One House in Bogotá

I am walking down the streets of Soacha, a town of 500,000 that surrounds Bogotá. The neighborhood is called “San Nicolas,” a poor sector with two-story houses made from brick. Above the rooftops hang electric cables.

Shoes are draped over the cables, hanging from their laces. They seem to me to be part of the decoration. But later someone explains to me that gangs put them there to mark their territory.

This is a typical day in October, with sun in the morning and rain in the afternoon.

I keep walking under the sun through the streets searching for the student center, and I find all kinds of small businesses along the way, such as small stores where women can buy food to make their daily meals and a few Internet cafes with video games.

Children are visiting the stores. A few minutes later, I cross by a street seller of fresh fish, as a couple of street dogs search around him for food.

Behind the moving people and buses, I spot the student center. I arrive at the same time that Michael and Jeferson do. (more…)

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Rosario Shares Love

Every time Rosario enters a class she is received with an explosion of hugs and kisses from her little ones.

“Since I was young I dreamed to be surrounded by children, because I am the youngest in my family and I used to tell God that I wanted to work with children.”

rosario-surrounded-by-children
One day the pastor told her about the child development center and the children, and her curiosity took her there.

“God’s mission is being accomplished, and He put us here so we could accomplish His mission and take care of the children. I wanted to have many children, I dreamed all of that and God listens to us, so when the pastor told me to come and help here, I loved the idea.”

Rosario is already three years in this ministry. She started as a tutor, and since last year she is the director of the student center. To work in the center is very special for her; it is a blessing. (more…)

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Heart of Compassion

Aaron Armstrong and a childHello Compassion Blog readers. My name is Aaron, and I’m a member of the marketing and media communications team at Compassion Canada.

I’ll be honest, I feel a little strange writing on a blog — I normally spend a lot of time teasing the “pajama-hadin” (Google it and thank me later).

I never thought I’d become a part of it. Please pray for me. Winter’s barely started, and I’m already feeling a little cagey.

Anyway, the reason I’m here is to let you know about a new feature we’ve introduced in the latest issue of Compassion Today, Heart of Compassion.

Heart of Compassion gives you an opportunity to share your stories! How did you become a sponsor? What’s something really unique about the relationship between you and your sponsored child? How has sponsorship affected your life, for God’s glory and your joy?

We want to know your story! Post your story in the comments section here or e-mail them to [email protected]. We’ll publish our favorites in an upcoming issue of Compassion Today.

Happy Monday.

Aaron

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I Pray That My Sponsored Child

In 2009, I pray that my sponsored child . . .

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fellowship of the unashamed

Fellowship of the Unashamed

I’m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

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Christmas Angels

Merry Christmas!

On this day we hope you feel the presence of our Savior as we celebrate His grand love and His perfect will to move us closer to Himself.

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:23, NASB

Also, we thought you might like to see some children in Colombia celebrating the birth of Jesus. These photos were taken at a child development center Christmas party by Edwin Mendivelso, Compassion Colombia field communications specialist.

Take a look at these angels!

group of children dressed as angels

little boy and little girl dressed as angels small child dressed as an angel praying

two little girls dressed as angels praying

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Presents for the King

The church was packed with 200 children and their parents, celebrating the pre-Christmas program with the Compassion child cevelopment center. When the host announced the opening of the program, the room burst with clapping.

Laboni was there with her sister Sraboni. Everything around Laboni was entirely new for her. She belongs to a Christian family, but in their lives Christmas is just like every other regular day. There has been nothing very special about Christmas except going to church in the morning.

But after Laboni and her sister got registered at the child development center, everything around her has been changing in a positive way. The meaning of Christmas has also changed.

(more…)

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Christmas in Colombia

The main room is decorated with Christmas posters. Children are laughing and talking. One can feel the atmosphere of Christmas, the musicians do not stop singing, while children finish eating dessert.

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Compassion on National Public Radio

Earlier this month, I told you about how through the creativity of one of our donors, many children have been able to participate in Compassion-assisted programs throughout the world. Since then, the story of Mike Foster’s Junky Car Club in Southern California has taken on a life of its own.

National Public Radio (NPR) will be airing a story about the car club on their Christmas morning program each hour at 10 minutes ‘til the hour. I hope you can catch the segment when it airs because I’d appreciate hearing what you think.

And while you’re at it, let NPR know as well.

Merry Christmas!


Find your local NPR station.

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If I Could Spend Christmas

If I could spend Christmas with my sponsored child . . .

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We Shall Overcome

Recently, a great privilege and opportunity came my way. As it goes in the workplace, something happens or someone leaves, and all of a sudden you find out you have a new project on your hands.

My project was the first-ever Wess Stafford Moody Bible Institute scholarship that was awarded to three of our Leadership Development Program* (LDP) graduates.

Oh yeah, my name is Celina, and I work in marketing on the events team. Working with LDP graduates was a little out of my realm of expertise, but I was up for the challenge!

we-shall-overcomeAs I was being told about my role, three LDP grads –- Michelle Sheba Tolentino (Philippines), Richmond Wandera (Uganda) and Tony Beltran Morales (Dominican Republic) were headed to the United States, and nobody could really tell me what my role was actually going to be.

Everything with the Moody scholarship program is brand new territory for us. In the beginning, my job was to ask a whole lot of questions. And now, I realize that my job has been to break ground.

I don’t consider myself good at ground breaking, but every job I have had for the past 10 years has involved some sort of ground breaking. I don’t really like it. But I must be good at it because God keeps assigning me to it.

Anyway, the Moody scholars are here and have been for four months now, and I have to say that I think they are the most amazing people in the world!

They are smart; way smarter than me. They are kind. They are funny. And they know an aspect of God’s character that I will never know in all my days on this earth.

Why?

Because little children see His face, and although Michelle, Richmond and Tony have overcome poverty, they have seen His face in their darkest moments and lived to share it.

I have never met an LDP grad that hasn’t remained childlike in the best way.

I’ve met a student whose father was murdered. I’ve met students called ugly and useless by their families — rejected and scorned — and have all seen His face. And overcome.

The Bible says that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

Now, these three LDP graduates are earning masters degrees while sharing their testimonies all over the United States and Canada. They are overcoming, and we are blessed to be a part of it!

*This content honors our historical Leadership Development Program. To learn more about our current youth development opportunities, click here.

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Holes in the Pockets

Aleja wakes up very early in the morning, as she does every Saturday, to go to the market and buy the groceries for the week. She takes with her the same amount of money she usually does, but to her surprise she can’t even buy half of the things she needs.

At home, Aleja has five small children waiting for her to bring them something to eat. She is a single parent, mother of two sponsored children from Betel Student Center in the city of Oruro. She was abandoned by her husband and left with her children.

The family lives in a very small and dark room where they have three beds, a small table, some chairs and a small, wrecked shelf. Outside of the room, they use a small space covered with old pieces of calamines as their kitchen.

Aleja works washing clothes. She earns around $21 per week, and that is how she supports her family. She uses the money to pay the rent, the water, the electricity, the gas and buy the food and some things her children need for school. (more…)

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