We are all in a story. A great creative process of writing history and being swept up in history at the same time.

God is the author of the BIG story, the story of His great love and redemption. And we’re all a part of that big story. But we each have our own stories to write, and I believe that God invites us to joyfully and playfully join Him in the creative process of writing our parts.

Sometimes our thinking binds us to a deterministic view of the world, like we are mere pawns in a chess game. But I believe we are active agents in the story.

In his book, Holy Play – The Joyful Adventure of Unleashing Your Diving Purpose, Baptist preacher and author Kirk Byron Jones says,

“What if, more than anything else, God wants you to experience the joy of searching out and choosing your purpose in life among a vast assortment of opportunities? What if there isn’t a detailed plan for your life but an open outline and an invitation from God to you to creatively and deliberately fill in the spaces? What if God’s ultimate dream for your life is that you live and play your best dreams?”

Fifty-seven years ago God spoke to a man. Amid the droning engines of an airplane, God asked that man, “What are you going to do?”

The faces of Korean children, the feather weight of their small bodies in his arms, and the gentleness of their voices filled Everett Swanson’s mind.

On that plane an idea was born. A simple vision for a faithful, godly response to God’s question became a seed for an unimaginable movement of God’s people. Compassion.

Fifty-seven years later God continues to speak to His people, calling us to serve the global movement for children in poverty. A global movement we call Compassion.

What are we going to do?

I expect that many of you are aware of the global economic situation. Developed economies around the world are reeling. Food prices around the globe have skyrocketed. Businesses are struggling.
Non-profits are laying people off, cutting back programs and scrambling for donations.The world seems dark.

So, how will we respond?

We will not shrink back in the face of adversity. God has called us to be an advocate for children in poverty, and the children need our voice to ring strong and clear when speaking out on their behalf.
We know that when the rich of the world catch a cold, the poor get pneumonia. When the well-off suffer, the poor die. The world needs light now more than ever.

Nonetheless, economics are a reality.

You, our sponsors and donors around the world, are feeling the financial strain already and will likely feel this for months, if not years, to come. So, what do we expect the impact on Compassion to be?

Truthfully, only God knows. But we know that in the end God will prevail.

We know that He will be faithful to His word and to His promises and so, with God’s help, we will prevail. Things may not go exactly according to our plans, but I am confident that God will continue to allow us to help more and more children in a deeper and more profound way, despite the economic and food crises.

In our Executive Group devotions the other day, my co-worker Laurie shared from Isaiah 42 and I think it was Scripture meant for all of us.

Since we are to be Christ in this world, read the passage below knowing that Compassion is God’s servant:

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. …He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. …I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. …I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” (VS. 1, 4, 6, 16, NIV).

So, be encouraged. We are all in the palm of God’s hand, and as we pray for the children one million children around the world are praying for us.

In addition to the expectation and excitement of registering our first child in Togo later this year, I’m very excited to say that two weeks ago our Board of Directors unanimously approved plans to begin work in Sri Lanka.

Of course, there is still much preparation that needs to be done to launch this new country, but we’ve proposed a timeline that includes registering the first children in Sri Lanka during the summer of 2009.

Please pray with us that this will be a smooth process, that doors will open as needed and that many little lives in Sri Lanka will be changed for eternity.

A few years back, Israel Candia from Bolivia served as our “poster boy” for the Leadership Development Program (LDP). He entered our Child Sponsorship Program at age 4 and graduated from LDP in 2004.

Today, Israel is demonstrating the Lordship of Christ by serving as pastor of the Villa Moscu Church. He is also supporting himself economically by practicing law. And, on March 29 he exchanged wedding vows with his beautiful bride, Benedicta!

So, our “poster boy” done good! And that means, you done good! Way to go! Way to go Israel! And, of course, way to go God who “is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of…” (Ephesians 3:20, Living Bible).