Sharin’ the Love

Back in February, you, our fantastic friends, helped us win
the MySpace Impact Award. (This blog was just taking baby steps then, so
unless you were our friends on MySpace or Facebook, you might not have
heard our cheering.)

Well guess what? Another organization, The Love Alliance, has recently won
the MySpace Impact Award. (Congratulations, TLA!) And here’s the cool part
… TLA has chosen to use part of their award to buy mosquito nets through
our Malaria Intervention Fund.

The Love Alliance was started by a couple in Florida who have a heart for
social justice and want to raise awareness about issues and empower people
to take action. Seems they have a special place in their hearts for
Compassion. (Sigh … )

So first, to The Love Alliance and all those who voted for them, we’d like
to say thank you!

And second, when you have a few moments, visit The Love Alliance Web site
and find out what they’re all about.

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Getting 10,000 Children Sponsored in 10 Days

Have you noticed the “international” component of who we are? Compassion International.

Part of that internationality is that we work in 24 countries throughout the developing world … uh, 25 countries (you know about Togo, right?)

And the other part of that internationality is that there are 11 countries that form Compassion’s Global Partner Alliance. These are the countries where you, the sponsors, come from.

For the most part, the blog is written by Compassion U.S. staff with great contributions and insight coming from staff in the developing world. But there is more to us than those two perspectives.

Today’s post is written by Irene Kao, digital marketing specialist, in the Compassion Australia office.

Our plan is to have our global partners contribute as frequently as possible to help expand your perspective on who we are and how we work, as well as connecting you with sponsors and donors throughout the world.

Take it away Irene!

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Halftime Report

I’ve reached the halfway mark and it’s finally starting to get good. Why is that? Why is it that whenever I really start to fully understand and enjoy where it is that I am and what I’m doing, the end seems to be a mere few feet away?

The past three weeks here at Compassion have been some of the sweetest times in my life. As cliché as it may seem, I feel as though I have found myself. Or better yet, I found the Lord. Not to say He was hiding, but I feel as though my eyes have been unveiled and my heart has been opened to see and experience Him in a new way.

As with any halftime, the focal point has now turned from offense to defense. We have successfully created an idea that I think will be huge hit and now we need to find a way to defend it against the onslaught of logistics, financial resources and all other realistic killjoys. This is where it gets interesting.

Interesting also is the possibility of staying here at Compassion. I have recently applied for several positions which I am praying the Lord will make available. (more…)

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Saturday’s Half

Today’s half is brought to you by The Leopard at the Summit (Steve K.) Thanks brutha.

Of course, you’re responsible for the second half.

Bring it!

The first time I heard of Compassion International . . .

 

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The Sound of Love

There’s a journal sitting on the table next to my bed. There’s also one sitting on the table next to the rocking chair in Edison’s room. I have one to write my thoughts and feelings through my pregnancy and the other to journal through the first few months and years of Edison’s life.

Would you be surprised if I told you they were both empty?

Maybe someday I’ll regret not writing more during my pregnancy and this time as a new mom, but right now all the inspiring thoughts I can get out of my pen go in Edison’s baby book . . . and most of the rest of my thoughts, before he was born, weren’t that inspiring.

For some reason I just can’t write about how awful I felt trying to sleep every night in my bed with my every craving available in my refrigerator downstairs, or at the very least, at the neighborhood grocery store. I seriously don’t even want to try to remember the number of nights I tried to sleep in a sitting-up position in a soft comfy chair because my nose was so stuffed up I couldn’t breathe — and I didn’t even have a cold. As much as I want to complain, and probably did at the time, I know I really had it easy.

And the stuff I want to remember . . . like how cool it was to feel him kicking around inside me and how it is just a little freaky and amazing that God can even do such a miracle in me . . . would be really hard to “get” from words on a page. Right now, I remember these things every time I look at my son’s face and see that he is growing right before my eyes.

So, who am I to regret not doing something so indulgent as writing all this stuff down when most of the new mothers around the world can’t even read, let alone write their own name? Many of these women wouldn’t even believe that their words counted or their thoughts mattered. And I wonder, is it possible to raise a child with self esteem if you don’t have it yourself?

And really, how am I so different from them anyway? Don’t all mothers everywhere want the same things for their children? I still remember the first time Edison smiled at me on purpose. Now I even get to hear him laugh. Can you imagine not hearing your child laugh?

Child Survival Program multiplies the amazing sound of laugher around the world. It is the sound of health, it is the sound of life, it is the sound of Love . . . the kind Jesus was known for.

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Child Photos in My Account

Child photos They’re here! You can see ‘em. Excellent!

But you can’t download them yet.

We know. We know. It shouldn’t be that hard to do something that seems so simple, but things aren’t always what they appear. Just ask the Jews who didn’t recognize the Messiah.

Anyway, download functionality will be available when the redesigned compassion.com launches.

Remember us mentioning the redesign thing … back in early June. We’re still working on it. Making great progress too.

For now, this is where you can find your photos.

  1. Log in to My Account at compassion.com
  2. Click on Child Information in the left hand navigation
  3. Rejoice!

child-photos

When you click on the Child Information link that is next to your child’s photo, you’ll get more detailed information about your child and a bigger photo.

See.

child-photo

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Creation Revelation

I went camping for the first time this weekend. Turns out … I’m not made for it. There are aspects of it that I enjoyed immensely, such as setting up the tent (which I am proud to say didn’t take us very long), making a fire and cooking dinner over it (and by dinner I mean S’mores), and, of course, hiking.

My friends and I camped at “The Crags,” which lies directly behind Pike’s Peak. Words simply don’t do justice to the splendor and majesty of God’s creation. It is breathtaking and awe-inspiring. And that’s what got me thinking. Everyone needs to feel this small so they can see just how big He is.

As you know, I’ve spent the last several weeks brainstorming about how to capture Gen Y and move them to action. They need only to be given the right opportunity to go out into the world; because once they are there they can make a difference.

And now, an idea has been born!

  • It’s about giving young adults the opportunity to completely participate in what Compassion is doing around the world.
  • It’s about getting intimate with extreme poverty.

I can attest to the growing pains in my own soul, to see and experience God in a big yet intimate way. For whatever reason, there lies within me the idea that He is where I have yet to go: out there. Among people groups and areas of the world that our society says are off limits; dangerous.

I also know that my feelings are shared by many of my peers. There is an overarching sense of duty that we feel we must fulfill, a holy war we must wage. My generation is on the horizon, and we are ready to fight; we need only to be equipped with the proper armor and the opportune time.

There are still countless bases to be covered, details to be ironed out, and logistics to be overcome. But, driving the progression of it all is an extreme excitement about the possibility of taking my generation on a journey that will change our lives and the lives of those with whom we share the story.

I know that I am more moved and inspired by sitting down with someone over a cup of coffee and hearing about what the Lord is doing in that person’s life than watching yet another commercial that exploits pictures of children in poverty in order to tap into the pity that lies in wait within our souls. At the end of the day, pity fades. We forget about them, not because we mean to, but because we haven’t heard their story.

I think that as this idea takes shape and people who participate come back to share what they encountered, listeners would see in a new light the work that needs to be done.

The bottom line is this: God will accomplish His will in some form of fashion, using whichever generation will make itself available. My question is simply this: Why not us? Why not now?

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Back From Bolivia

As many of you know, I recently took a trip to Bolivia to visit my sponsored children. It was an experience I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

I had planned on visiting my children for a long time, and this was one of the reasons why I sponsored all of my 12 children in one country — Bolivia. This way, I could visit them in one trip, creating a logistical headache for the person in the country office trying to organize all of this. 🙂 Doing it this way is probably the least expensive way per child to visit them. It’s not for nothing that they say, “Cheaper by the Dozen!” (more…)

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My Sponsored Child Taught Me

My sponsored child taught me . . .

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Pennies for the Poor

Story and Photo by Barb Liggett, Global Strategy Office Intern


Eugine is an 8-year-old from Kenya who wants to be a teacher when he grows up. Compassion believes that he — and all kids with big dreams — can do it. So does Katie Peters. This 15-year-old, from Colorado Springs’ The Classical Academy, has been raising money for Compassion since 2002 to help kids like Eugine reach their goals. Katie places jars with the slogan “Pennies for the Poor” in classrooms and hallways around her campus, about a mile from Compassion’s Global Ministry Center.

pennies-for-the-poor

Katie posted signs around the school encouraging students and teachers to drop loose change into these jars. This simple act has gone a long way.

To date, Katie has raised more than $880 to help children across the world. Although Katie humbly claims she “was not a huge part, and it wasn’t all [her] money,” she organized this effort to raise money out of a caring and pure heart. She took the initiative to get permission from her principal to set the jars out, and at the end of each day she collects the jars and locks them in cabinets for safekeeping.

Despite all this work, Katie hopes her efforts go unnoticed by peers. She says that “I don’t try and tell people that I am doing it … I almost hope they don’t know it is me doing it. I hope they just know somebody cares.”

This is the servant’s heart Compassion seeks, the type of heart that is so powerful when embodied in a young person.

Katie chose Compassion from a long list of organizations, but for her the choice was simple. Her family began sponsoring a boy when she was 5, so she was already familiar with Compassion’s ministry.

About her family’s Compassion child, she explains that “he had graduated about the time I started Pennies for the Poor, so I decided there were still others like him who needed [help] through Compassion.”

Her family’s sponsorship was not the only experience that influenced her. When asked what provoked her to start collecting change, Katie says that “I started thinking I wanted to do something after my class had a character lesson about giving.” This, along with understanding the results of child sponsorship firsthand, inspired Katie to become an advocate for impoverished children around the world.

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Arpita’s Miracle

Arpita This is a true story about a young girl in one of Compassion’s child development centers in India.


Last summer, heavy rains poured into the village where 12-year-old Arpita lives.

The ground, already saturated from previous rains, left nowhere else for the waters to go … so the entire village flooded. Muddy water, one foot deep, filled Arpita’s home.

When you live in extreme poverty, access to clean water is hard to come by, but filthy water seems to make its way to your door with great ease.

Arpita was sitting on her raised bed, getting dressed for the day. While she fussed with the fabric of her frock, she clinched an open safety pin between her teeth.

Suddenly, the pin wiggled in her mouth, and Arpita found herself choking. The pin was far enough down that her throat’s natural reaction was to swallow.

The sharp edge of the pin scraped along the inside of her esophagus. Arpita ran to her mother and father to tell them what had happened.

pin made its way all the way down to her stomach. Arpita’s mother was worried it could do severe damage.

She had Arpita drink water. She rubbed her little girl’s tummy. But nothing could make the pain go away. She decided to take Arpita to the hospital.

Arpita’s father went to the Compassion project, asking the pastor to have the children pray. An odd request, considering Arpita’s parents weren’t Christians. But they still believed in the power of prayer.

The children prayed. Fervently. Tears streamed down their little faces as they pleaded for God to rescue their friend and classmate.

Meanwhile, Arpita’s doctor performed an x-ray of Arpita’s stomach.

Their worst fears were confirmed. The pin was open … and it had lodged in the lining of her stomach.

Short of a miracle, the doctors were going to have to perform a rather risky surgery to open up Arpita’s stomach and remove the pin.

But our God is the God of miracles.

Watch the video to see how the story plays out.


You can also view this video about Arpita on YouTube.

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Why Does Poverty Exist?

Have you been following the discussion on this post – Why We Can’t End Poverty?

It’s been lively, deep, heated, tense, stimulating, frustrating and just simply down home good. We like honesty.

The comment thread birthed a related, but new subject. We’d like to give our new baby its own home.

Welcome!

Let us know what you think. Why does poverty exist?

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