A week in the life of Dr. Wess Stafford, President and CEO of Compassion International, doesn’t allow much down time, but all the hard work and effort is worth it to him.

Over the years, Wess has discovered that even the quickest minute can make a big impact in the life of a child, and he’s determined to use each minute he’s given to continue releasing more children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

What does a typical week for Wess look like? Typical is a word that’s difficult to attach to Wess and his schedule, but here’s a look at one week from early November.

Monday

8:30 a.m.

Wess begins the day by driving to a local conference center to meet up with the rest of the Global Executive Leadership Team for a retreat. This team is made up of vice presidents from different divisions within the ministry, regional vice presidents who oversee field office ministry, and a few leaders from our Global Partners.

10:00 a.m.

The retreat begins with devotion and prayer time. Wess was asked to share a devotional, and he leads a discussion centered on the concept of his new book, Just a Minute. Wess asks the members of the team to recount a time when one person encouraged or discouraged them in about a minute, impacting their lives forever.

Noon – 7:30 p.m.

The day continues with meetings on ministry strategy. Our top leaders discuss where the ministry is now in light of where they would like it to be 10 years from now.

Tuesday

8:45 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

The retreat’s second day begins with another devotional time led by a co-worker. After devotions and prayer, the team discusses a variety of topics ranging from technology and how it’s used within their work groups, to what employees are saying about their experience working for Compassion.

The team takes a welcome break for lunch. This is a good chance for them to recharge before jumping in to more meetings for the rest of the day.

Wess is a great storyteller, and over lunch he shares with the others some of his latest adventures.

Wednesday

8:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

This is the last day of the Global Executive Leadership Team retreat, and they enjoy another meaningful time of reflection before diving in to more strategy sessions.

The rest of the team will stay at the conference center for the day, but Wess has a flight to catch!

3:00 p.m.

Wess hops onto a flight to Little Rock, Ark., where he will be interviewed for an upcoming radio program.

After arriving in the area, he picks up his rental car and drives to the hotel to prepare for the next day’s interview.

Thursday

8:00 a.m.

Wess re-reads the Just a Minute manuscript to get ready for his interview with Family Life Today. He goes over the chapters again to make sure his mind is focused on the topics he hopes to cover during the interview.

2:00 p.m.

The radio interview begins!

Wess talks with Family Life Today hosts Dennis Rainey and Bob Lepine about the upcoming release of his book. He recounts the inspiration for the book and shares some of the stories found within its pages.

They are supposed to record enough for one radio program, but all three men are so engaged in the topic that the conversation grows into enough for three separate programs.

Along with Wess, Dennis and Bob also share stories from their own childhoods about how someone impacted their lives in just one minute.

7:30 p.m.

After a great day of recording, Wess gets on a plane home. He’s excited to see how children’s lives will be changed for the better after people hear the radio program and read this new book.

Friday

7:30 p.m.

Wess uses Friday to recharge for the week ahead, when he will write, attend several speaking engagements, and participate in more interviews.

For now, it’s time for a little fun at the Air Force vs. Army basketball game.

Wess enjoys the game, but he’s a little nervous as a former soldier surrounded by Zoomies!

Each week is full of new challenges and inspiration for Wess Stafford. He loves what he does and works hard to be an advocate for children everywhere.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ashley Mays and her husband live in Colorado Springs where she enjoys rock climbing, playing the guitar and writing. You can find out more about Ashley on her website at: www.ashley-mays.com.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Nine-year-old Jessa lives in a tiny, dark hovel situated within a crowded squatter community in metro Manila. Jessa’s home, unlike the typical homes in most squatter communities, is a concrete house.

While this shelter could keep the family safe during typhoons, on other days of the year it is very hot and humid inside their one-room house.

Jessa wakes up at 4 a.m. Monday through Friday. It is still dark at this time of day, but inside the family’s bedroom it is dark at every time of the day. They do not have a window.

During the rainy season, sleeping in their cramped bedroom is cozy, but on most days of the year, it is hot and humid. Jessa, her father, Jesus, her mother, Naty, and sister, Joyce Ann, sleep together on a tattered double-size mattress inside a 6’ x 6’ room.

The family sleeps cross-wise on the mattress with their feet touching the floor.

At 4:30 a.m. Jessa smells the freshly steamed rice “Nanay” (her mother, Naty) is cooking below; not “downstairs” but “below” since they do not have a staircase. The family bedroom is on a sort of mezzanine-type floor.

Jessa gingerly steps down onto the kitchen sink and to a wooden plank before she touches the linoleum- covered concrete floor. She tries not to startle her uncle who is sleeping on a wooden mat in the living room.

Jessa takes a quick breakfast – a plate of steamed white rice and locally canned meatloaf – and a quick morning bath.

It is so humid in the Philippines during both the dry and wet seasons that Filipinos cannot truly start their day without taking a quick shower. Jessa doesn’t have a shower. She scoops water from a pail using a plastic dipper inside their dimly lit bathroom. On cooler days during the winter, Naty heats a kettle of water for her daughters.

The Philippines does not have what many people would consider winter. It never gets that cold. There are only two seasons here – dry, when it can still get really sticky, and wet, when typhoons, cyclones, floods and flood-related diseases arrive.

Jessa’s family doesn’t really have a living room. It is just a dark, tiny living space with her uncle’s wooden bed that doubles as a couch when the family watches TV. Uncle owns the second-hand TV but it does not connect to any of the local channels; they use it only to watch DVD movies. Jessa’s uncle sells cheap, pirated DVDs.

At 5:30 a.m. Jessa is ready to walk to school. The Bayanihan Elementary School is only a few meters away. Jessa’s favorite subject is math, but she doesn’t enjoy science. Today she is competing in a journalism contest in which she already won the first round.

But Jessa doesn’t want to be a journalist or mathematician when she grows up; she hopes to be a nurse. She tells us,

“I want to be a nurse someday so that I can help other people.”

School goes until noon, then Jessa returns home for lunch. The house is better lit at this time of day, but the living room is still mostly in shadows. Jessa’s uncle has left to sell more of his DVDs.

Jessa helps herself to lunch. Her mother and little sister, Joyce Ann, join her. They are having leftover cold rice and canned meatloaf. Jessa’s father, Jesus, is working as a tricycle-taxi driver, riding through the crowded back alleys of Baler community where they live.

The tricycle-taxi, the most common form of transport in back alleys and minor Philippine roads, is a 100-cc motorcycle with a lavishly designed metal sidecar. It normally rides three passengers but can carry six when necessary. Basic fare is P8.00 (US $.19). Jessa’s father earns an average of P150 (US $3.57) a day.

After finishing her school assignments, Jessa spends the rest of the afternoon playing outside. Naty allows her to watch local TV at their neighbors’ house for an hour.

Jessa and her little sister come home at 6:30 p.m. — just before its gets dark outside (and darker inside their home) and before their neighbors start drinking bottles and bottles of beer and getting boisterous and violent.

Nearly all male adults in this crowded community spend their evenings hanging out and getting drunk; Jessa’s father is one of the few exceptions.

Almost all female adults hang out all day gossiping and gambling, except for Jessa’s mother and a few others.

For dinner, the entire family eats cold rice and canned meatloaf – more leftovers. By 9 p.m. the entire family is back in their tiny mezzanine bedroom.

This is Jessa’s typical day. But her routine changes dramatically on Saturdays, when she goes to her nearby Compassion-assisted child development center to play with friends, sing and dance, listen to Bible stories, memorize verses, learn, and eat nutritious meals and snacks.

“I really enjoy going to the student center because I learn many things; I also get school tutorials, and I also enjoy memorizing verses.”

Jessa’s mother shares,

“Jessa loves to study. She is intelligent, respectful, kind and diligent. She does her homework on her own.”

Naty hopes and prays that Jessa will go to college someday and achieve her dreams in life – something Naty and her husband dreamed of as they grew up but never had the chance to fulfill.

Naty grew up in the same community. She saw, felt, smelled, tasted and experienced all that her daughter is going through right now, but there is a big difference — Jessa is a sponsored child through Compassion International.

Jessa receives regular medical and dental checkups, school tutorials, spiritual discipleship, and one-on-one attention and care, as do all of the 160 children registered at the CCWI (Church of Christ Worldwide Inc.) Student Center.

Jessa’s family is also comforted to know that local Compassion staff will help take care of them if their house ever gets struck down by a strong flood or other calamity or if Jessa becomes seriously ill — tragedies that are not uncommon in Philippine squatter communities.

As her mother says,

“Jessa’s sponsorship is a big help to us. We have very little in life. She is learning many things at the student center and church. Our family is very grateful.”

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Lilian, his young mother, enters the colorful room. “Wake up!” she says.

The children’s bedroom used to be the family’s kitchen before the improvement they made after receiving a Christmas gift from her son’s sponsor: a new floor and new paint on the bedroom’s walls. The children decorated the room.

Renan stands up and starts making his bed. The boy goes to the bathroom and brushes his teeth — just like he was taught at the child development center where he is enrolled –  and combs his hair.

He carefully puts on his student center uniform before leaving home with his older brother Jean, who also attends the center. The church gives each of the children a T-shirt to wear.

He has only three minutes to be at the student center in order to eat the first meal of the day with his brother and friends. And three minutes is all he needs to get there; the family’s house is right next door.

The big yellow gate opens and all the children start to enter. On the table are delicious salted cookies, and milk with chocolate.

After the children eat, they go to the bathroom and brush their teeth using the hygienic kit they received from the center; it is kept there so the kids won’t lose it.

It’s almost 9 and the classroom is silent … just the voice of one of the kids can be heard praying to the Lord.

When it is 9 o’clock, it’s time to learn about Jesus and His disciples. It is also time to begin reading the Bible and writing to the sponsors.

Before leaving the classroom, the children pray again, thanking God for the privilege of being at the student center and asking Him to be with their sponsors.

It is 10 o’clock and Renan can barely breathe. It’s soccer time! Renan loves playing soccer, and he also enjoys playing board games with his brother and the other children. Running from one side to another in the yard, he plays and learns at the same time about teamwork, strategies and respecting different opinions and points of view.

The student center works with the children on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; one group in the morning and another one in the afternoons with the same activities such as educational support, Christian education, games and a library where with books and toys. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, staff workers meet with the parents and plan activities.

The smell of food starts filling the rooms and the yard: rice, beans, sausage, bananas and lettuce salad – a typical Brazilian meal.

It’s 11 o’clock and Renan goes to the sink and washes his hands before enjoying his second meal. Thanks to the support Renan and his brother get at the child center, Lilian spends less on food.

She is employed now, but her husband is only employed once in a while doing odd jobs. Lilian works as a cleaning lady at the student center.

After lunch each day, one child is chosen to help Lilian put everything back in the right place, practicing the Christian principle of stewardship.

It is noon and Renana will soon be at home to grab the notebook his mother bought, also with the Christmas gift his brother’s sponsor gave them, and head to school. Lilian watches her little boy until he disappears along the dusty street.

The school is not far from home, and Renan walks alone for about 10 minutes and arrives at at 1 o’clock. He is now in fourth grade.

At 4 he goes back home, takes a shower, and has dinner with his family. He is given basically the same food he had at the student center. Then he will do his homework, play with his brother, paint or draw, and then brush his teeth before going to bed.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Bee still recalls the letters he received from his sponsor from Canada. The letters always encouraged him to keep on studying and stressed the significance of education.

The support and letters of encouragement from his sponsor enabled Bee to break free from the chains of poverty.

Now Bee has been blessed with the opportunity to serve the Lord in ministry.

Bee’s life was radically transformed because of his sponsorship, and he now gladly serves as a bridge between sponsors and children.

He hopes that each sponsor can make a difference in a child’s life in the same way that his sponsor dramatically transformed his.

A typical day for Bee starts at 6:30. He wakes up and spends about an hour getting ready for the day.

At 7:30 he leaves the quiet and tranquility of his room and heads to his busy and activity-filled job at Compassion.

Every morning Bee starts work with a time of devotions with fellow staff from 8 to 8:40.

Then he begins work. Bee juggles many tasks as a PF.

“The main responsibility for a partnership facilitator can be broken down into four parts.

“The first part is to complete routine work such as monitoring the project budget and program, planning for travel, strategy planning, organizing and arranging team and office meetings, as well as following up on letters and memos.

“The second is to equip church partners to have the potential and capacity to work with children effectively.

“The third is to equip myself. I have to learn and study new things in order to support and help the projects.

“The fourth part is to participate in office activities.”

“PFs typically work with 12 church partners on various projects, but I have 13 development centers to work on.

“Every month I travel to different sites for two to three weeks at a time. I spend about two days supporting and facilitating a child development center.”

As a PF, Bee must make a conscientious effort to always be humble and patient because he works directly with staff members from different backgrounds, listening to their problems and assisting the staff members in finding solutions to them.

The many different languages spoken in Thailand often creates communication barriers. More than half of Compassion Thailand’s church partners are run by various ethnic minority groups, commonly known as hill tribe people, located predominantly in the mountainous rural areas of Thailand.

Often, the hill tribe staff members cannot speak Thai fluently. In spite of this, Bee is always very willing to be a part of helping local churches accomplish their goals, such as developing children’s ministries.

“When I was a child I always dreamed to work with or to get involved with the church. I saw the Compassion staff conducting activities or taking photos of children at the project where I was a registered Compassion child. I observed the courage, joy and happiness they displayed in their willingness to help needy children like me have a better life.”

Bee was registered with Compassion when he was a student in the second grade. His parents were poor farmers who could not afford to support Bee’s education, so they took Bee to a hostel center and enrolled him there.

The center aided and supported him in many areas of his life. It provided Bee an accommodation for when he studied at school, food to eat, as well as a school to attend. This compassionate support led Bee to God’s kingdom.

“The center changed my life completely. I had a chance to receive an education while most of my friends at home had to quit school and start working at a very young age due to the cycle of poverty they could not escape. The unfortunate effects of poverty motivated me to return and help children who are in need like I was.”

Upon graduating from university, Bee received his first job at Compassion. He traveled to various Compassion-assisted child development centers to take pictures and document the registered child information. He did this for two years.

Then one day, God opened the door for him to have the opportunity to work in the area he dreamed of, that of being a Partnership Facilitator.

Being a PF has fulfilled Bee’s deep longing to release the Karen people, one of the largest ethnic minority groups in Thailand, from poverty. Having been born into a Karen family, Bee has a strong burden and desire to work with and help the Karen people.

“I have a vision to break the chain of poverty that is binding the Karen people. I want them to be given the weapon of education to fight back. There are so many young people desperately wanting an education, but due to lack of finances, they are forced to leave school and work to earn money for their families at a young age.

“I want to see the Karen youth have the opportunity to study and to break free from the chains of poverty that are holding them back from reaching their goals. I strongly believe in the power of education.”

In order to successfully support these children, support from sponsors is crucial. Bee works wholeheartedly to connect sponsors with their sponsored children.

“After I receive a request for a sponsor visit via mail from the Tour and Visit Specialist, I establish contact with the center to get information about this child. Most sponsors wish to know the best date for which they can come to visit their sponsored child, how many siblings their child has, and whether the center is able to provide prepared food for them during the visit.

“A few days later the center will reply back with the requested information. I then report back to the Tour and Visit specialist within five days. This is only for an individual sponsor’s visit.

“However, if it is a group of sponsors who wish to visit, a lot of preparation work must be completed beforehand. I recently helped to organize a group of 18 people from our Australia advocacy team who came to visit us.

“I first began by informing the various center coordinators about the tour’s expectations, the length of their stay, the kind of information the group wanted to receive, as well as the locations they felt inspired to visit.

“After, I went to the center to finish the final preparations.

“For the AU advocacy team, I asked the center staff to present their church history and ministry. I also asked the center to make an appointment with the child’s parents for the team to visit, including giving them a new experience to participate in the center’s activities.”

The AU advocacy team’s visit was very successful and is an example of a visit that went smoothly. However, not all visits go according to plan.

Establishing contact with center coordinators can be a difficult task. Some centers are located in very remote mountainous areas where there is no telephone or Internet access. The staff members from these remote centers can only contact PFs once a week when they go down to the closest town to run necessary errands or the send the letters.

For urgent cases, PFs will contact the center staff members who have telephone and Internet access and are located closer to the remoter center areas to deliver information to the remote sites. This system of relay messaging obviously results in delays.

Another problem is the cultural differences between the visiting sponsors and that of the local culture.

For example, some westerners who come to visit express their love and care through physical displays of affection such as hugging or holding hands. However, most Thai people prefer to show their affection by smiling rather than through direct physical contact.

Despite the PFs’ best efforts, some challenges inevitably occur in the Tour and Visit process. Occasionally, some sponsors have visited their sponsored child without informing the local field office.

In order to protect the children, it is the responsibility of PFs and Tours and Visits Specialists to handle these kinds of situations by asking the center staff to prohibit sponsors from meeting with their child until after they have received contact from the field office as well as a briefing on Compassion’s guidelines and policies concerning sponsor and child visitations.

There is one story of a sponsor family and their sponsored child that always makes Bee smile.

“I remember one time some sponsors came to visit their sponsored child. This child was not healthy because he was suffering from asthma. He often had to skip school and could not play sports with his friends, which caused him to feel lonely and depressed at times.

“Once his sponsors met him, I could instantly see and feel that there was a special connection between them. The sponsors showed their love to the child and kept saying how much they loved him, and how much the child meant to them.

“Before they left, they prayed for their child and for his family. After that, the child and his sponsors developed a very close relationship and kept in touch through letters.

“The sponsors encouraged and helped their child by sending him gifts. I saw a dramatic transformation in the life of this child. This young boy had changed dramatically. He was not only physically healthier and happier, but also happier inside. You could see the joy in him radiating from within.”

After a busy and chaotic day, Bee often works off the day’s stress by running in order to clear and quiet his mind. He always carries his cell phone during his runs in case a church member calls.

When Bee finishes his run, he often enjoys dinner with friends. After dinner, he usually comes back to his room and plays the guitar, practicing to play on Sunday during his church’s worship service.

Bee is very passionate about playing the guitar and he even plays in a band called Ignition that he and some other Compassion staff members have formed. They often play worship music for the center children as well as perform in events that are affiliated with Compassion.

On weekends when Bee is not traveling to a center, he can be found resting, hanging out with his close friends, and working out in the evenings.

On Sunday, he attends a church where he serves the Lord by leading worship during the service.

After an activity-filled Sunday morning and afternoon, Bee usually tries to rest in order to regain the energy he needs for the upcoming week, so that by Monday he is ready to serve wholeheartedly in the ministry he has been called to.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

So, where did I leave off? Oh yes – 10 a.m.

10 a.m. Training with church partners that will be visited by another tour arriving in a few weeks. We asked six directors to come but most of them are late.

When I start 30 minutes later, I can’t go fast due to the fact that this will be a visit to their centers and they have a lot of questions.

I give them examples of what to do and what not to do, and encourage them to ask questions.

They are very excited for the visit and have a lot of enthusiasm and suggestions. Great!

But still we have to provide several guidelines. For example about the food.

We need to avoid too much spice, raw salads or any other thing that causes problems, and at the same time, not eat chicken every day.

Luckily our food is wonderful and we have lots of choices, but we cannot serve guinea pig or our best seafood dish, ceviche. Not all visitors are so adventurous to eat an animal they would view as a pet, or raw fish with chili.

Besides food, there are other intercultural issues to manage.

Time is a more relaxed concept in Peru and in all South America. To be sure that both standards meet, I tell church partners to be ready half an hour in advance. This way, they are really ready when we arrive … most of the time.

I often call in advance, though, and sometimes I have told the driver to go slowly while I point out some interesting views on the road to gain some time.

Also, for home visits I’ve learned that “accessibility” is quite a different concept for center staff, who are used to going up and down the hills – though per the visitors report, I should call them mountains – without using stairs.

I have learned to be suspicious when they say that the house to visit is located “aquicito nomas” (or very, very close).

I ask them to provide at least one house that is really close and in a flat area. They tell me that all are accessible by mototaxi, (a motorbike that pulls small car with a seat for two people), but still I ask for the names of the children to be visited and give ideas for the grocery bags we will give away at each home visit.

Another difficulty is finding the best way to communicate our ideas to the center staff. They are very loving and committed people, but many of them do not have higher education. However, they have a lot of resources and are very creative. But still, I need to set clear guidelines.

1 p.m. Lunch with the center directors. They continue to ask questions about the visit, and Elia and I continue to answer. As we usually translate in lunches and dinners, we know the art of talking and eating at the same time, so this is no problem.

The center staff are very friendly and excited, so they talk a lot.

2 p.m. We continue with the training. The directors make a draft program for the visits; each one now knows what we will see at their child development center: Child Survival Program mothers and babies, new center, older center, kindergarten children, boys and girls, teenagers, workshops, Leadership Development Program students, former sponsored children, home visits, etc.

In this way, the visitors will have the whole screen of Compassion work. Some centers also have children who will attend the fun day to meet their sponsors.

Now the coordination is made and, God willing, all will be ready when we visit the centers in some weeks.

Then I get an instant message from the Global Ministry Center, but I explain to that person that I am in a meeting and I see if he can wait. We agree to talk when my training is over.

3 p.m. Back at my desk. I have time to write down clearly some of the ideas the church partners had in the meeting. This will improve the materials for future training.

Another instant message. I see what they need and answer. However, I am not ready to answer all of it, as some answers have not arrived from the centers yet. I have to ask for more time.

I try to make one urgent call to answer, but the center does not work today so I have to wait until tomorrow.

3:15 p.m. My manager calls to get an answer about the approval for a tour request for next year. Elia and I discuss it and decide to accept as it does not interfere with any other tours, any center closing, holiday or special activity. So he will send the approval right away.

We have received requests for two years in the future and it looks like we are a very popular destination.

We will have to visit more centers after this tour ends. We need to get more alternatives for visits. Some of the visitors come back to our country again and we cannot show them the same places.

Elia and I also decide who will be in charge of the tour so we start working. We help each other as a team, but one is responsible for the tour and makes the final decisions.

3:30 p.m. The country director calls us to see the final details of the tour that arrives today. We have to clear out some issues related to the program and the involvement of our staff. Questions about future tours are also made.

We discuss one interesting proposal that overlaps a tour we have already set for the future. We will try to adjust the dates, but we agree we cannot say no. The request comes from a big mission, and this tour could mean more sponsorships for our country. We will take it.

We also talk to the partnership facilitators about more tours. Some mention that their centers are willing to welcome us. However, we have to check several details: location, security, programs available, and if they have been visited before.

The partnership facilitators help us a lot. They are the ones who recommend the best development centers for visits and encourage the rest to improve in order to get visitors, too. We know visits encourage the centers a lot.

4:30 p.m. Back to my desk. Elia and I make some final calls to the centers that we are to visit in this tour about to start.

Also, to be sure that all the children will come on time, we pass all the information needed to the partner country staff that will help us.

One more memo to the translators, some other memos to the project facilitators about some last-minute visits for the tour, and that’s it.

I start to get ready for the tour office visit tomorrow.

One final review to see if all is OK and if I am missing anything. Elia does the same, and we both take our laptops home with us.

During the tour, we will connect at home in the evenings to check urgent messages and answer others. This way, we do not have a bunch of e-mails waiting for us after the tour.

5:15 p.m.. As I am about to leave, a final phone call gets in. The center with the child who had to travel just learned that the father has decided to stay in the jungle with his family. It is a remote area and there is not a Compassion-assisted child development center in the area. So the center will send the child departure form in the following weeks.

I sit down and write a memo to tell this to the sponsoring country. With an upcoming sponsor tour, I will be out of the office the rest of the week so it is important I send this now. I know this will be very disappointing for the sponsor.

I pray over the e-mail before sending it as I usually do for any difficult situation. God is in control and He will continue to care for the boy.

6 p.m. Time to go home. I take the welcome boards and the small souvenirs we give the sponsors upon their arrival. The water bottles are also placed in the taxi as they will go with me to the airport, too.

I look forward to my mother’s food. I will be having lunch with the tour and perhaps some dinners. So it seems to be my last chance for homemade food for the next several days.

8 p.m. After dinner and some talk with my family, I connect to the Internet and check the arrival of the sponsors’ flight online. We have had a lot of fog during the last days, but tonight all looks normal and the flight is confirmed. But it will arrive one hour late.

The group is not that big so hopefully they will clear customs quickly. Elia and I talk on the phone to agree at what time I will pick her up. I can hear the voices of her children as I talk to her.

9 p.m. I wish I could take a nap, but I know if I get to bed I will fall asleep. So I check once again the flight and call the driver. He should pick me up at 10:15 p.m., as we have to load the water back into the taxi and then pick up Elia on the way. As she lives close to the airport, she will have enough time to put her children in bed.

10:15 p.m. In the taxi, I remind the driver about the children who will arrive from the province the next day for a fun day. He will have to pick them up from the bus station and take them to the hotel.

10:30 p.m. I call Elia to let her know we are very close to her home. She will be there when I arrive, and then we head to the airport together.

10:40 p.m. Elia gets in the taxi. We are dressed the same way, with our Compassion T-shirts and jackets.

Elia has already coordinated which T-shirt we will use every day. This way, we always give the same image and are easy to identify.

Elia tells me about her children and their last adventures in the school. She is very proud, especially of the little 2-year-old boy.

11 p.m. At the airport, to welcome a new group.

Thank God the plane wasn’t delayed further and it was clear enough for the plane to land without any problem. So, let’s smile and get ready for another tour week.

The tour leaders are new so we talk briefly and introduce each other. With good luck, I will be in my bed at 1 a.m. Or perhaps not.

The luggage of two of the visitors has not arrived. So Elia goes with the group to the hotel, and I stay and go with one of the tour leaders to the airline desks to ask about the luggage and fill out documents.

The airline says they will send the missing luggage to the hotel next day. We arrive at the hotel 20 minutes after the group, and I take one of the sponsors without luggage to a 24-hour supermarket nearby, to buy some basic things needed.

I am back home at 2 a.m. Not too bad as I don’t need to be in the office until 8 a.m., and the first day is always easygoing, usually containing an office visit and a city tour.

But that is another day and this day has officially ended, so I will stop here. Just before bed, time to devotion and read the Bible. And then to sleep!

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Our positions are thought to be some of the most exciting in Compassion. We get to go out a lot, travel on a regular basis, go to nice dinners and get to know many interesting people. It is true, my position involves these things, but it is actually much more.

With the purpose of giving a better understanding, I will describe one day in my life, but I would like to give some more information about me first.

I am single and still live with my parents and my brother. I have been working with Compassion for 12 years now.

Because I worked as a translator for children and sponsor letters before becoming an employee, when I became an employee, I started working with correspondence. However, my previous manager, who is now the country director, encouraged me to focus on sponsor visits as I had the skills of fluent English, intercultural experience and getting along well with people.

So I have been in sponsor visits since the very first year I joined Compassion. Besides the fact that I really like children and enjoy being with them, one reason I decided to work here is because I felt at home with Compassion.

As a result of my work, I have learned that I can do more things than I ever expected.

At first I did not know I could become a Tours and Visits Team Leader. In fact, the position did not even exist at that time. But as I worked through the years, I overcame some of my limitations (like not knowing Lima well; now I have a map in my head) and built my strengths (like my love for reading and history, a great help to answer questions and provide information).

Also, I have seen the faithfulness of God in the ministry and in my life and how He has taken Compassion and me beyond what we expected.

I believe we really have the opportunity to deliver children from poverty. And I still remember many years ago, while I was translating for a video, I asked the final question to the young mother we were interviewing: “What do you want for the future of your child?”

She held the 4-year-old girl, looked around the one poor room she called home, and seemed to think how trapped she was there, with a husband without a steady job, no education and the first of many children to come already in her lap.

Then she stared at me while she answered: “I want her to have a life different than mine, that she can study and progress … I do not want her to have my same life.”

So that is why we work. That is why I am here.

If I could tell you one thing it is that you should know how important you are for the children and how sad they feel when they do not get any correspondence.

Money means a lot, but emotional support and care is even more important for reaching our goal, which is what this mother mentioned: to give our children the chance for a different life.

Now let’s see what a day can be like for me.

There is one thing I can tell about this work: You will never get bored.

6:30 a.m. Time to wake up. The sky of Lima is usually gray and tricky. It looks like dawn, but it is not true. Time to pray and talk to God.

I usually do my devotion right before I go to bed so I have a quiet spot, but I still always pray before I jump off the bed. Today I added a special prayer for a tour arriving this evening.

7 a.m. A shower and time to ready my clothes for later in the night. I look for my fleece jacket, but I cannot find it. I ask my mom to look for it.

I have a light breakfast, something I am trying to improve. I take my vitamins and get off to the office. I am the lucky one who lives closest; most of my co-workers do not.

Lima is a huge city of 8 million people, and you can travel three hours from end to end, depending on the traffic. This is a something to have in mind to tell the sponsors when they arrive tonight.

Elia, who lives close to the airport, needs at least 45 minutes to get to the office by taxi. And she has to get her two children ready for school before she leaves.

8 a.m. Arrival at the office. Even for the small distance I have to make, the traffic was heavy.

I leave my stuff in my desk and run to office devotions. Besides our time with God together, this is a great opportunity to make announcements as most of the staff is there. We remind them that the tour will come to the office the next day and that they are invited to participate in a special devotion time with the sponsors.

We already know that many of the partnership facilitators will be out visiting development centers, but we encourage the ones available to be there.

8:30 a.m. After devotions and an e-mail check, Elia and I talk and see some urgent things.

We find more sponsor visit requests. One sponsor is passing by Piura in the north of Peru and is asking if we can bring her child from Chota to see her in Piura.

I will have to explain that the center is located three hours from Chota town, and then they will have to travel by bus to Chiclayo for another eight hours. Then four more hours to Piura.

Since the child is little and the mother has never traveled before, I need to evaluate the wisdom of making her travel so long, with three stops and transfers to see the sponsor.

This time I say no. Of course, I am sorry, but it is not fair for the child, especially since she is too little to remember much of the visit.

I recommend gift delivery instead. This is a difficult part of my work, to help sponsors understand why we have certain recommendations for certain situations.

We need to educate and be patient if the sponsor does not understand right away. Sometimes it is difficult to let go of an idea. Some sponsors are very nice and really listen; others find it hard.

9 a.m. I receive a phone call from a child development center to let me know that another child I requested for a visit has suddenly traveled with his father to the jungle.

The center was unaware of this as the father did not tell them. I ask them to try to contact the child through an aunt who lives in the area and might have some info.

If the visit does not work out, it would be difficult to tell it to the sponsor as it is the first time he has come to visit.

Last year the sponsor’s oldest daughter came and met the child, but the sponsor did not. So I ask the center director to contact me with any news.

I tell Elia about this and she tells me about some other difficulties in her visits.

9:30 a.m. Time to send some visit reports. One involves a reimbursement, since the child traveled from another province to Lima.

The sponsor, who is a Peruvian living abroad, has been especially suspicious about the costs. She was wondering why we did not have the child come in the cheapest bus available.

The translator’s report states that the sponsor was very nice with the child, but still had a lot of questions about how the family traveled.

The mother and child were thankful as the bus was nice and comfortable and the hostess helped them when the boy felt sick from the altitude. I think it was good for the sponsor to know that since the child was coming from the mountains, he and his mother needed comfort because it was their first trip and they are not used to so many hours in a bus.

9:45 a.m. I get an e-mail from one of our global partner countries about my report of an unexpected visit.

In spite of all procedures and information to the centers, we still have some unexpected visits.

Sometimes, a sponsor decides to jump over the established processes and call us directly, saying: “Hi, I am in Peru on a mission trip and since this was decided last minute, I could not contact Compassion office in my country, but since I am here, I would like to see my child”.”

We always do our best effort to make a visit happen and we are often successful, to the point that one co-worker in Colorado Springs said that we have a “magic wand”.

Sometimes I wish we really had one. Like the day on which I received a call from a center in a rural area, and a scared secretary told me that a foreign man had appeared at the center saying that he was the sponsor of one child and he wanted to see him; in fact, he said that he would not leave until he saw the child.

The secretary had been in our training and knew that all visits are arranged through our office; that is why she immediately called.

Well, after many phone calls, lots of talk with the sponsor, who did not want to listen much at the beginning, the support of the pastor and the center director, who left a meeting in another town and returned to the church immediately, and the help of the translator the sponsor brought, who was not a Christian but happened to know the pastor and was willing to cooperate, we made this work.

I could have used that magic wand to get to the center right away to talk to the sponsor directly – usually it takes six hours by bus.

9:50 a.m. I look for one photo I want to add to the presentation I will make for the centers. Then I get to see some children at previous visits and smile. They are the reason I am here and why I work so hard to have great tours.

Watching the photos helps me to keep focused on why I do what I do. And somehow it makes the days easier.

I remember that my favorite part is when the child and the sponsor finally meet. So let’s make it possible, let’s make it happen.

One picture reminds me of the time in which one child did not show up on the fun day and I had to make all sort of things happen to have him and his father come in on an afternoon flight.

God has always been faithful to us and I know He will continue to be. And He loves the children in a special way so He is on our side.

10 a.m. Training with church partners that will get a visit from another tour arriving in a few weeks. We asked six directors to come, but most of them are late.

When I start 30 minutes later, I can’t go fast due to the fact that this will be a visit to their centers and they have a lot of questions.

I give them examples of what to do and what not to do and encourage them to ask questions.

They are very excited for the visit and have a lot of enthusiasm and suggestions. Great!

But still we have to provide several guidelines. For example about the food … which I will have to tell you about tomorrow; this blog post has become too long for one day.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

In the slum community of Makerere Kivulu that lies in the shadow of this prominent institute, the storm drains overflow with filth and stinking water between rows of shacks made of planks and rusty iron sheets. The dilapidation of these structures is set off by the stable buildings surrounded by high stone walls that dot the area.

Many of the people in the community are unemployed, and even those who are employed are underemployed, dealing in small businesses like hawking goods, frying and roasting food like cassava, and selling vegetables like tomatoes and eggplants.

Most of them earn a maximum of about a dollar a day. In despair, many of the women look to prostitution to earn a living, and the men resort to alcohol and spend their days drunk. The youth form gangs and go about stealing and indulging in drugs.

It is this community that 13-year-old Brenda wakes up to every morning at 6 a.m. Brenda lives with her 70-year-old grandfather, Juliano, her 65-year-old grandmother, Violet, her uncle who is mentally ill, and three cousins.

Brenda’s grandmother sells roasted maize, potatoes, grasshoppers and cassava in the market while her grandfather earns money as a shopkeeper. These sources of income sustain the family, pay the monthly rent for one room in a five-room house, feed and clothe the family, as well as pay school fees for the other children not registered with Compassion.

Brenda begins her day with prayer and then brushes her teeth. She dresses in her uniform bought by her grandmother, and heads off to school. She has to be at school before 7 a.m.

School is a 20-minute walk from home, so on school days she never has time to have breakfast. When she gets to school, she goes straight into class for the first lesson of the day.

Her first meal of the day is at 10:30 a.m. when class breaks for 30 minutes. Brenda’s grandmother, Violet, gives her money for food at school every day.

Brenda often buys passion fruit juice and a doughnut. She eats these quickly so she can have 15 minutes to play with her friends before heading back into class.

Class breaks for lunch at 1 p.m., and if her grandmother has paid the fee required of each student to eat lunch at school, then Brenda goes to the school kitchen for lunch.

Lunch at school is usually posho (a kind of bread made out of maize flour and water) and beans. However, so far this term her grandmother has not been able to pay the lunch fee and so Brenda spends the remaining money her grandmother gave her for the day to buy a samosa (a small palm-size triangular snack made of a vegetable or rice or meat wrapped in dough), and this is her lunch.

She then uses the rest of her lunch period to play with her friends. She resumes her afternoon classes at 2 p.m. for two hours until 4 p.m. when she heads back home.

At home, the first thing Brenda does is to take off her uniform and fold it neatly so it will be ready for school tomorrow. She then changes into her stay-at-home clothes and goes to fetch water from the community tap nearby.

Brenda’s home does not have clean running water, so the family has to buy water from the community tap. Brenda usually makes two trips for four 5-kilogram cans every day so the family has enough water for their needs.

After making sure there is enough water to last the family until she comes back from school the next day, Brenda helps her grandmother with chores in the house like cleaning the floor or washing the utensils.

She then takes a bath in the communal bathroom used by all the tenants of the building. The bathroom is made of old iron sheets and sackcloth to give the families some semblance of privacy.

As the sun begins to set at 6 p.m., it is time for one of Brenda’s favorite activities: teaching her friends at home the Word of God that she has learned. They sit together outside the house in the company of the yard animals.

After this she heads off to watch television at a neighbor’s home. Her favorite program is “Second Chance,” a Spanish soap television series currently popular in Uganda. It’s the story of a man given a second chance to change his life.

One hour later Brenda is back home, ready to settle down for the night.

She has her supper, which is usually whatever meal was left over from lunch. Brenda’s grandmother cannot afford to cook twice a day because she spends most of her day at the market. So she cooks enough food for lunch and supper at once, and then divides the food into two for both the meals.

As soon as Brenda has had supper, she says her prayers and goes to bed to rest, ready to begin again the next day.

Brenda misses going to the Compassion-assisted child development center on Saturdays. Now that she is in secondary school, she studies at school on weekends.

However, she is comforted and looks forward to spending two days at the center each week during her holidays. During these holidays Brenda also has more time to help her grandmother at home with chores as well as spend more time with her friends.

Brenda wants to be a lawyer when she grows up so that she will be able to solve conflicts in her community.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Jaimito, as many of his friends call him, is a very joyful, outgoing, obedient and disciplined child. He truly loves his parents and siblings, and most of all he has surrendered his heart to God.

Jaime and his four siblings — Jesús (16), Jonathan (9), Allison (5) and Aarón (3) — live with their parents, Jaime and María, in the basement of a humble house. Jaimito’s grandma on his dad’s side gave the house to the family 16 years ago. It was once a warehouse full of old and useless stuff, but now it is Jaimito’s home.

Jaime’s father doesn’t have a steady job. He’s an artisan who makes plaster layers that are used in roofs in most houses on the coast. Currently, he works at a little artisanal factory. He makes U.S. $40 every week.

On the other hand, María, Jaime’s mother, doesn’t work. She does all the chores at home and takes care of her five children. She would love to find a job that would enable her to sustain her family too.

María graduated as a nurse’s helper a short while ago. She took a one-year course at a local institute.

Jaimito: A Day in His Own Words

Normally, I get up at 6:30 a.m. and get myself ready to go to the center. I wash my face, brush my teeth, and then have breakfast with my family.

My mom usually puts a cup of coffee and a piece of bread or some crackers on the table for each of us. Breakfast is the coolest time of the day because my entire family is there.

After that, I take my medicine — the one that the doctor prescribed. She’s the doctor from the center. She’s really kind and always treats me nicely. She also encourages me a lot. I know she will totally help me to get well soon.

I leave for the center around 8:30 a.m. Sometimes I just wear sports clothes to go there, but I always take my school uniform in a plastic bag. I go to school in the afternoon, you know?

I love spending time at the center because I get to share with my friends there.

First of all, we have a devotional and Sister Wendy directs the worship time. She’s my favorite tutor!

The other day, for example, we sang the song that I like the most: “Bueno es alabarte, Señor” (“It’s Good to Praise You, Lord”). I truly adore singing worship songs at the center.

After that, we take language or math classes. If we find any difficulty in our homework from school, our tutors help us with that and gently explain anything to us until we get it.

We’re also learning to bake bread. Sister Wendy taught us how to mix the ingredients to prepare good dough. We made it and then we baked it. Our bread was delicious!

We’ve also learned a bit about electricity. The other day, I learned how to prevent short circuits. I learn about electricity at high school, too; actually, I love that subject.

Around 11:30 a.m, our tutors take us to the dining room and we have lunch. The food is always yummy! My favorite dish is rice, fried meat, beans and orange juice. I just love it!

Once my tummy is full, I quickly change into my school uniform and then take the bus to school. I go to Vicente Rocafuerte High, and I’m in 8th grade.

My classes start at 1 p.m. and end at 6:30 p.m. It’s a long afternoon.

I study subjects like language, math, science, English, electricity, pottery, social studies, sex education and physical education. My favorite subject is science. I’d like to become a doctor when I grow up and heal people — just like the doctors who are curing me now.

At recess time, I enjoy playing soccer with my friends. Soccer is my favorite activity in the whole world! I also play soccer on Saturday nights with my friends from the neighborhood.

I leave school at 6:30 p.m. and take a public bus home. It’s a one-hour ride so I get home at 7:30 p.m., change my clothes and eat dinner with my family.

Actually, my mom only cooks something like a main course when she has enough money to buy the ingredients. But if she doesn’t she just gives us a cinnamon infusion with a piece of bread or a green plantain omelet.

After dinner I do my homework. I normally stay up until 11 p.m. and then I get ready to go to bed.

I share the bed with my brothers, Jesús and Jonathan. The three of us are sponsored. Before going to bed, I pray first but usually I pray alone.

Every single night I pray for my sponsor, asking God to bless and protect him. I also thank God for giving me such an amazing sponsor who cares for me and my entire family. Then, I pray for my family too. I just want us to be always together.

Jaimito at Jesús es Amor Student Center

Six years ago, Jaimito’s father received a visit from the personnel at Jesús es Amor. They offered food, medical care, school supplies, uniforms, spiritual guidance and other benefits to Jaime and Jesús, who both happened to be the perfect ages to be registered at the child development center back then.

The family’s poor home, the lack of steady income, and consequently the lack of healthy and nutritious food, paradoxically, built the perfect environment for Jaime and his brother Jesús to be registered.

“The thing that motivated us the most to register our children was the spiritual guidance they were going to receive. We were not Christians before, but my husband always respected God.

“We have been through really hard times; there were nights when we went to bed with an empty stomach. But thanks to God, this center came to relieve our burdens as parents.”

The development center is open three days a week and provides all the children with good and nutritious meals (e.g., soup, main course, juice and fruit).

At the center Jaimito receives an annual medical screening, tutorials about language and math. He can use a computer to do his homework and surf the Web for any research for school, etc.

At the beginning of every school year, he receives new notebooks and a pair of shoes.

“This year, my Jaimito was about to be taken out of a class because he didn’t have his book of basic accounting. We didn’t buy it for him because we didn’t have the money (U.S. $11), but thank God the center met that need too,” says María.

Jaimito has received not only the normal benefits of the program but sometimes even beyond that. Sadly, he suffers from acute anemia and as a consequence has needed various medical screenings and treatments.

His prescriptions have included an iron supplement, B-complex vitamins, Ensure® supplements and anti-parasite pills. Eighty percent of his medical expenses are covered by the development center, 10 percent by the church, and the remaining 10 percent by his parents.

According to the center’s records, they have spent U.S.$135 in medical attention for Jaimito during the last two months.

A month ago, he was taken to the hospital and stayed there for three days. The center’s emotional and financial support was very important to Jaime and his family.

Although the center is doing its best to fight Jaime’s condition, some factors are holding him back from a full recovery, such as the difficulty of receiving healthy and nutritious meals at home.

To feed lunch to all of the children at the center, Jesús es Amor Student Center spends around U.S. $80 to $100 a day. It’s because of all this that Jaime’s parents are deeply grateful for the blessings they have received from God.

“I’d like to thank my child’s sponsor for his kind heart. I’m sure God will bless and protect him. No one has ever cared for my son like him.

“Besides the monthly contribution, he has also sent frequent special gifts to my child, almost on a monthly basis as well. We have used that extra money to buy food for the family, which is always needed. We always pray for him.”

Jesús es Amor Student Center is located in Guayaquil, a city on the coastal region of Ecuador. There are 289 children at the center and 224 are sponsored.

Children from La Prosperina neighborhood receive attention here. This is a very poor urban area on the northern zone of Guayaquil. Its 6,000 inhabitants have a low socio-economic status.

In La Prosperina people have serious difficulties finding jobs. The most common jobs are related to domestic service, factory work or construction. The unemployment rate reaches 40 percent.

It’s important to mention that around 70 percent of the children who live in this community have the opportunity to finish elementary school and high school. However, about 20 percent just don’t go to school.

The most typical health problems are malnutrition, malaria, dengue fever, skin rashes, respiratory infections, dehydration, parasites and infections of the urinary tract. Fortunately, there are two health centers within La Prosperina to give attention to emergency cases.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

These days, Kamrul feels very relaxed. He doesn’t have to pay rent to the cycle van owner daily. He has his own van now. It is the most useful gift for his family.

Kamrul has been blessed by your generosity. His new cycle van ensures a decent life for his family. Kamrul considers himself a fortunate father of a Compassion-assisted child. His 8-year-old daughter, Mukta, is the channel of blessings in his family.

Every morning, Kamrul drives to the nearest village market for passengers or a load to carry. If he is fortunate enough, he can get more than two passengers at a time and heavy stuff to carry. He earns 100-120 taka (U.S.$1.45-$1.74) per day by driving his cycle van.

“One hundred taka ($1.45) per day for me is the same as 100,000 taka ($1,450) for the rich people living in the big cities. This 100 taka allows me to buy food for my children and keep my family.”

In the rainy and cold season he earns less than that, but the money is still adequate to buy food for his children. It wouldn’t be possible if he didn’t have his own cycle van.

Previously, he had to pay around 100-120 taka as rent for a cycle van. He had very little left for his family. To pay the owner on a regular basis was a Herculean task for Kamrul. It took eight out of his 11 hours of working to earn the money for the owner.

Now Kamrul believes that his bad days are over and he can do something more for his children and family.

Kamrul’s working hours are now more flexible. To work eight hours throughout the day is enough for him to take care of his family.

Whenever he is on the road driving his cycle van, he keeps the faces of his children in his mind rather than the worry of paying the owner of the cycle van. You made this possible for him.

Kamrul had a bitter childhood. After the death of his father, his mother was kicked out of the house by his stepbrothers. His father married twice, and Kamrul’s mother was the second wife.

It is common in Bangladesh for stepmothers not to be well-accepted by their stepchildren. Kamrul’s mother had to struggle a lot to raise her children. She stayed in a different town from them and worked as a housemaid. She was unable to provide education for her children.

Kamrul grew up to become an illiterate rickshaw puller. He couldn’t manage to live in another town, and seven years ago returned to his own village. His stebrothers didn’t receive him warmly. He asked them to allow him to stay on his father’s land, but they said no.

With help of the local people, he got a small piece of the land, but every day he has to face the anger of his vicious stepbrothers.

In his 30 years of life, Kamrul has never been well-treated by people, except for his mother. When he first came in touch with the Compassion staff, he was amazed by their compassionate attitude. Now Kamrul is astonished by your love for him and his family.

“From my childhood I got used to mistreatment. I never got love and sympathy from my stepbrothers or neighbors.

“But the love that the Compassion sponsors have shown to me is unconditional. They bought me a new cycle van just after knowing about my struggling. This is beyond my imagination. They improved our living. I am grateful to them.”

Kamrul is very popular at the child development center because of his sincerity. The center manager and church pastor always call him whenever they need to carry goods a distance.

Kamrul carries all the sacks of rice, lentil, vegetables and chicken on his van for the center. It is very helpful for the church as well as for Kamrul. He is their “official” cycle van driver.

Seven months ago, Kamrul used to carry the stuff of other people on his rented cycle van. Many people used to buy goods and food stuffs from the local market, and Kamrul carried those on his van. He couldn’t afford to buy stuff for his family. Conditions have changed.

He is now able to earn adequate money to buy products from the weekly market.

Last Friday he went to the market with his daughter, Mukta. He didn’t take his cycle van with him as they had been there just for shopping. Kamrul bought cooking oil, potatoes, onions, spices, biscuits and soap.

Mukta asked for potato chips, and Kamrul was happy to buy her a packet of potato chips. He was very satisfied while he was heading back to his home holding the hand of his daughter.

Kamrul is a very hardworking individual and always thinks about his family. He took a loan of 12,000 taka ($174) from a local organization. He invested the money to grow a paddy. This year he has received 420 kilograms of paddy, which provides five months of rice for his family. He has to pay the local organization 340 taka ($4.93) weekly.

With his new van, he is able to save 50 taka per day; at the end of the week he has 350 taka to pay his weekly debt. The paddy will ensure rice is available three times a day for his family.

Nowadays Mukta doesn’t have to go hungry in the morning. Every morning her mother serves her steamy rice and vegetables before she leaves for the development center.

The new cycle van doesn’t mean that all the problems are removed from Kamrul’s life. He is still having some difficulties.

Last month his stepbrothers beat him and his wife badly in front of their children. They threatened them and told Kamrul to leave the land where he and his family are staying.

Kamrul and his wife were in great physical pain. Kamrul bought medicine for his wife. It wouldn’t be possible for him to spend money for medicine if he didn’t own the cycle van.

“I am always anxious about my house. The land belonged to my father so I have a small share on that land. But my stepbrothers and their sons want to deprive me.

“Compassion built a new house for us on that land after the cyclone disaster last year, but my stepbrothers want the land back, so they are trying to destroy my house.

“They have never taken care of my family but always try to push us toward the edge.

“Compassion took care of us by providing the van, which is the only earning way for me to survive. Even the medicine I bought for my wife were by the money I earned from the new cycle van.”

Kamrul loves his children more than his own life. He has a great expectation for his daughter, Mukta.

Kamrul never got the opportunity to complete his studies. He wants both of his children to grow up as well-educated human beings.

From his childhood experience he knows how bitter it is to live without food as well as love. He loves his kids and tries to work at his level best to ensure they have food and clothes. He always worked hard, but now with his new cycle van he has started to work harder.

He knows he has commitments to keep to his family as well as to the sponsors of Compassion. Kamrul is trying to make the most of his cycle van because the more he drives the greater chance that his children will never go hungry.

Thank you for standing beside this responsible and hardworking father.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

It was another hot afternoon at Suagram, and Mukta ran to her grandmother’s house. “Granny! Granny! Come out.”

An elderly woman came out; Mukta said loudly, “I am going to have a cycle van tomorrow. Now my father will drive my own cycle van.”

Her grandmother asked, “Who is giving you a cycle van?”

The 8-year-old girl replied proudly, “My Compassion center!”

The next day was very special for Mukta, her father, Kamrul, and their family. They were going to have a brand new van, as a gift from Compassion sponsors who read the U.S. blog.

Kamrul and his family dreamed about having their own cycle van for years. Although they considered Compassion as the great opportunity for their daughter’s development, they never thought that their dream of a cycle van could come true through the Compassion center. However God had a different plan for this family, and He used Compassion to bring blessings to them.

I reached Suagram Child Development Center at 8 a.m. Kamrul was there, waiting for me. He grabbed my hand and said, “Thank you so much, for what you did for us.”

I replied, “Don’t thank me. Thank Almighty God for his grace and thank the sponsors who made it possible.”

Kamrul said again, “I praised God thousands of times. Me and my family prayed for the sponsors and their families, that they could live a long, healthy and happy life.”

We went to the marketplace called “Ghaghar” to buy the cycle van. The child development center manager was also with us; he ordered the van the previous week. It was a nicely built cycle van.

The center manager was checking the cycle van, but I was observing the reaction on Kamrul’s face. There was a deep satisfaction and peace.

The center manager paid the bill and asked Kamrul, “Are you happy?”

He answered, “I couldn’t wish for more. This van will change the condition of my family.”

Kamrul took us on his new cycle van as his first passengers. He was driving faster than the previous time I rode his van. I thought there might be two reasons. The new cycle van was excellently made, and at that time Kamrul was the happiest man on the earth and wanted to fly.

We reached his house and paid him. Kamrul strongly refused to take money from me, but I was able to make him understand that he should take it as his first income from the van.

At his house, Mukta was waiting for us. As soon as Kamrul parked the van, little Mukta hopped on the van. She stood on the van and silently made us believe that it was her van.

Kamrul and his wife Rehana were getting busy to entertain us. The center manager tried to stop them, but Kamrul answered, “We couldn’t be able to give a treat to our beloved sponsors. So please let us entertain you with coconut water on behalf of the sponsors.”

Coconut water is a special drink in the rural areas; only special guests are entertained with coconut water. Kamrul and Rehana prepared and served coconut water to us. It was one of the sweetest and most refreshing drinks I have ever had.

Kamrul, Rehana, Mukta and little Sihab (Mukta’s younger brother) were sitting in front of us, and we were talking outside their house. A few neighbors also joined us.

I described to Kamrul and family about how our respected sponsors provided them the van. Kamrul shared his feelings:

“I am so pleased and amazed by the greatness of the Compassion sponsors. I struggled a lot with my family. Not even my own brother and sisters took care of us, but these people from thousands of miles away are thinking of our benefits.

This is amazing!

Now I can earn my own living and don’t have to pay the van owner daily. If I can work everyday then I won’t have any problem to maintain my family. At least I can buy food everyday for my children.

Please thank the sponsors on behalf of me and my family. Also tell them that their love is blessings for my family.

May God bless them and their children everyday!”

Rehana said, “Now my husband can work more freely. Hopefully we would overcome our difficult periods. Thanks to all the Compassion people and staff who made it possible for us. They think about us more than our own relatives.”

Mukta was having fun on the van. She said, “This is my van, and I will let my father drive it.”

Kamrul was laughing and replied, “Yes dear, it is your van.”

Mukta thanked all the sponsors in her own words and said in Bengali, “Amake van kine debar jonno tomader sobaike onek onek dhonnobad.” It means, “Many thanks to all of you for buying me this cycle van.”

Kamrul took his whole family on the van and had a fun drive. Later he picked up Mukta from the project on his van and took her home.

The gift amount was 10,200 Bangladeshi taka. The cycle van cost 9000 taka, and with the remaining 1,200 taka, the Compassion center bought a new pair of shoes for Mukta, a mosquito net, and two pillows for Kamrul’s family — things Kamrul and Mukta asked for.

It was a big day for this family. The satisfaction on Kamrul and Mukta’s face reminded me of the Grace of our heavenly Father.

Special thanks to all the sponsors who considered Kamrul as their own brother and Mukta as their own niece.

Today’s post is a followup to the August 7, 2008 post, A Day in the Life of a Bangladeshi Cycle Van Driver.

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