10 More Reasons to Write Your Child
For many of us, the letters we exchange are the closest we’ll ever come to our sponsored children. And even though we may understand the impact of our letters, it is still difficult to actually make the time to write a letter. That’s just reality.
Cook with Compassion: Zucchini and Poblano Soup
While making zucchini and poblano soup, Becky got in touch with her inner celebrity chef and took some creative license with the recipe. Which means — she winged it!
10 Motivating Reasons to Write Your Child
Out of 3,500 letters from our Project Facilitators, we compiled a list of 10 of the most motivating reasons to write your child.
You Are Not Helpless, You Are Empowered
One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to make you feel impotent. To get you to believe that no matter what you do, it won’t make a difference.
Redeeming Haiti
No one in their right mind would call the earthquake that hit Haiti a good thing. It was utterly devastating. And yet still there is good.
Because of the earthquake’s destruction, Haiti is now having to start with what feels like a nearly clean slate. The [corrupt and inefficient] government was toppled. The [inadequate] school…
The Healing Power of the World Cup
Haiti, which is still digging out from the catastrophic earthquake that struck in January, did not qualify for the 2010 World Cup. But the Haitian people badly need a team to root for to lift their spirits, and most are cheering for the powerful Brazilian team.
Fewer Children Are Dying
Good news from the government is pretty rare. Good news in the media is even more rare. So when I read this headline the other day, I smiled: “WHO sees good progress on UN health goals for poor.”
According to a recent study by the U.N.’s World Health Organization, good progress is being made on health-related Millennium…
At My First Graduation, I . . .
I knew our Leadership Development Program has graduations. I knew our Child Sponsorship Program has graduations. But I had no idea that our Child Survival Program (CSP) has graduations, until I saw this precious little gem…
The kids obviously take the graduation ceremony very seriously. (Or maybe they’re simply concentrating on holding such a large…
I No Longer Sponsor a Child
You know the scene in any coming-of-age movie when a teenage girl is about to go to her first dance and she appears at the top of the stairs and her parent (usually a widowed father) stands there with tears in his eyes and a huge lump in his throat, totally entranced by his daughter’s…
On Letter Writing: Would You Rather … ?
The topic of letter-writing always sparks lively discussions. It even seems to spontaneously come up in posts on other topics.
So seeing as we genuinely value your input (and OK … I admit … in an attempt to stimulate a discussion), I hereby pose the following question to you:
Would you rather receive more general…
Give Up On Serving the Poor?
I read a blog post the other day that I want to share with you. It’s titled Why I Stopped Serving the Poor, and it was written by Claudio Oliver of Curitiba, Brazil. His grandparents founded the Salvation Army in Brazil.
“Without exception, rich and poor have the same conviction that what they need…
You know when you go on a mission trip that is a completely life-changing experience, and you come back all fired up? You just stared injustice in the face and realized you can actually do something about it. Your life takes on new purpose. You know that feeling?
The Key to Solving the Global Food Crisis
I heard the other day what many would call “good news.” According to the Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, the recession is over.
Only the thing is, the “good-ness” of this news is relative … it’s only true for those of us living within certain geographic boundaries (read: the developed world.)
So, while we may be…
Disaster Relief Kit: What’s Inside?
After a disaster occurs in one of our countries, we often raise money to help those affected. We do this to help provide things such as food and water, shelter, bedding, trauma counseling or medical treatment, among other needs. Many times we also send disaster relief kits.
Heartbreak in Bangladesh: Cyclone Aila
They are the most heartbreaking reports I’ve seen during my 12 months in this job. (Not that you can really quantify or categorize something like this, but last week was the first time I cried reading a crisis report.)
Cyclone Aila. If you haven’t heard about it, don’t feel bad. It really hasn’t been in…
The Lowdown on Reciprocal Letter Writing
As with many aspects of our ministry, we have a set of standards for the letter-writing process. When I talk about “standards,” what I mean is certain expectations that we’ve given to every church partner. However, as with anything involving fallible humans, this does not guarantee it will always happen.
Rwandan Genocide: 15 Years Later
In 1994 I was 16.
I was in the midst of my self-absorbed teenage years – a time in my life when nothing seemed as important as what kind of clothes I was wearing, and my daily mood was dictated by whether my current crush had said “Hi” to me in the hallway between classes…
What is Evangelism?
Have you ever wondered how Compassion, an openly evangelical organization, is able to work in Muslim or Hindu countries where evangelism is illegal?
In the Midst of Poverty
Abortion. War. Recession. Poverty. Terrorism. Injustice. Abuse. Hate. In a world full of so much evil, it’s easy to forget that God is still sitting on the throne. That He hasn’t abdicated His power. That He hasn’t forgotten or abandoned us.
Check out the cool new feature on compassion.com that helps you stay informed about what’s going on in your sponsored child’s country.
Slumdog Millionaire and Poverty Tourism
Last weekend I saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Have you heard of it? If you haven’t by now, you surely will soon. Just this week it was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture. (By the way, in case you were wondering, I think it should win Best Picture.)
Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of…
The Community That Ended Poverty
Just the other day I read something in the Bible that, although I must have read it a hundred times before, never jumped out at me the way it did this time. The words practically threw themselves off the page. I was reading at the end of Acts 4 …
“All the believers were one…
Redemption Needed
Remember when I told you about my new job? I’ve been doing it for several months now and so I feel like I’ve gotten a pretty good grip on things. Well … as good a grip as one can have on a job that depends entirely on world events. And oh my word, the world…
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