Moody Bible Institute scholar Richmond Wandera shares how the telling of his story and one woman’s response to it reminded him that child sponsorship is a part of God’s work.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

When I was asked to write my first post for this blog, I sent an e-mail to my family and friends joking, “Apparently my ability to drone on and on, (and on), about Compassion International and child sponsorship has gotten back to the organization. I have been given a public forum at last!” I have no doubt there was some good-natured snickering around many computer terminals in Iowa that day.

Let me put it this way. If you know me, AT ALL, you know I sponsor children — you know how I feel about Compassion — and you know that I think child sponsorship is one of the best possible ways to help children in poverty. It is a regular topic of conversation for me and I am known for it.

Jesus told us to let our light shine before men. We are not to light our lamp only to put it under a bushel. If someone who had been a friend for a long time suddenly came to me and said, “I had no idea you believed in Christ!” I would feel that I had not done my job as a Christian. If my faith was so absent in my daily activities that there was no outward sign of it, what would that say about me as a follower of God?

I feel exactly the same way about my ministry with Compassion. And that is what I consider child sponsorship to be — my ministry. What kind of a ministry would it be if I told no one about it and gave no one the information that would enable them to participate? To minister is to tell others — to share the good word! Why would I keep it quiet?

So my challenge to everyone today is to BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED. Think about how you can share your Compassion ministry, wherever it is you may be.

Not all of us are great orators. Speaking in front of a crowd of more than 10 would probably give me a rash or hives of some kind. Not all of us are good at the “hard sell,” so I’m certainly not suggesting you go door to door. But I know there is some way that is immediately available to you to put Compassion out there, front and center.

Compassion advocates, can you offer some suggestions on how the average sponsor can share Compassion with others?

Sponsors, is there something unique you have done to get the word out to family and friends?

Has anyone taken advantage of the free brochures, posters, etc., that Compassion offers? If so, how have you used them?

Please share…

And thank you!

After a two-hour bus trip through chaotic traffic, I arrive at a child development center located in the northwestern part of Lima City.

The center is in a quiet place far from the noisy avenues, although the homes of squatters surround the church mission. The houses are built with precarious materials that show the poverty this community has to face. The mission is on a large property with buildings built long ago.

As I walk through the church’s wide, dusty dirt-floor patio, the center director greets me. With a wide smile and wearing blue jeans and a black hat, she looks ready to film the perfect Western TV series. Her name is Miss Pino and she is a graduate psychologist who has also studied at a Bible institute and has specialized in child advocacy and child evangelism. She has been appointed by her mission authorities as center director for Semillero de Campeones Student Center, which started in June 2008.

In this position, Miss Pino has to deal with many things she never thought she would, such as trying to keep the center open. The rising costs of household items – cooking oil, chicken, milk, etc. – has led to a 20 percent increase in food costs for all student centers in Peru.

For Semillero de Campeones, this has made it difficult to manage a program with 166 young children to feed, from which 40 percent do not have a sponsor yet.

Because of the rise in prices, many student centers have had to stop some activities such as camps, retreats and extracurricular activities. The budgets for each center are simply not enough.

Development centers with less than 160 registered children, such as Semillero de Campeones, have been more affected as they have fewer resources to face the crisis. Therefore, in order to continue serving the vital meals to the children, Semillero de Campeones received a special assistance through our Complementary Interventions Program (CIV). (more…)

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month in the U.S., a time to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect. Our mandate as child advocates is to ensure that all children within our care and those we interact with every day enjoy a loving and safe environment.

Compassion is committed to protecting children from all forms of abuse and exploitation. Our board policy communicates this clearly by stating that:

“Concern for children is the cornerstone upon which Compassion International has been built. We are opposed to all forms of abuse and exploitation and will do everything within our power to ensure that no harm comes to any child registered in our program due to his or her involvement in the ministry of Compassion International.”

By protecting children, we are responding to Christ’s mandate to care for and protect His little ones.

I’ve been putting off writing this post. There are some things that are just easier not to think about.

They’re called “throw-aways,” people whom the world has no use for. (more…)

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. – Luke 21:1-2 (NKJV)

The Perfect Gift — Generally Speaking

The perfect gift comes from the heart. Love drives us to it, and despite the fact it might mean sacrifice, love compels us to give it anyway. We know it’s perfect when in love it is accepted — love always fits and need never be exchanged.

The perfect gift is also one that keeps-on giving; it has ‘staying power’ and continues to give long after it is received. Furthermore, the perfect gift provides the one thing that the receiver is unable to obtain for him or herself. Frankly, if they were able, they would have already gotten it.

Finally, the perfect gift is a blessing to both giver and receiver.

The Perfect Gift — Specifically

The perfect gift is sponsoring a Compassion child. How can this be?

Love is the driving force behind such a noble thing. For the giver, it’s the kind of love that says, “What would I sacrifice in order to save a child’s life.” For the recipient it says, “This gift is better than any material thing I could have ever received.”

Child sponsorship is the gift that keeps on giving. Decide to sponsor a child and you provide educational opportunities, regular healthcare, food and clothing if needed, and an opportunity to hear the Gospel message and to be discipled in the faith.

The perfect gift provides the one thing a person cannot obtain themselves, and in the case of a child living in poverty, that one thing is HOPE. Until someone steps up to help, these children wallow in despair.

Finally, the perfect gift is a blessing to both the giver and the receiver. As you can imagine, a child who is given the opportunity to escape spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty is forever grateful, but so often it is the giver who comes away feeling ‘more blessed’ then the recipient. How so? I’m not sure — except to say I am confident it is a God thing.

Compassion Dave is a member of the Advocates Network. He writes a personal blog, Jesus and Compassion, solely dedicated to getting more children sponsored. The blog is an outgrowth of his highly successful MySpace group of the same name, through which he has connected 40 children with loving sponsors.

Dave has been an advocate for six years, and in that time, has found more than 600 children new sponsors.

This year, Dave has scheduled three Compassion Sunday events:

• April 13: Calvary Baptist Church, Little Egg Harbor, NJ
• April 20: Chesapeake Christian Fellowship, Davidsonville, MD
• May 18: St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Washington, NJ

If you’re interested in knowing a little more about Compassion Dave, you can read about him at The Round Table.

The Compassion Advocates Network is made up of an amazing group of sponsors that want to do more than sponsor a child. They want to help get children sponsored.

Advocates give of their time, their talents and their money (e.g. like driving to work at a Compassion booth during a Jeremy Camp concert). They talk to anyone they know, and even don’t know, about sponsoring a child.

And each year we have a lot of sponsors request a planning folder for Compassion Sunday. The planning folder gives you everything you need to plan your event. But a lot of people stop there. They get sidetracked, nervous, or convinced by the Enemy that they should not participate.

Enter our amazing advocates. They again give of their time and their talents to call these sponsors to encourage them. And what do we get?

E-mails like this:

Howdy in Christ, Mark. I just got a return call from a potential Compassion Sunday’er, who I had left a message with earlier during the sponsor, pre-Compassion Sunday calling campaign. She was so-o-o happy that I’d called! She was bubbling and described how she had received the CS Planning Folder and had even sent in a completed Materials Order Form, but was having serious self-doubts about following through. The Enemy was tossing roadblocks in front of her wherever she turned—and flaming darts at her confidence that she could actually do this thing. Then she received my encouraging phone message. When she called back, we talked about presentation possibilities, helpful videos, my experiences with Compassion Sunday events, and ideas for increasing the effectiveness of her CS. (Adding a signup table, bulletin inserts, maintaining the signup table for a few weeks after…) Her excitement is renewed! The Holy Spirit left me feeling I’d soaked in a hot-tub of heavenly joy. THIS is why we’re making these calls, right Mark?
- Jeff Carpenter, Volunteer Area Coordinator

Amanda Ceren is a project specialist for the Advocates Network. She helps fight poverty by providing advocates with materials to connect a child in need with a loving sponsor.