at Compassion International’s Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The children’s letters are sent from Guatemala to Colorado once a week.

Each week, child letters arrive in large boxes in Colorado Springs from all over the world to be tracked and sent on their way.

First, the letters are sorted by where the sponsors are from. All the letters going to U.S. sponsors are grouped together, all the letters going to the United Kingdom are grouped together, and so on.

Each letter is then scanned into a database, using the barcode at the top of each child’s letter, so Compassion can track all of the letters that are sent.

Once all the letters have been recorded in the database, they are bound together according to the letter’s destination country, and shipped out every Tuesday.

So the letters that our sponsored children write to us have been through a long process, passing from one hand to another until they arrive in your mailbox in that envelope saying, “A Message From Your Sponsored Child.”

Popularity: 55% [?]

My name is Boer, James Boer. But you can call me Kees, which is pronounced “case.” My middle name is Jacobus, which translates to James. See, I’m Dutch, which means I grew up in the Netherlands, but doesn’t necessarily explain why I’m a Compassion Advocate, but I am … Dutch and a Compassion Advocate.

As I mentioned, I grew up in the Netherlands, and once in a great while we would have people visit our home from the United States. It was always such an exciting time. I used to love listening to them so I could imitate their English.

When I went to high school, I started learning English myself and was finally able to communicate with our guests. At the end of the visits, I’d be sure to get an address, and I would write letters and then wait and wait and pray that they would send a letter back

Some of them did, and I was always so excited. I wouldn’t receive more than a couple a year but getting one made my whole month. I’d read and reread the letters until I almost had them memorized. And I still have those letters after all of these years.

A few years ago I interviewed Wess Stafford. He shared a story about a huge flood in one of the countries Compassion works in. The local staff was evacuating the children, but one child kept trying to get back into her home. Finally, the worker let the child go. A couple minutes later, the child came back with a little pouch. In it were all the letters her sponsor had written her.

This is a sample of what my sponsored children write to me. Although the words are different, they often have the same message. (more…)

Popularity: 100% [?]

SUBJECT: One on One with Anthony Njoroge

To all my fans,

Based on the many emails, letters and phone calls I have received I’ve decided to give you an opportunity to ask me any questions as you would like.

As part of this, I have already hired quite a number of secretaries and personal assistants to help me answer those questions. So be assured of a timely and appropriate answer.

So in a way this will be like an online press conference.

Yours sophisticated,
Anthony Njoroge

Popularity: 33% [?]

I’m willing to bet that every person, at some point during your involvement with Compassion, ponders some variation of the following question:

“Does Compassion’s ministry really work? Compassion knows how to share stories, but how do I know it’s actually making the difference they claim?”

Guess what? We’ve wondered the same thing. So 11 years ago we set out to get proof. We started a program called “It Works.” The idea behind this program was to provide undeniable evidence that Compassion is changing lives.

It Works documents the progress of children in Compassion’s programs. We choose our “case studies.” Then we interview, photograph and film the children and their families. Five to seven years later we return to see what God has done. Being 11 years into the program, we are now on our second round of return trips.

During last week’s chapel time we got to see this video and it was too exciting to keep to ourselves.

Meet Maila.

Popularity: 41% [?]

Story and photos By Paul Henri Kabore, Compassion Burkina Faso Field Communications Specialist

It was noon when I reached the family’s house. There was too much sun. Rasmata and Aguirata were sitting with their mother, Fati, in the small living room because there was no shade outside. Only a small tree that was planted by Aguirata could be seen in the courtyard.

Because of the lack of services, life is very hard. People are obliged to walk kilometers to queue for hours to buy water. During the dry season, a barrel of water costs between $1 and $2. It often happens that people even fight to get some water.

The mother used to wash clothes to earn money but could not earn enough to feed the family. Then her husband passed away. It was such a shock to Fati that she almost went crazy. Because of her psychological problems, she could not work.

Fati was desperate to care for her children. It was a big relief when the Compassion child development center registered her daughter Rasmata, but it wasn’t enough — the need was still there. Rasmata’s little sister also needed help. A member of the center’s management committee who was aware of this family’s condition pleaded to the leadership team and was able to get Aguirata registered too.

Yet, all the effort was about to fail. The late husband’s brothers came from the village to take Rasmata and Aguirata. The reason: the mother was unstable psychologically and could not take good care of her daughters. But taking them to the village would mean putting an end to the opportunity they had to go to school and have free access to health care.

But God was in control. The child development center team leader met the men and told them about all the benefits the girls would have if they continued attending the center. After several days of negotiations, the men came to understand the wonderful opportunity the children had and decided to let them stay.

For Fati, there has been a great change since her two daughters joined Compassion.

“I am grateful and do not even know how to thank the Compassion project for the huge relief. In the past, it was hard to have even a meal a day. Today, thanks to the project, we are able to eat two to three times a day. Besides, my daughters’ school fees are paid for by the project. I could not believe that someone could help me raise my children freely, without asking anything.”

The center activities have brought so many changes in the lives of Rasmata and Aguirata. According to their mother, they used to be very intractable, but since their registration, they have been kind and obedient, and she believes that all this has been possible thanks to the biblical input.

In fact, when the girls started going to the center, they were Muslim, along with their mom. Whenever they came back from the program activities, they would start singing Christian songs, and would pray before eating or going to bed. Their mother was wondering what was happing to her daughters, but was very happy with the great change in their behavior.

“At that time I could not believe that I myself would be Christian,” Fati said, smiling.

What convinced her to give her life to Jesus was Compassion taking care of her daughters with no ulterior motives. “The woman came to the project office one day with tears and told me that she wanted to give her life to Jesus in whose name the project was bringing up her daughters,” the project team leader said.

Without Compassion this family would have fallen apart, but now Fati and her two little daughters have come to Christ.

Aguirata told us that she would like to become pastor to preach the gospel. As for Rasmata, she would like to become a nurse to treat the sick.

Popularity: 33% [?]

See the photo? The one at the top of the page. It was done by one of you.

Eric Chapman (aka chappyphoto) took it. He’s a friend we met by way of our Flickr group.

We liked his photos so much we asked if we could use one in our blog’s header. Then we asked if he wanted to write a post for us. We do that sometimes.

But enough of that. It’s time to focus your attention on what Eric says when he’s not behind a camera.

For most of my life, the only thing I knew about poverty was the Sally Struthers commercials. You know, those spots from the ’80s with all the slow-motion shots of children crying. I have been given the opportunity to go with a video production crew to various countries to film the work of Compassion. In some way, I expected to see this Sally Struthers image. I was totally wrong.

I’m a sound engineer for Student Life. We produce large camps, conferences and a variety of additional resources for churches. About the time I started working there, Student Life had just partnered with Compassion. Since then we’ve always had a Compassion presentation at our events, and work to educate our attendees about what sponsoring a child means.

Last year we were sent to Uganda to interview students from Compassion’s Leadership Development Program (LDP). Our hope was that some of the students would travel with our camp teams throughout the summer and lead the Compassion presentation from stage. What better way to show the work of Compassion than to put living proof of that work on stage?

Before this trip I had already been on one Compassion video shoot, but it was a 48-hour whirlwind trip to Guatemala. It was a fast turnaround, and we were only able to see a few children. Our video focused on one child’s experience meeting her sponsor. I could see the impact Compassion was having on a single child, but what would the finished product look like? All I knew going into the Uganda trip was that LDP students had grown up through the Compassion Child Sponsorshop Program, graduated, and were then sponsored through college. These students were the cream of the crop.

We arrived in Kampala and tried to get some rest. The next morning we had our first LDP student interview. His name was James.

This was initially a typical setup for our team. We had done hundreds of interviews. What I did not know was that my life and perspective of Compassion would be changed forever by the testimony of this man.

James was more educated, well spoken and passionate about his relationship with God than I could say I have ever been. He described his childhood –- one that was riddled with loss of parents and siblings, leaving him alone to live with an aunt. He spoke of being malnourished and without hope. Then he said all that changed when he joined the Compassion Child Sponsorship Program.

I could have probably predicted most of his interview to this point. We had asked most of the questions, and it was the picture of so many nonprofit companies and others who serve those less fortunate than most Americans. He was a child in poverty who was given a chance. It was his answer to our last question that stopped us all cold. (more…)

Popularity: 62% [?]

A few years ago, a commercial asked, “What would you do?” for a certain ice-cream sandwich. There were people willing to ski the Alps, jump from planes, cross the desert, etc. All for an ice-cream sandwich.

Now, I’ve had that particular brand of ice-cream sandwich. And it’s good. But it’s not THAT good. And obviously, it was a marketing campaign, not something to be taken literally. But I think it’s indicative of our culture, isn’t it? We are willing to do almost anything just to indulge ourselves for a few moments. We will jump through hoops (perhaps even from planes) for a few seconds of pleasure.

But I wonder what we’d be willing to do so that someone else — someone living in poverty — could have just a few moments of indulgence?

As I was in Guatemala last week, I couldn’t help but think about how overwhelming it must be for the families we visited. The obstacles of poverty never let up. A child gets sick. A father loses his job. The roof falls apart. The rains flood your tiny home. The groceries run out. Like ocean waves that just keep coming … one after another … after another. There’s no break. There’s no calm. No peace.

“Wouldn’t it be nice,” I thought, “if they could just get a break… even for a few minutes. To not worry about how they’re going to feed the kids tonight. Or where they’re going to find enough money to fix the roof. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just breathe for a moment without another wave of poverty hitting them in the face?”

An ice-cream sandwich is gone in a matter of minutes. The pleasure fades. Not even the taste lingers on. But if we could give a break to someone drowning in poverty, I would bet that it would leave a lasting impression.

At the risk of this sounding like another Compassion commercial, I’m not asking you to sponsor a child right now (though that would be wonderful if you did!). No, I’m simply asking, “What would you do … to give a few moments of pleasure to a person drowning in poverty?”

When posed with this question, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s not easy to answer. Would I quit my job? Would I change the way I eat? Would I be willing to vote a certain way? It’s so much tougher to answer what I’m willing to do for someone else’s pleasure, as opposed to my own.

Now, if you threw in an ice-cream sandwich …

Popularity: 34% [?]

Here are some numbers for you to chew on today.

The Barna Group did a survey asking “born-again” Christians and other Americans what they had done in the past 12 months to help those in poverty. Among the results were:

• 75 percent of born-again Christians gave material resources, not including money, directly to the poor.
• 74 percent of other Americans gave material resources, not including money, directly to the poor.
• 50 percent of born-again Christians donated time to personally serve needy people who live in the community.
• 45 percent of other Americans did the same.

Hmmm … That’s not a big difference. Regarding the statistics, David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group said,

“Given the extensive comments in the Bible regarding the importance of taking care of the poor, we expected to see a larger distinction between the responses of born-again Christians and non-Christians.”

This isn’t a beauty pageant — we’re not competing with those around us for “Best Do-Gooder.” But one would expect the followers of Jesus — the most compassionate man who ever walked this earth — to be a bit more radical in their compassionate deeds, a bit more out of the ordinary.

I think America is a pretty compassionate country, thanks in part to its Judeo-Christian roots. So I have to ask myself: Is my compassion just a result of my do-gooder culture? Or is my compassion a radical outpouring of following Jesus, knowing him, and becoming like him?

What matters isn’t how I measure up to the average American around me, but whether I’m seeking Christ and following his example, “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7).

What do you think? Are you culturally compassionate? Is your compassion an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life as you follow Jesus?

Popularity: 34% [?]