The Light of Christ

The light of Christ I see in my sponsored child is . . .

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The Price of Greatness

I heard on the radio the other day that it’s probably the biggest thing that’s ever come to Denver. They were talking about the Democratic National Convention, of course. And they’re right … it is big. The local news has been dominated this week by headlines from the convention.

All this political hype has me thinking a lot about who will be the next leader of our country and what that means for children in poverty. While global poverty may not be one of the “hot button” items on the agenda for the convention, it is by no means an insignificant issue.

In fact, I just read this article about how, according to the World Bank, global poverty is much worse than previously thought. Working at a place like Compassion where we are faced daily with stories of injustice and suffering, I have a hard time not making it THE issue of the election.

However, this post is not about politics or my feelings about who should be elected. It’s about children in poverty and our responsibility to care for them.

Don Miller is one of my favorite authors. He said the closing prayer for day one of the convention, and I thought his prayer was worth sharing.

“Father God,

This week, as the world looks on, help the leaders in this room create a civil dialogue about our future.
We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation.
We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.
Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.
Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.
Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.
Give those in this room who have power, along with those who will meet next week, the courage to work together to finally provide health care to those who don’t have any, and a living wage so families can thrive rather than struggle.

Help us figure out how to pay teachers what they deserve and give children an equal opportunity to get a college education.
Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.
We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there. We need your help.

Father, will you restore our moral standing in the world?
A lot of people don’t like us, but that’s because they don’t know the heart of the average American.
Will you give us favor and forgiveness, along with our allies around the world?
Help us be an example of humility and strength once again.

Lastly, father, unify us.
Even in our diversity help us see how much we have in common.
And unify us not just in our ideas and in our sentiments — but in our actions, as we look around and figure out something we can do to help create an America even greater than the one we have come to cherish.

God we know that you are good.
Thank you for blessing us in so many ways as Americans.

I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice.
Let Him be our example.
Amen.”

Whoever takes the reigns of leading this country in November has an enormous and very difficult job ahead of him. He desperately needs our prayers. One of the best ways I think we can help children suffering from poverty is to pray for the new leadership of our country.

Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” We are the richest nation on earth. The man who leads this nation holds great power. Let’s pray that he uses that power to help right the injustices in this world.

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The Poverty of ME

Last week, I was in Mexico. On a sponsor tour. And I saw the deepest, darkest poverty of my life.

But I didn’t have to travel to ME, the abbreviation we use when referring to Mexico, to see it. I only had to look at me.

I was in Mexico for the wrong reason. I didn’t go for the children, to become a stronger, more passionate voice for them. To serve them better. To serve you better. I went because I like to travel. I went for me.

There certainly are solid business reasons for me to have gone on the trip, but I didn’t get out of my own way long enough to realize them. I hate that.

How do I redeem the opportunity God gave me and that I squandered? (more…)

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Still Here

I hardly know where to start. Perhaps I should begin with the presentation.

On August 14 I gave a presentation for “the proposal” I worked on during my internship. By the grace of God, it was received very well. Various department heads were there, including the marketing director himself, and they all liked the idea. A lot. In fact, they liked it so much, the first question was “What are our next steps?”

I was speechless.

My supervisor, Chris Giovagnoni, filled in my silence. “Uhhh …”

Good call Chris. Way to cover.

Shortly after the presentation, I debriefed with Chris. What he then told me only led to yet another level of amazement and surprise.

How would you feel about working with us for another six weeks? You’d be doing different stuff since you completed your internship project, but you’d still be involved with the ‘next step’ discussions. And we’d buy you some time, free of the ‘what do I do now’ question, as Human Resources considers all the candidates for the positions you’ve applied for.”

“Uhhh, yes.”

Let me paint a picture for you.

The night before, I was lying on my back on the floor of my room in tears as I spoke with my mom about my doubt and fears for the future.

“What if I am not supposed to be in Colorado or with Compassion at all?” I sobbed.

“What if my time here is done? Where will I go now? How am I supposed to know what to do?”

God was in control and His timing was perfect … yet again. He made it clear where He wanted me and what He wanted me to be doing the next day, the day of the internship graduation.

Would I have been better off knowing I would be staying days or even weeks before? Not necessarily.

The only thing that would have changed would have been my desperate dependence on Him. I would have begun to take over control of the next steps and, if memory serves me right, I typically screw things up.

So what seemed to be hard and uncomfortable test of faith was actually the Lord’s way of saving me from myself in the long run. It has painted for me a more real and tangible picture of His grace.

So here I sit; in my same cube at my same desk, happy as a lark.

*Furrowed brow*

What is a lark and why is it happy?

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farmland with rows of plants

What is Want? (Understanding Want)

Hunger and want are so unreal and unknown to us that we don’t even blink an eye at it because the want in the world is unknown or not personal to us.

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Holistic Child Development

Child development Another Saturday, another thought half finished.

Holistic child development means . . .

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smiling Ugandan toddler

Faith of a Child

I think of my own sponsored child who, in his very first letter at the age of seven, told me of his intention to be an artist. This is a little boy in rural Africa who had never owned a box of crayons or a set of paints in his life. But what does that matter to a child who has faith?

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group of people worshiping with raised hands

What is Worship? (Live Like We Sing)

Worship doesn’t end with that last up tempo song. Worship doesn’t end when you drop your tithe check in the offering basket. Worship doesn’t end when you help clean up after the pot luck. Worship doesn’t end when you pile the kids in the van to head home. That’s when worship begins.

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two boys sitting on dock

The Dignity of Work

I told you about my new neighbor, the Port-o-Let. One morning, a new big truck came pulling up outside my apartment, and this guy in a yellow vest hopped out.

Armed with a long hose, he proceeded to suck the contents out of the Port-o-Let. Quick as lightning, he hopped back in his truck and was off. Now he’s been showing up in his big green truck each week, happily performing his duty.

Family in front of homeAnd it got me thinking. It’s easy for me to complain about the little parts of my job that bug me (like paperwork and deadlines and meetings). Watching this man gave me a new appreciation for my job. Not, by any means, that I think there is more dignity in what I do than what he does. I believe that there is dignity in the work that God has given each of us to do, no matter how our culture prompts us to view it.

And learning more about the work others do around the world can give us a new perspective on our own work.

Ganesan, shown here with his family in front of his home in India*, works each day as a day laborer in other’s fields to feed his wife and two children.

Working as a day laborer is a common occupation of the parents of Compassion children, as most can’t afford to own land themselves and don’t have the education to seek other employment.

Ganesan earns about 450 Rupees a week for his work — about $10.


woman weaving basket

Resty is a proud mother of two in Uganda.

Her husband is an alcoholic, so a lot of the time she has to find ways to provide for her children by herself.

She hadn’t worked before, but through the Child Survival Program, she learned how to start a small business, selling charcoal by the roadside.

She gets about 20,000 Ugandan shillings a month selling charcoal — about $12.

She also learned to weave baskets through the CSP, and sells each basket she makes for about $1.


Ryan and Axl’s dads work as fishermen in Indonesia. (And, yes, that is as in Axl Rose. His dad liked rock music.)

Their fathers leave for the ocean on fishing expeditions and are gone from their family for six weeks at a time catching mackerel.

Each trip, they earn roughly 700,000 Indonesian Rupees — about $77.

two boys sitting on dock

boy with wood carved dresserWhere 17-year-old Ezequiel grew up in southern Mexico, the average worker earns $12 a week, working 20-hour days to harvest mangoes and bananas.

But Ezequiel’s dad is a carpenter who makes beautiful furniture.

At his Compassion child development center, Ezequiel learned how to carve wood, and together with their different skills, Ezequiel and his dad can make pieces like this dresser they just finished.

Once he graduates, a skilled woodworker like him can earn up to $55 a week, compared to the $12 of the day laborers harvesting mangoes.


In India, Suren and his wife, Rinu, both used to work full time in a brick factory. Suren lived in a dormitory at the factory, and Rinu would travel home each day to care for the family. Put together, they earned roughly 250 Indian Rupees a week — about $6 — for their family of six.

But Kajali (in the dark blue sweater) became sponsored, and her sponsors gave them a family gift, with which they bought a cycle van.

Now Suren earns many times over as a cycle van driver what he used to earn at the brick factory. When he was working at the factory and couldn’t provide a proper home for his family, Suren says, “as a parent, I felt worthless and of no good use.”

family with cycle van

Those words tear my heart, and it’s sadly not the first time I’ve read the sentiment. How many mothers and fathers are out there, working so hard each day as farmers, drivers, and traders, scraping to provide just one or two meals for their children, and still feeling like failures?

Yet it’s so encouraging to know that even a small gesture can transform a family’s life. Suren is now filled with pride for the way he can care for his family. He says, “through Kajali and her beloved sponsor, we have now tasted of the goodness of God’s awesome power.”

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*NOTE FROM EDITOR: This content honors Compassion’s historical work in India. While we no longer have an India sponsorship program, we are grateful for the lives changed and meaningful work achieved through our sponsors and donors in our nearly 50 years there. For a detailed explanation of the end of our sponsorship program in India, please visit: compassion.com/india-update.

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Experiencing God in Mexico

Hello everyone. This will be my last post from Mexico. I need to put the computer aside and experience God.

I’ve lost my way and made this trip about something other than Him.

I’ve uploaded another 50 photos to Flickr tonight. I’ll have more after August 23, when I return home.

I’ll also have some video of the welcome presentations at the two child development centers we visited today.

And I’ll have one more blog post.

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At the Compassion Mexico Office

omarWe spent this morning at the Compassion Mexico office. After a brief introduction and welcome by Omar, the country director, our group of 30+ sponsors broke into three smaller masses, in order to get a little more intimate with the different ministry areas.

First stop for “el grupo de Giovagnoni” was Ministry Services. We had a presentation from Cesareo in Finance. It was about the funding process for money to be granted and distributed to a child development center. It was in Spanglish. Cesareo said that, not me.

Next stop on the office tour, Sponsor Donor Services (SDS).

Here’s the 411 from the folks in SDS, with a little bleed over from Program Implementation, the stars who work with our church partners.

  • Compassion Mexico has 129 child development centers in eight of Mexico’s 31 states. They help about 20,000 children.
  • 79 percent of the 20,000 children are sponsored. 21 percent are waiting for sponsors.
  • Chiapas is the poorest state in Mexico and has been for the past 20 years. It’s where most of Compassion Mexico’s work is done, and it’s where we’ll be until Thursday. Chiapas borders Guatemala.
  • Last fiscal year, July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, Compassion Mexico processed 23,000 letters from sponsors.
  • The staff estimates that 45 percent of sponsors write their children and the remaining children don’t receive any letters.
  • In the last fiscal year, Compassion Mexico processed 51,000 letters from its children to their sponsors.
  • Around 80 percent of Compassion Mexico’s sponsors are in the United States.
  • The average number of children in a Compassion Mexico child development center is 160.
  • Compassion Mexico expects to register another 5,000 children during this fiscal year.
  • The Compassion Mexico office opened in 1976 and does not currently work with the Child Survival Program or Leadership Development Program – only Child Sponsorship and Complementary Interventions.

And here’s some additional info bling strictly from Program Implementation.

  • The children in Chiapas are three times less likely to grow up healthy and to attend school.
  • 90 percent of children in Chiapas don’t attend school regularly. They work as laborers.

After we left the Compassion Mexico office, the rest of our day was spent traveling – by bus from Mexico City to the Toluca airport and then from Toluca by plane to Tuxtla Gutierrez.

Adios for now.

Hope you don’t mind that this post has been search engine optimized for the keyword Compassion Mexico.

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Ask the Field: El Salvador and Haiti

Okay, everyone. Limber up those fingers. It’s time for the next round of Ask the Field. It’s time for you to ask questions of two of my fabulous coworkers, Ephraim Lindor of Haiti and Roberto Medrano of El Salvador.

EphraimEphraim has been working with Compassion Haiti for 22 years. (Talk about perseverance!)

He first worked for Compassion as a translator, and he is now the field communications supervisor for Haiti. His daily work includes interviewing Compassion beneficiaries and writing stories about their success.

Ephraim is always smiling, and he loves watermelon. Besides all the work he does for Compassion, he’s a pastor at his local church, a loving father of a 21-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy, and a loving husband of 23 years.

roberto-dennisRoberto has been working with Compassion El Salvador for 6 years. He first worked for Compassion as field communications specialist and now he is the communications and tours specialist for Central America and the Caribbean, which means he is in charge of training and supporting all Compassion countries in that region for communications and tours. (He’s a busy guy!)

Roberto is the youth pastor of his church, and although he is just 30 years old, he has been preaching for more than 26 years. He was a child preacher, and that is one of the reasons why he loves Compassion’s ministry — he has witnessed first hand the impact of God’s Word when you are a child. He is crazily in love with his beautiful wife, Yolanda, an ORU graduate that fully supports him in working on behalf of children.

So now it’s your turn to ask away! You know the drill by now — I’ll choose 10 of your questions for them to answer.

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