Our Child Development Center Coordinators fulfill many daily responsibilities to serve the children in our ministry.

Godfred Abbey is the center coordinator at Manheam New Life Child Development Center in Ghana. He plays an important role in the lives of sponsored children.

What influenced your decision to work at Compassion?

First of all, I was attracted to Compassion because of the child-focused mission. I love children with a passion. I worked as a teacher for close to 15 years, and I have felt what joy comes from working with children.

I did not hesitate to apply for the job when my church went into partnership with Compassion and it was announced that qualified people were needed for the child development center. I wanted to be a part of the people who would impact children to grow into becoming fulfilled and responsible adults.

Above all, I was really motivated to quit my job and to take up this role in the ministry because it is a Christ-centered and church-based organization. I wanted to serve Christ with all I have. I felt that there would be so much peace and harmony.

Where do you get the daily spiritual motivation to carry on working with children in poverty?

I am motivated by the joy in my heart to be serving my Creator by serving these needy children.

I am motivated by the joy I always feel in my heart in the middle of personal family challenges.

I am motivated by the positive transformations I see coming up in the children.

I am motivated by the hope and joy I see on the faces of the children when they gather at the child development center site every Saturday, and I know that these things that I feel, these things that I see and am motivated by, are from God.

And I get motivated by His Word in 1 Peter 5:2-4.

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being an example to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” (NIV)

Do you think that Compassion would still be where it is now if it wasn’t Christ centered and church based?

This ministry would not have been able to reach this height in just a few decades of existence. There are other child development organizations far older than Compassion that have yet to achieve half of what Compassion International has been able to do.

I believe that we must give the glory to Jesus because He has done it all. I also believe that because our ministry targets the local church as the channel for ministry, it has contributed immensely to the organization’s success because it is the Church’s mandate to give light, hope, joy, peace and redemption to those in need, and we work solely with the local church.

Have you come face-to-face with a situation in your work with needy children in which, if it had not been for Christ, the story would been different?

Every aspect of what we do here at the church and at the child development center with these children has been by the grace of God. I do not have any specific testimony to give because every child in the program is a testimony.

When we started the program, many children came with many sicknesses and real life-threatening health conditions, but today these children are all free and healthy.

Some children came here with violent behaviors. They would fight at the least provocation. Today these children can say “sorry,” “thank you” and “please.”

Most of the children were hopeless, but with Christ they have something to look to the future for. Some of them were not in school; [now] they are in school. They can read and are able to write their own letters to their sponsors.

I know that it is only God who has worked in these children.

What is your favorite part of your current role?

As a child development center coordinator I have many volunteer teachers, so I need not go to the classroom to teach the children but I do because I love teaching. I am overjoyed when I teach the children something and they get it and put those things into practice.

What is your philosophy in life?

If you will not do what you have to do with all your heart and might, do not do it.

It is my policy to tackle everything I do with full attention, dedication and with all my heart. I do not like working with people who grumble and murmur at their work.

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Have you ever heard a non-Christian say,

“I have no problem with God or Jesus — only Christians”?

It’s actually a common theme among some nonbelievers. Unfortunately, it’s also becoming more and more common among Christians.

This worries me. How can we serve our communities with Christ-centered joy if we can’t serve each other in the same manner?

Let’s be real. The question I’m raising can’t be resolved in this one small message. But I am asking you to think hard about it.

What’s preventing you from living out a Spirit of Service in your work environment or better yet, in your life?

Wess Stafford washes the feet of a Leadership Development Program graduate.

Is there a bad experience that you can’t forget, a wrongdoing that you can’t forgive, or a fear of being used, mistreated or disrespected?

We all have our baggage, but the great thing about being a believer in Christ is that we have a “safe place” to unload it — the Cross.

If you’re struggling with this concept, I encourage you to consider the following three steps:

1. Meditate on the Bible, particularly on the verses that deal with service.
2. Pray for God to reveal His plan for how you should deal with this concept.
3. Re-examine the way you treat those around you. Are you respecting your co-workers, friends, family, etc.?

It may sound simple, but in order to have a true Spirit of Service, you have to have a spirit of love — and that can come only from God.

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” — Galatians 5:13, NIV

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I’m an expat living in Thailand, and I believe that this requires me to change certain behaviors that are normal and comfortable to me in order to be culturally sensitive. When the Thai national anthem or the king’s song plays, everyone is supposed to stand (including foreigners) out of respect.

If I hear either song, I stand. It’s a sign of respect to the country that is allowing my family to live on its soil.

In the mornings when I’m in town, I walk the kids to school and then sit for half an hour or so doing my quiet time in the school’s courtyard.

At 8 a.m. each day the large Thai school across the street from our school plays the national anthem. I always stand, but many times I’m the only one. The other foreigners typically continue their conversations, and even the Thais working at our school stop what they are doing only occasionally.

Standing is a simple gesture, but when you are the only one doing it, it’s easy to feel foolish. I look around at everyone doing their own thing and I wonder,

Am I overdoing this respect thing? If no one else is doing it, maybe it’s not really expected. I wonder if they are laughing at me. Maybe they are thinking that I’m being pretentious. Does it really even matter if I stand or not?

After all, there are plenty of excuses for not standing. The music is a little hard to hear. It’s not playing at our school. I’m not Thai. The Thais don’t even stand sometimes. No one seems to care. I’m having a conversation. I’m tired. My leg hurts …

I had an experience like this today, and I spent some time thinking afterward. Being a Christian is a little like standing for the Thai national anthem. When you take a stand for God, you will often look foolish to the world around you.

You are standing for music they may not be able to hear, and for reasons they don’t particularly understand. Even some of the Christians around you aren’t taking a stand for God.

It’s easy to second-guess yourself:

Am I being too strict about the movies my kids watch and the music they listen to? Am I naive to think my kids could possibly make it to marriage without having sex? Am I throwing my money away when I tithe to the church? Am I being pretentious by claiming that there is only one way into heaven and His name is Jesus Christ?

These doubts and questions are part of the cost of taking a stand for God. If it were easy, everyone would do it, right? Of course, God could strike down anyone who didn’t take a stand, but He doesn’t.

He doesn’t, because then EVERYONE would stand. They wouldn’t be standing because they loved the Lord; they would be standing out of fear and compliance. Those aren’t the types of followers God is looking for. He loves us too much to force us to “love” Him back.

When you take a stand for something, you have to be willing to pay the price. Without cost, there is no sacrifice. As King David said when Araunah offered him his threshing floor, oxen, wood and wheat for free in order to make an offering,

“No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”  – 1 Chronicles 21:24 (NIV)

The value of the sacrifice is tied to how much it costs you.

The foolishness you sometimes feel when taking a stand for God is part of your sacrifice. But you can take comfort in this scripture:

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.  – 1 Corinthians 1:25 (NIV)

One day, every stand you took for the Lord will be seen for what it was: wisdom, love, honor, respect, readiness, strength, adoration, devotion, courage, faith. Insist on paying the full price.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.  — 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV)

This post was originally published in Nov. 2009 on Michael’s personal blog, Build Your Walls! Guard Your Gates!

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In the contact center, we get many questions about how our sponsorship program operates. And one of the more common questions I am asked is about the enrollment process.

“Does a child have to be a Christian to be enrolled in Compassion’s program?”

The answer is, “No way!”

Children are welcomed into our programs regardless of their faith. However, we are unapologetically Christian and every child development center is connected to a Christian church or ministry.

That’s one of the things that makes us distinct. We’re church based.

While we provide the children and their families the opportunity to see living faith in action, hear the gospel, and be discipled in the ways of Christ, neither they nor their families are under any compulsion to become Christians.

But can you imagine the power of a child coming home and telling Bible stories to family members who are not followers of Christ? Can you picture that mom or dad watching the child transform in front of their eyes because of the love the child has for Jesus?

So, even though the answer is no, children do not have be Christians to enroll or participate in our programs, several hundred children in our programs do dedicate their lives to Jesus every day – without any compulsion, other than the Holy Spirit’s.

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Not too long ago, Kelina wasn’t your ideal mother. She would spill her anger over onto her three children, hitting them every day. She never used an empty hand to hit them, but would use rattan to hurt them. Her children were scared of her.

“I started to hit them when my husband wasn’t at home.

“I don’t know why it was so easy to get angry with my children. All I know is that when they wouldn’t do something that I had asked, I became angry and started to smite them. My anger was known as a common and frightening morning greeting for them.”

Kelina lives in Wamena, West Papua, a small city on the western side of the remote island of New Guinea. Wamena women are known as caring people and responsible mothers. Even though they have two major responsibilities, to go to the farmland and take care of their children every day, they still have love to share with their family.

That responsibility encourages Wamena women to be strong against all challenges. Even when they receive challenges from the unpredictable weather, they always try to give their best. In the middle of the difficult conditions, they still are able to give their love and time for their family.

Wamena women think creatively with the resources they have to survive. Even though they do not own farmland themselves, they rent farmland from others. To pay the cost of the rental of the land, they will share half of the crops with the owner of the land.

Although Kelina owned her own land, she didn’t want to take care of it. She had a bad attitude toward it. As a wife of Yosep, Kelina never showed her thankfulness, preferring to blame her husband, who didn’t work and couldn’t support their needs.

“I liked to get angry with him. I even have hit him because he couldn’t support our family financially.”

Kelina didn’t know how to give her love to her family in appropriate ways. Since she was young, Kelina’s parents never taught her.

Kelina also did not have a good relationship with God, even though she was born in a Christian home. She didn’t go to Sunday school very often. She preferred to stay at home and sleep rather than to go to church or have a daily prayer life in the morning.

“I never knew that building a relationship with God would help me to deal with anything. I just know when I feel angry, I can hurt anyone I like to hurt.”

Kelina’s bad attitude didn’t stop at the front door of her house. Kelina liked to gossip about the things going on in her neighborhood.

Kelina once had a fight with one of her relatives who asked for food. She gave her answer with one slap to her relative.

Her bad attitude became a trigger for her to fight with everyone. But then everything changed.

As a mother of a baby, she was registered with 34 other mothers in a Child Survival Program in Wamena. It was through being a part of the program that she realized her habits were bad.

“I realized I had done a lot of things that hurt everyone. I knew about that from the information that our implementer shared in our meetings.

“Our implementer tells lots of things that remind us to change our bad habits. She taught us not to hit our children. She said that I could teach my children through my attitude as a living model every day. I really thank God because I could join in the program and have a better way of life.”

Realizing that her habit all this time was wrong, one day Kelina started to find God. She confessed her sins.

“I now ask God to lead my path. I ask for wisdom and have started to have a daily prayer life. I try to start to read the Bible to understand what is called love.”

Together with the growth of her spiritual life, Kelina never misses a chance to share the love that she got. She’s become eager to share God’s love to her children every day.

Kelina has become calmer. No one hears the angry voice of a rough mother in the morning anymore. Kelina does not hit her children anymore. She likes to make requests of her children more politely.

The woman who didn’t want to share anything has also become a generous person. She likes to share anything she has.

But the transformation was not just accepted automatically by her children. They were not really sure about the love that she wanted to share. Her children thought that it suddenly could disappear one day.

“They thought I showed my kindness just for a glance. At first, they still didn’t want to stay near me.”

But after a long struggle to convince her children, Kelina won their hearts. Kelina also has been able to teach her children how to behave.

The woman who never taught her children to take a bath now never misses a day to ask them to do it. Kelina draws the water from the well each day to keep her children clean and healthy.

Even though she still lives in a honai, a Papuan traditional home, Kelina knows how to have a healthy lifestyle with her children.

A honai does not have any windows in order to keep the room warm. Most honai have only one room. It is a round building made from wood and straw for the roof and the floor. The diameter of the smallest honai is about three meters.

Papuans usually use the center of the honai to cook. The family members will use the other side for their needs such as sleeping and other activities. The other parts of the honai are usually used for their pets.

Pigs are a common pet for Papua people. Since they are expensive, Papuans like to keep their pigs inside their honai to keep them safe from thieves.

In these conditions, Kelina has learned how to keep her children healthy. Whenever she cooks meals, she always asks her children to play outside the house because the smoke of the fireplace could make it difficult to breath. Kelina knows that her children’s health is one of the most valuable things now.

Kelina now knows her responsibility as a mother. She likes to wake her children, ask them to take a bath, and prepare their needs to go to the school.

After finishing the morning tasks, Kelina goes to her family’s farmland right in front and beside her house. She starts to clean up the weeds and always brings the youngest child, Christian, almost 2 year old, with her.

Kelina’s children have also become obedient children and have a positive lifestyle.

Everyone could feel the impact of the changes in Kelina’s life.

“I know sometimes my neighbors don’t have a good crop to sell. If they don’t have something to eat, I gave them papaya, some ginger, chili or other crops from my farmland for them to sell. It really could help them to survive.”

Kelina knows that these changes are because of Jesus. The character of Jesus helps her change her old habits.

Now God blesses what flows from Kelina’s hand and heart.

Visit The Difference is Jesus dot com.

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• educational opportunities
• health care and supplemental nutrition
• opportunities for safe recreation
• opportunities to learn about important life skills
• hope and a sense of confidence
• most important of all, the child has the opportunity to hear about Jesus and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God

I met this child in the slums of Kampala. He’s not part of our child sponsorship program.

I met these children at Compassion’s program. There’s a significant difference between the two photos. The children in our child development centers still lead difficult lives but they have a sense of hope and purpose.

Everywhere we went, people would tell us things like:

• Compassion is doing great work in our country.
• Do you know my sponsor?  If so, tell her I said thank you.
• I love my sponsor.
• I would not be the person I am today without Compassion.

All of the bloggers on the trip have arrived safely home, but you can still follow along since they’re still processing the experience and writing about it.

Check out the Uganda Blog Trip page and click through to the blogs to read what they’re saying.

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• a safe journey
• all of our flights were generally on schedule and no flights were missed
• all of our luggage arrived at its intended destination
• good Christian travel companions
• a friendly and helpful Compassion Uganda staff to meet us at the airport
• good health for everyone on the trip

We are currently experiencing some problems getting access to the Internet in the hotel. It’s slow and intermittent access. Please pray that the Internet access will improve and we will be able to blog aggressively about Compassion’s work in this beautiful country.

Everyone is in the process of eating breakfast at the hotel. We will be leaving shortly to see some of Compassion’s Christian child development projects. Stay tuned for more updates!

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Each blogger will tell the story in their own unique way. You can read along as we share the emotion, sights, sounds and smells with you as our travel partner. If you sponsor a child from Uganda, we may even interact with the child you sponsor.

I will be meeting up with the rest of the bloggers at Chicago’s O’Hare airport later today. We’ll arrive back in the United States on February 18^th.

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