It’s a simple act. A simple gesture. But it makes a huge difference.

There is a sweet, elderly man who attends my church. Though he is getting on in years, he has a handshake and grip that puts many young men to shame. He reminds me so much of my late father-in-law, a man who also grew up in the era where a handshake meant something.

I can’t help but find this man at church during the greeting time, just to say “hello,” shake his hand, and chat with him a little bit. I have shared with him and his wife that he reminds me so much of my father-in-law, and being able to talk a little bit with him each Sunday blesses me because it makes me remember the kind, gentle man who accepted me as his daughter 26 years ago.

So I was taken aback a little bit this past Sunday when I shook his hand and he wouldn’t let go. He stood there holding my hand as we talked and then looked me straight in the eyes and said,

“Thank you for noticing me.”

This simple little phrase has rung in my head and heart since he spoke it, and even found its way into my Bible, just to always remind me about that simple act of noticing people, of shaking their hand, of giving them a smile, and letting them know that they have value and worth.

And as I continue to think about it, I can’t help but think of all of the children in the world. And really, aren’t we all “children”? Children living in poverty.

Children who are living the nightmare of human trafficking. Children who are forced to be child soldiers. Children living in broken homes. Children who are crying out to be noticed.

Noticing someone who is deliberately and inappropriately trying to be noticed is not what I am talking about. Though I do admit that some of those deliberate attempts at being noticed are simply cries for help and shouldn’t necessarily be ignored.

All people have the need to feel valued and cared for. If we are willing to open our hearts to those cries, our world could be changed — one person at a time.

Through my correspondence with our Compassion children, I have often read these words penned by the children, “Thank you for choosing me.” In a sense, they are saying, “Thank you for noticing me.”

I take those words as a firm handshake and an intent look in the eyes, and I am humbled.

A simple act. A simple gesture. But it makes a huge difference.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Teri Gerdes and her family sponsored their first Compassion child in 2004. After returning from a sponsor tour in Ecuador, her family sponsored three children and are correspondent sponsors to four additional children.

If you’re interested in writing a guest blog post, we are happy to consider publishing it. Read our guest blog post guidelines.

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

Pastor Chris Seay invites you on a journey. A 40-day journey that will disrupt your habits and your rituals. A journey that will help you identify and connect with the poor and the suffering.

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

Many of us are allergic to business jargon. Nothing can make people start itching faster than sitting in a meeting and hearing words like “strategy,” “assessment,” or — horror of horrors — “best practice methodology.”

“Partnership” can be one of those abstract business-like words that make our eyes glaze over. The word has been used to mean a lot of things to a lot of people until it hardly means anything to anyone. What is partnership?

Partnership is at the center of what we do at Compassion. We not only partner with you, our sponsors and donors, but also with the local church around the world. So it’s worth understanding what we mean by partnership and how we do it.

The word “partnership” is derived from the Latin word for “portion.” In partnership, we share a portion with each other.

Partnership should achieve a vision that is mutually desired and that cannot be achieved by any one partner alone. It is not simply having tea together. It is having tea in order to work together on something that you both care about and can’t do alone.

With this in mind, this is how we define partnership:

“A Compassion partnership is a collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship between Compassion and another entity for the purpose of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name beyond the capacity of either partner individually.”

Our definition is based on three things:

1. A common mission to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. This is the only purpose for which we will enter into partnerships.
2. A collaborative relationship. Both parties must actively build relationship with each other and cooperate willingly on the mission.
3. Mutual respect and mutual benefit. We recognize that we need one another to accomplish the mission.

And based on these three things, we have developed a set of principles that guide us toward healthy, God-honoring partnerships.

They apply to our relationships with you and our supporting church partners; they apply to strategic ministry relationships; and they apply to our implementing church partners.

Partnership Is Founded Upon Our Identity in Christ.

In Christ we are one body with many parts. Each part offers unique service and is equally important to the health of the body. Each partner, irrespective of size, power or resources, is valued. No partner is viewed as more important than the other. This can be achieved only if we are committed to the attitude of Christ and “having the same love … and in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:2-3).

Partnership Seeks Mutually Respectful and Beneficial Relationships

No partner should use the other for its own goals, but should develop genuine, mutually respectful, and beneficial relationships. A partner does not lord over or “do mission” for the other. Rather, a partner seeks to help, empower and serve the other to enrich their shared ministry.

We give priority to relationships over tasks and projects. When relationships empower, rather than impose agendas, all partners are transformed in the process.

Partnership Accepts Mutual Responsibility and Commitment

Partnership takes the commitments made to one another with utmost seriousness and works in collaboration, without dominance, exploitation or condescension.

Increased trust is built through partners being accountable to each other, ensuring that their words and actions are consistent. Partnership requires an enduring commitment to not only the common vision but also to each other.

Partnership Produces Visible Transformation and Outcomes

Partnership does not exist as an end in itself. It exists for the purpose of advancing the kingdom of God further, better and/or faster than either party could do alone.

For us, partnership exists for the shared goal of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. The essence of partnership is that one plus one equals more than two. We enter into partnerships in order to do something we cannot do alone or that we can do better together.

“A mosaic consists of thousands of little stones. Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, and some are gold. When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. But as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself.

That is what our life in community is about. Each of us is like a little stone, but together we reveal the face of God to the world.” Henri J. Nouwen, The Mosaic That Shows Us the Face of God

At Compassion, we are deeply honored to be part of the thousands of little stones that God is using to build a beautiful mosaic. Together we are telling a story that none of us could tell by ourselves.

Through our commitment to and relationship with one another, we are revealing the face of God to the world and advancing His kingdom by releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

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

The Wally Show recently returned from our offices in Asia where they witnessed child sponsorship in action.

We met a woman named Ko who was a sponsored child, and she now works for Compassion helping others. This is one time a vicious cycle is a good thing. She still has the picture of her sponsors from 30 years ago on her desk.

I asked her if there was anything her sponsor said or did that really made a difference in her life. She told me the fact that someone who did not know her would show her such love and tell her about Jesus inspired her to live the rest of her life serving God. That is a sentiment which is echoed throughout the lives of most of the Compassion kids.

Read the entire post at The Wally Show.

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

Picture something with me. In your mind’s eye, in front of you is a house on fire and a person shouting from the top floor of the house that he’s trapped and can’t get out.

Scary and intense, yes? Stay with me.

Now to your right you see a firefighter with all of his gear, ready to run into the inferno. He has extensive training, and this is the moment he was made for. The person in danger knows the firefighter can see him and hear him, and he continues to shout for help.

Then the firefighter does something unexpected. He stands outside the door of the house and yells.

“Come on out here where there is no fire! I can see you. Just try your best! I’m not sure I want to go in there. It looks dangerous, and I don’t know how it will turn out in the end. What if you don’t appreciate it? What if I get hurt?”

Despite all his knowledge, training and skills, the firefighter has questions that need answers before he will consider helping the person in danger. Stunning!

I have never known a firefighter who would not run into the building. They are willing to risk all they have to save the lives of people in danger who can’t save themselves.

Does that sound like the Father God we know?

As a singer/songwriter/worship leader who has had the honor of serving as an artist with Compassion for the past 14 years, my attitude and desire to help children in need has become more passionate than I ever thought it would be.

When I began writing for my CD RESCUE, I became challenged and moved by the word itself.

Rescue by definition means “to free or deliver from confinement, violence, danger or evil.”

The obvious part for a believer is that’s what God did for us in Jesus Christ. He knew He couldn’t just say, “Come on over here where there is no sin. Try your best!” He knew the answer was to send His son Jesus into our world, our burning building, and rescue us from the “danger, violence and evil” of our sin.

Praise be to our Abba Father God for this!

Sponsoring a child in Jesus’ name is more than just a good deed and nice thing. These children are in burning buildings called poverty.

They truly cannot get themselves out of the danger. They are children. Yes, just children who are crying out for rescue to anyone who can hear, because they can’t do it alone.

I wrote the song “Come To The Rescue” with my friends Bob Stromberg and Paul Marino. I honestly found myself with a heart pain that was saying “enough is enough” when I brought the idea to Bob and Paul. Helping a child in poverty, who may be hurting, orphaned, or even abused isn’t merely a thing to be considered or thought about.

Poverty is the fire and we are the firefighters.

God has given us the Kingdom, and when we run into the burning house, we bring a hope and love like no other, because of Jesus Christ in us, through us and with us. We need not be afraid because the Holy Spirit is not afraid.

Please come to the rescue, my friends. Help others see the “firefighter” God has called each of us to be!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Peder Eide is a traveling singer/songwriter, worship leader, speaker, husband, and daddy to five. He’s partnered with Compassion for 15 years.

Proceeds from any sale of Peder’s new CD RESCUE made from his website are being donated to our Highly Vulnerable Children Fund. Purchase a copy of RESCUE now.

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

As a new school year begins across the nation, students will once again take up their books to learn about the shameful history of the slave trade around the world.

The problem is that the slave trade is far from history. In fact, it is very much the shame of our world today.

Currently, more slaves exist than during the time of slave trade abolitionist William Wilberforce. But unlike in Wilberforce’s day, 80 percent of today’s slaves are women and girls; 50 percent are children.

Earlier this summer, the U.S. State Department came out with its Trafficking in Persons Report for 2011. The report created global concern as nations reacted to their “tier placements.” Most third world countries fell under “Tier 2,” a dubious designation reserved for nations whose governments don’t “fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA’s) minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”

The report is no surprise to those of us who work to rid the world of extreme poverty. For instance, in the 26 developing nations where Compassion International serves, 19 were placed in the “Tier 2” category. An additional five nations where Compassion serves were on the “Tier 2 Watch List,” a group of “countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards,” according to the report. Only one of the 26 countries found itself in “Tier 1”—meaning it was fully compliant with the TVPA’s minimum standards.

Read the entire post at FoxNews.com

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

I wonder if you and I are really any different from the woman who said,

“I don’t think you understand. I hate kids.”

She was right, actually. I didn’t understand. I thought I had heard her incorrectly.

“I don’t like kids. I don’t know what to do with them. I don’t relate to them.”

I realize now that she doesn’t actually hate kids. She just feels uncomfortable around anyone who’s notably different from her. Anyone she can’t relate to easily is a little bit, well, scary. She would rather avoid them.

And I wonder if a camaraderie about something that is, frankly, a little bit shameful might actually be where we can start building our own personal and community efforts to break the chains of those held in a death grip by extreme poverty.

Brainstorm with me here for a minute.

This acquaintance of mine is certainly not the only person in the world who feels uncomfortable around kids. She isn’t alone in feeling uncomfortable around people from another culture or another economic reality.

In fact, I’ve been a bit surprised recently at just how many people I know who have stayed away from the challenge of fighting poverty because the whole thing is just uncomfortable.

Maybe your friends or colleagues wouldn’t use the word uncomfortable. Maybe they would use adjectives like overwhelming, challenging, thankless, too big of a risk, or uncontrollable. They may even fall back on some unflattering biases about the poor including the stereotype that most of the poor are poor because they just don’t work hard enough.

Please believe me when I say I am not out to objectify people who hold these preconceptions. They’re a very present reality in our Western world. Some individuals are just a little more honest about it than others.

I’ve seen these attitudes outside of the West, too. Some blurt out,

“I hate kids.”

Others softly chide,

“Stewardship is important but I need to ensure that there will be a good return on my investment or it’s just not worth the risk.”

The perceived risk makes them uncomfortable.

So how do we address these realities? Because if we’re truthful, although most of us fully believe that children and adults can be released from poverty, we have all felt the weight of those unflattering adjectives ourselves from time to time.

What causes you, an advocate for the poor, to stay strong and carry on in those moments when you feel combating poverty is overwhelming, unappreciated, or uncomfortable? Is there a specific moment or story you can point to and say,

“I have been there, I have felt that, and I know the rewards of persevering.”

We have great resources at our disposal – informative and soul-stirring resources like 58:, as well as books and video clips, talking points and Scripture passages.

But I think that to really communicate with those who are skittish, or those who genuinely want to say “I am uncomfortable around kids” or “I don’t know how to relate to the poor,” we need to find a bridge.

That connection won’t come by patronizing or scolding the other person. It’s going to come through authentic conversation — respectful exchanges in which we express that, really, we’ve felt the same way too … but here’s what happened, here’s why this thing we call “fighting poverty” is working, and here’s why it’s so important that you get involved even though, right now, you might just feel a bit uncomfortable.

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

Recently a very well-known Mommy Blogger traveled to Bangladesh with a non-profit organization dedicated to child and maternal health.

Immediately following her first post from the developing country, the UK news publication The Guardian ran an article labeling her trip another example of “poverty tourism” in which “westerners [are] flown to dirt-poor regions to solemnly observe the impoverished in their natural habitats.”

The article noted that what often happens with blogging trips is that the bloggers write lengthy, gut-wrenching, emotion-filled posts that motivate readers to act, but then offer little tangible way to take action other than simply signing a petition.

“Where blogger-engagement projects often fall down is in closing the deal: having aroused the empathy of an engaged audience, they fail to provide something potent for people to do next.

“If you’ve just read a post about children working 14 hours a day scavenging material from towering heaps of putrefied waste, you probably want to do something more effective than signing a petition or sending an email to your elected representative; but frequently, this is all that’s on offer.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I doubt there’s much that’s more frustrating than getting your emotions all stirred up, only to be left helpless with no way to do anything about what you’ve just learned.

You should know that at Compassion we don’t want you to feel helpless — we’d rather you feel empowered. We don’t want you to feel discouraged, but encouraged that you are able to make a difference. And not just a small one. That’s why we focus on offering you so many different ways to get involved.

As our President and CEO, Wess Stafford, often says, there are two main reasons why people do not take action:

1. They don’t know what to do.
2. They don’t know whom to trust.

We want to be the answer to both of those questions.

One way we do this is to offer trips to see our work around the world. Our sponsor tours, vision trips and blogging trips, however, are all carefully and strategically designed to empower participants, not incapacitate them.

For the record, we refuse to engage in anything even remotely resembling poverty tourism. While other organizations may ask you to simply sign a petition, we want more from you … much more. We want your passion. We want your heart. We want your deep, God-given desire to change the world. And we promise not to leave you helpless.

We’ve found that 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.

It’s our goal to eradicate that feeling. How are we doing?

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

How can children in poverty think above their circumstances when their parents are likely teaching them that this is just how life is?

How do children in poverty seek a future when they have been taught to survive just for today?

How do children in poverty even begin to believe they have a future when poverty is telling them that they are not worth anything?

This got me thinking about the things I thought about when I was a child.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I was asked this often. And I assume you probably were, too.

I remember changing my answer every month, sometimes more. In my mind there were no barriers, no setbacks, and no reason why I couldn’t be a cowgirl and also own a French bakery.

Looking back on it, I realize I also had a very healthy outlook on my life. I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up because someone told me that I would live past tomorrow, I would go to college, and I would have the freedom to pursue what I’m passionate about.

As you can imagine, the outlook for a child in poverty is quite different.

When the Compassion Bloggers and I visited Life Streams Student Ministries Center, the center’s director shared with us a proverb that is prevalent in the Philippines:

“If your blanket is too small, you must find a way to fit into your blanket so you can survive.”

Almost immediately she went on,

“We challenge that proverb. We tell the children, ‘If your blanket is too small, why not change the blanket?’”

There it is. In an atmosphere of love and nurture, the poverty mindset  is challenged a little. The child’s outlook is influenced toward hope, maybe for the first time. Maybe, after hearing this, a child pauses and thinks,

“It doesn’t have to always be like this.”

And Life Streams doesn’t stop there.

They have a plan for the children. A plan they call “My Plan for Tomorrow.”

The children have folders that are used to challenge them to start thinking about their future. In each folder is a sheet that the child fills out weekly.

The child is responsible for charting his or her time each week, and the center workers and volunteers check the chart to see how the child’s mindset is being challenged and influenced.

And here’s the chart’s legend:

• Red = time spent in school and studying
• Blue = time spent with family
• Green = time spent communing with God (e.g., praying, journaling, Bible study)
• Yellow = time spent by themselves (e.g., listening to music, coloring, reading)
• Pink = time spent working toward their dream (e.g., If the child wants to be a chef, what is he doing to pursue becoming a chef? Is he practicing? Researching? Is he able to talk to someone who is a chef?)

And while the children learn to be good stewards of their time, they also learn that they can be doing something today that will help achieve their dream for the future.

Yes, they are given the freedom to start dreaming. They are told that they have hope for a future — one that doesn’t have to be controlled by poverty.

This is how we, with your help, break the cycle of poverty and challenge the mindset of a child so he or she can look forward to a brighter future.

Maybe you can take some time today to write your sponsored child and ask what he or she wants to be as a grown-up. Maybe you can start challenging your child’s mindset, too.

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

I remember her – a poor woman sweeping the pavement in Calcutta.

I was across the road, separated from her by cars and straining buses that leaned precariously as they traveled, overloaded and overcrowded, down the street.

She had a small child. The little girl played in her make-believe world, not knowing that the odds were already stacked unfairly against her. Odds like disease, abuse, trafficking, hunger, poverty.

As I watched, I witnessed one of the most troubling sights I have seen. As the mother hunched over, sweeping the path, the little girl took a discarded plastic cup and filled it with wastewater from the gutter.

She poured it on the concrete and began to scrub the pavement clean with a piece of litter.

I could almost hear her say,

“Look, I’m just like mummy.”

At that moment, poverty had claimed her life and marked her place in the world, yet she was barely old enough to speak or walk.

I tell you this story not because I want you to feel guilty, but because I want you to feel outraged by poverty.

I want you to identify with this mother and her child as your own sister and daughter.

I want you to feel disturbed enough to ask why these things happen, then stand up and speak out as an advocate for the “least of these.”

I want this story to trouble you enough to provoke a moment longer of prayer on their behalf, and to ask yourself how much is enough. What do you really need so that out of your comparative wealth you might find that extra to give?

It is a true gift from God when we move past dutiful charity and come to a deep solidarity with the poor.

Anchoring our discipleship in the compassion and justice of Jesus is something we should all wish for. In short, a heart for the poor is a conversion experience.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” — Mark 10:25, NIV

Prayer: Loving God, please give us just a glimmer of your heart for the poor. Encourage us to stand up and defend the weak and the powerless, and deeply anchor our discipleship in the justice and compassion of Jesus.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Stephen Tollestrup is the Executive Director for TEAR Fund New Zealand. He is the Director of the World Evangelical Alliance Peace and Reconciliation Initiative and has an honors degree in Theology and a post-graduate degree in Industrial Relations.

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