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

I want to share with you, to somehow put into words, what Compassion means to me.

I struggled to write this. With my blank pad of paper in the orthodontist’s office, surrounded by a reception area with magazines filled with royal weddings, advice on how to lose weight, and the best athletic feats, I felt anesthetized.

I tried again in a doctor’s waiting room, but only could think of the fact that in America we take it as a right to go to the doctor. But in Kenya, where my Compassion story began, many die without the ability to see a doctor.

How have I come to being anesthetized to the poor in our world?

It takes great effort to remember that on a daily basis the United States spends more on garbage bags than 90 of the 120 countries in the world spend on everything.

I cannot truly express what I have received through Compassion. This year’s Compassion Sunday theme is {Start small. Think big.} I suppose that is how it worked for me, but without too much thought.

My Compassion story began in 1986 with an 8-year old girl named Jewel. At first her letters were very simple, pretty flat to be honest. But one day I received a letter full of life and scripture.

I knew then that Jewel had changed her citizenship sometime between the last two letters. She was now a member of God’s kingdom.

I often have told the story of sending her money for a birthday gift one year and being surprised she had bought a goat. The Compassion staff knew just what her family needed. I would have gotten her a dress that she would have outgrown.

The goat was the family’s first livestock. I was excited to hear later that her goat had produced offspring, which allowed them to buy a calf as well to grow their new farm further.

I met Jewel in Kenya in 1995. I got to see the goat and the cow as well as the long walk she made down to the spring to carry the water back to her mud hut … on her head.

The most surprising God moment was when her mother embraced me with a hug full of meaning and gratitude and the spirit of God. I will never forget it. I felt like the heavens opened and God said,

“I am using both of you two women to raise this beautiful daughter of mine.”

In one letter Jewel sent me, she wrote.

“For those who trust in the Lord, will find their faith renewed. Your contribution towards my life has enabled me to know how to read and write. It has dragged me from poverty and illiteracy. For since my father died my future remained dark and uncertain, but through your care I look special, pretty and educated. My family members and I love you and pray for you too.”

Jewel graduated from the Child Sponsorship Program in 1997. I sent her a final letter and to be honest, would think of her at times, but really hadn’t thought of her daily or deeply much at all until 2009 when we reconnected.

I will let Jewel express to you this part of the story through excerpts from several of her e-mails.

Dear Longtime Friend,

From the bottom of my heart I have always been praying for you and your entire family. … During my free time I do voluntary jobs like donate something small to the less fortunate children in children’s homes.

My mother’s animal farm has also grown a lot. I do go to church and as well take Gerald to Sunday school since it is a blessing to bring up my son in a God-fearing way.

I always tell my son I have a friend and a mum who is of white skin, and he really feels good about that. He keeps on going to my album every now and then just to see your pictures. I mean those which we took when you came to visit me. Gerald is a God-fearing boy and it’s my prayer that the Almighty may ordain his way.

You really mean a lot to me, my angel, and may God continue pouring his wonderful blessings upon your family. I lack better words to describe this but just to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! AND THANK YOU!

I give God all the glory and honor for having chosen you as my friend/angel since I was 8 years old. It’s through Compassion that I am this far academically. You have been there for me since my primary education, high school and as well after 12 years of our separation when we revived our friendship. WHAT a faithful God.

Not forgetting, I still remember your sacrifice to Kenya on 21st/ Jan/1995 when you paid me a visit. Believe me, it was so touching, and this is one of my best memories. Mum, you are God-given angel to me and I have promised myself that one day, should I grow in my financial status, I owe a poor child a sponsorship in the way God will direct me.

That is why I am sacrificing a lot to make this dream come true. God normally rewards cheerful givers, especially if you give to someone who is in need. You have always been in my daily prayers and I do pray God to continue showering His endless blessing upon you and your family at large. May He grant you good health each and every day of your life. Your positive sponsorship has been very influential in my life, and God is always merciful and compassionate to the needy.

God ordained a decision I made in 1986 to sponsor this girl, a small decision really. It was ordained by God, not only to bless Jewel, but to bless me.

My first thought when I read Jewel’s e-mails to me is that God provided a prayer warrior for my family and me, even when we did not know she was praying.

Through some very dark times in my life, where I could not pray myself, our precious sponsored child Jewel was praying for us and making a difference.

Our lives have been forever woven together and we are making a difference in each other’s lives. The {Thinking big} part has begun.

I am very humbled to learn about a growing farm, a new child being brought up in the faith and a commitment by Jewel to better herself financially to touch yet another child in poverty to begin another legacy — to break the cycle of poverty, through one sponsorship, a resurrected future.

One small decision 25 years ago, which is still producing fruit today.

There is no doubt in my mind today that God is at work through Compassion and we have the privilege to meet God there and be a part of it.

We are called to be disciples, to go to the ends of the earth preaching the good news, to take care of the poor. We can do this today through Compassion, one avenue to do God’s calling.

Some people may say that I have been ministering through Compassion for 25 years, but the truth is, that for the past 25 years I have been ministered to through the work of Compassion in my life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Laurie Frey became a first-time Compassion sponsor in 1986 and a Compassion advocate in 1994. She has traveled to more than 25 countries with her husband and they have five children, three of whom were adopted internationally. Laurie is a substitute teacher at a special-needs school and lives in Palatine, Il.

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

“Thank you, merci, gracias, धन्यवाद, salamat, di ou mèsi, and คุณขอบคุณ

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

Read all of the articles in this series from Barbara McMillan.

On the morning of my Compassion Sunday event, I arrived early before the first service to set up my table and meet with the technical-support volunteer who would be playing my DVD and running my PowerPoint show. My 15-minute spot would be just after announcements.

We got our signals straight as to when the DVD should start, when I should come to the front, and how I would indicate that it was time to advance the presentation slides. I put a bright blue Compassion tablecloth on the folding table, set up the cardboard attention-getter from the preparation kit, arranged the child packets and my personal scrapbooks about my sponsored kids, and went to sit down.

When I realized how many people were browsing as they entered, though, I realized I needed to remain near the table.

One woman looked at the display, went to her seat, then returned, telling me that she had been to the Compassion website before but had never sponsored a child. She selected a child packet and asked me to put it aside for her, which I did. It looked like I would get at least one sponsorship!

I lecture college students every day, and I have given a significant number of professional presentations at conferences in my career, so I never expected the case of nerves that hit me as I began to speak.

Once I got started, the hardest part was finding a place to stop. As I returned to my seat, my pastor announced that two offerings would be taken that morning. The first, taken at the usual time during the service, would be for tithes and regular offerings. The second would be taken at the end of the service for Compassion. Wow!

At the end of the service, the pastor directed two of the deacons to take offering plates and stand by the exit doors, and reminded everyone to visit the Compassion table. Many people looked at the scrapbooks and packets and asked questions. Several asked for brochures or particular kinds of literature or information. I took notes for follow up later.

By the time the room cleared, seven child packets had been spoken for, and three were returned with payment right on the spot.

My nerves were actually worse during the second service than in the first one. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my dry mouth. Nonetheless, the presentation went well enough and the response was again good. A total of 11 packets were taken, leaving me only four.

Again, a number of people asked questions or requested some individual follow-up. For example, one family wanted a child from Bolivia, and I had already given away the three Bolivia packets I had, so this family gave me sufficient information to select a child for them and sign them up online that afternoon. At the end of the day, I was overwhelmed and humbled by the response of my church family.

Once my Compassion Sunday was over, I wanted to wrap up the loose ends as quickly as possible. I wanted to FedEx my paperwork and money to Compassion the next day; however, although 11 child packets had been selected, only six found their way back to me complete with checks or payment information.

I was thrilled with six new sponsorships, but I hoped for the others to come in too. In addition, my church had collected a special love offering that I really didn’t know how to handle and I wasn’t sure when I would have it in my hands.

I contacted my Regional Coordinator for help and support for the logistics. She assured me that it would be fine if it took me a few extra days, and she talked me through the details.

My Compassion Sunday kit contained 15 packets. At last count, my church family has sponsored 12 new children. The offering amounted to $1,339.00.

I am praying for the remaining children whose packets are in my care, and at this point I can envision the Lord moving in the hearts of potential sponsors to accomplish what I would have thought was impossible just a few weeks ago.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbara McMillan and her family sponsor three children and correspond with one more. She has been an advocate for two and a half years.

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

Read all of the articles in this series from Barbara McMillan.

After signing up to receive information about Compassion Sunday from compassionsunday.com, I shared the DVD I received with my pastor. He offered to show the “teaser” videos to our church in advance of our main event.

I downloaded every single resource on the site, watched every single video — and there are quite a few — and got myself quite overwhelmed with the possibilities.

My pastor and I didn’t talk much during the weeks leading up to Compassion Sunday, but he let me hang up some posters that I already had on hand.

The week before Compassion Sunday, the church newsletter featured a nice article about Compassion that came from the “talk to your pastor” kit. I didn’t ask for or expect that, so it was a nice surprise and highlights the level of support I received.

My resource kit arrived one week before my event. I could have used a little more time with it. It contained promotional posters that I was able to display only a few days before the event, so they did little good.

It also included 15 — yes, 15! — child packets. That seemed excessive, and I was a bit overwhelmed by that number. How embarrassing to send them all back!

The kit included some logistical items that I appreciated. For example, it was nice to know what to do with the sponsorship forms, and having the mailing envelopes and labels was a good thing. I liked the idea of the T-shirt to wear for the event.

Because I use PowerPoint in my classroom every day, I decided to use the prepared slides as a guide and build my own presentation using some of the premade slides and some of my own.

I included poverty facts as well as pictures of my Compassion kids, past and present.

As I polished the slides and worked on my narrative, it occurred to me that I didn’t know how much time was designated for me.

My pastor was out of town all week, and I finally made contact with him the day before I was to present! We discussed his expectations and the order of the service and my time slot. I had 15 minutes to speak.

He opted to show the shorter video from the resource packet, and he told me that there would be a special offering taken for Compassion at the end of the service.

I asked for permission to set up a table to recruit sponsors, and he said, “Okay.” I did a couple of run-throughs with my family, and then tried to sleep. It was difficult. I had a recurring feeling that I had overslept and missed church! Not to worry, though — I woke on time, put on my Start Small, Think Big T-shirt and some khakis, checked to make sure I had my visual aids, table display, and child packets, and headed out.

… to be continued

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbara McMillan and her family sponsor three children and correspond with one more. She has been an advocate for two and a half years.

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

My church’s first Compassion Sunday was fast approaching. It had been a long time in the making. My hope was that it would be a life-changing experience for someone, not just a soon-forgotten, non-event in the life of my church family.

After becoming an advocate for Compassion, I spoke to a few small groups and so far I had only managed to get two children sponsored. I raised a little money for mosquito nets, a little for general programs, and I raised awareness about Compassion outreaches such as the Child Survival Program.

This would be the first time, however, that I would put myself out there and ask the entire church to consider sponsoring children.

I needed prayer! There was so much at stake, so many children were depending on my success.

When I became an advocate, I ordered a little bit of everything Compassion offered in the way of resources. I even had the “How to Talk to Your Pastor” literature in my arsenal while my church was without a pastor.

Thus armed, I approached my new pastor about presenting Compassion to our church right after he arrived. This was too soon, apparently, since his response was something like,

“Thanks, I’ll get back to you about that.”

Uh, oh!

I waited. Time passed.

In March 2010, my father-in-law died unexpectedly, and my husband and I entered a season that we now think of as “the valley of the shadow of death.” Both of our mothers had been diagnosed with terminal cancer the previous year, and by August, both of them had died.

That’s three parents in five months.

My heavy heart could hardly bear the losses, then, when I received the news that my Compassion son in Rwanda had died of malaria I could think of little else but the absolutely senseless death of my dear Emmanuel.

As I prayed for his family, I tried to think of something I could do to minister to them. Of course, I wanted to find peace and comfort for myself as well, but I could not rid myself of the thought that it was time to approach my pastor again to ask for the chance to share Compassion with my church family.

I posted on OurCompassion that I was going to give this another shot and asked for prayer support, which I received in great measure.

So, as I left church the next Sunday, I asked. I expected to have to set up an appointment and try to sell the idea, but this time my pastor’s response was quite different.

On the spot, he affirmed that Compassion was a great organization and that he would be glad to let me share with the church. I told him I would bring some literature for him to look over so that we could put something on the calendar. My pastor then told me that he had already mentioned the idea of Compassion Sunday to the rest of the ministerial staff.

Because my church supports Operation Christmas Child in November, our denominational missions offering campaign was in December, and the Gideons were already scheduled in January, we had to need to wait a few months to schedule Compassion Sunday.

We chose February 27. … to be continued

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Barbara McMillan and her family sponsor three children and correspond with one more. She has been an advocate for 2 1/2 years.

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

Alecia Klauk sponsors five children. She serves as a guardian ad litem within the South Carolina family court system, working for the best interests of children in foster care, and she is a member of our Advocates Network. Alecia wrote today’s post.

My “first” Compassion Sunday as an advocate began with a big decision, a matter of priorities, a crisis of conscience.

I have been conducting Compassion Sundays at my church for a handful of years, but this year was my first one as an advocate. Back in May, I was looking forward to devoting some time to planning the event. I felt a renewed sense of responsibility with my new position. I began thinking and praying about what more I could do and how I could improve.

Earlier in the year, while working as a table volunteer at a local church, I was dumbstruck as we ran out of child packets after a particularly strong pastoral message. Inspired, I knew I wanted to push some, to pray for more this year, to use every available resource to make my Compassion Sunday event as effective as possible. I wanted to shatter past “bests” and maybe, just maybe, see 30 children sponsored.

That was my mindset as school was beginning to wind down, well, that and greatly looking forward to a desperately needed weekend alone with my man. It had been a hard academic year for the kids, and I had greatly been tested too. A weekend away was all that was on my mind.

Enter our new associate pastor.

He caught me in the parking lot as I was leaving church one Sunday, with a beautiful vision of a radical message and a strong push for our upcoming Compassion Sunday. He even felt a holy “oughtness” from the Lord to offer a child packet from the pulpit and wait for a sponsor to take it from the stage.

It was bold. It was gutsy. It was what I had been praying for.

To coordinate it with Luke 17, he asked if we could hold our Compassion Sunday just a few weeks later; our church teaches verse by verse, so the date was chosen by when the appropriate Scripture would “happen” to fall.

I quickly and enthusiastically said yes but that I’d need to get planning quickly so I could pull everything together. I was amazed and delighted at his plans and jumped in with both feet, ready to see my dream and my prayer for more fulfilled. This was going to be a banner year.

I got in the car full of great energy, until … I realized that the new date for Compassion Sunday was the same as my upcoming weekend away. My heart sank.

But it didn’t take long to make the decision that I needed to change my plans and be at church. I could have handed it off. Our associate pastor had served for a time as the concert Compassion rep with a well-known music artist. He could handle it.

But the truth is that I didn’t want to miss what I’d been praying for. So the Lord brought my heart to a point of decision, and we began to plan. (By the way, so no one worries about me, my hubby and I did get that weekend away; we just went another time.)

I felt quite compelled by the Spirit to do a few things differently with this Compassion Sunday. My associate pastor wanted me to order 100 packets, even though the normal delivery would have been 30. And for the first time I had additional staffing needs, so I assembled a team of eight people to help.

We had several team meetings. We prayed for each of the 100 children by name. I sent out what I hoped were encouraging and instructive e-mails. I did everything I could to prepare my team for the day. They were incredibly supportive and committed. It was such an encouragement to me not to be in this alone.

The day of the event, we were all feeling pretty heavy hearted for our new pastor. I caught him right before the first service started, and he really looked a little peaked.

I asked him if he was okay, and he said, “I just have no idea what is about to happen.”

I tried to encourage him as best I could, and just prayed that much harder.

Worship was great. We had our first child sponsored during the first song. That was incredibly encouraging.

My dear friend who helped the sponsor had been praying for that specific child all week. And the gentleman who approached the table told her he couldn’t decide, so she should. It was a quick and deep confirmation of the importance of our prayers and commitment for each of the children.

But still, we all had our hearts in our throats as the sermon began. We knew the risk that was about to be taken.

The message was fantastic. It pulled no punches in regard to what God says about our need to sacrificially serve Him and love the poor. The global rich list was presented to highlight the wealth we have as Americans, whether we feel wealthy or not.

At the appropriate times, the church was still — I believe from conviction and feeling the nudge of the Spirit.

Then, the picture of a child was displayed. His story read.

I had been charged with picking two children who really moved me, one for each service. This child’s father was in prison as his mother sought to eke out a living in Colombia. The packet was extended, and with a great sigh and relief and ample tears by all of us working the tables, he was taken!

And that began the swarm.

The tables were overrun after the service, and as the crowd dwindled, I realized that we had surpassed our past record of 26 children and still had another service to go.

Our pastor approached me, asked how we were doing, and was genuinely disappointed to still have any children left!

I gave him the perspective of where we were compared with where we’ve always been, but he remained dissatisfied. I was deeply encouraged by his drive and deep desire for the kids to be sponsored.

The second service went much like the first, except that when the child packet was read and offered, three people raised their hands!

I think I must have looked like a blubbering mess, but I was completely overwhelmed at how God was turning the hearts of our people to obedience. I stayed very busy running among the four tables, and I could hardly keep track of how many kids were being taken, one by one, and occasionally even two by two.

In the end, there were over 60 children sponsored, more than double our best before that point. I felt like I was drinking from a fire hose, attempting to receive the bounty God chose to give, the miracle He opted to invest, the more He multiplied from our meager offering of a few fish and some loaves of effort.

And from that day, a whole new vision was born. I feel compelled to serve my church in a new way: to not only work toward securing new sponsors, but also to care for those we already have.

Totals from the last few years put our church at almost 100 sponsoring families, and I want to support them, to build a sense of community among them, to offer further instruction and education on the ministry – basically to help them move beyond a check to a deep heart commitment to a relationship with their sponsored child.

We recently had our inaugural meeting of the Compassion Connection, and I was deeply edified to have a room full of mostly new sponsors desiring that deeper commitment. I was further moved to find both my pastor and his wife and my associate pastor in attendance.

My pastor seemed quite pleased to be writing his first letter to his Compassion child, explaining to me that his wife had been writing, but that this was his first attempt. Beautiful! God is continuing with the more theme.

So may I encourage you to continue to spur each other on to love and good deeds. God deeply wants to bless the work of our hands on behalf of “the least of these,” and I trust that He longs for nothing more than to open the floodgates and touch our work.

I’ve been in the difficult, deeply discouraging places, where there is no support and the effort feels fruitless. But it never is. It just never is.

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.” — Matthew 10:42 (NIV)

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

Compassion Sunday is an annual event that provides sponsors and donors across the United States a chance to speak to their churches on behalf of children in poverty. The purpose is to draw the attention of the Church to the needs of the world’s poorest children.

Each year, dedicated volunteers present Compassion in churches across the country, and tens of thousands of children are sponsored through their efforts.

This year Compassion Sunday is April 18, but if you ever want to host a Compassion Sunday at your church you can choose any date that works best for you and your church.

When Compassion Sunday rolled around last year, Lisa and Eric Kjeldgaard were brand-new Advocates and they were eager to share Compassion with their church body.

We’ll let Lisa pick it up from here.

We were pleasantly surprised when our elders gave us an entire 45-minute Sunday school time to speak about Compassion.

We started to plan. We viewed all the video clips at our disposal. We read the many recommended ideas and modified an interactive activity we hoped would help the children realize the plight of children needing sponsors. We copied coloring pages and we strategized what I would talk about and what Eric would talk about. And we prayed.

We have a small church — at that time less than 180 people, with 100 of them children — but we were hopeful that two or three families might become sponsors.

Compassion Sunday came and our children were eager to help. We set up our table with Child Packets and a large display showing a little African girl with the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen.

We displayed our binders of letters from our sponsored kids, and we were all ready when our church family started to arrive. I was nervous.

Eric introduced what we were doing and we showed our first video clip.

Then it was my turn to speak. I started to share my heart for the work Compassion is doing, and then it happened.

I cried.

Now, crying isn’t anything new to me. And unfortunately, crying in front of a lot of people isn’t new either. Somehow giving birth to eight children unleashed a flood of emotions in my body and I can rarely speak about something or someone I feel deeply for without tearing up.

But this was different.

I felt my heart breaking as I thought about the wealth we Americans have and the wretched poverty so many children are faced with.

I kept staring at all of the clean, well-fed, well-dressed children before me and my heart was crying, “Why? Why Lord? Why do these children have more than they need while so many others don’t have even enough?”

It was all I could do to pull myself together and finish the presentation.

My tears embarrassed me. I didn’t want my friends to think I was trying to guilt them into sponsoring. I didn’t want to detract from our purpose in showing the exciting work Compassion is doing. But God used my tears.

As I pulled myself together, I realized I wasn’t the only one in the church crying.

God blessed our efforts that day. Between that Sunday and the following one, nine children found sponsors. Nine! Including a beautiful girl from Kenya that our own 13-year-old daughter felt called to sponsor.

And a sweet friend, who I hadn’t known was already a Compassion sponsor, came to me struggling through her own tears, convicted that they hadn’t made communicating with their sponsored child a priority.

When I look back at our first Compassion Sunday, I’m thrilled with what the Lord did. Sure, our numbers don’t compare with many of the efforts of larger churches, but our fruit that day was threefold what we prayed for, and I know without a doubt that nine little lives were changed forever because I was willing to stand in front of my church family and cry.

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

Compassion Sunday is an annual event that provides sponsors and donors across the United States a chance to speak to their churches on behalf of children in poverty. The purpose is to draw the attention of the Church to the needs of the world’s poorest children.

Each year, dedicated volunteers present Compassion in churches across the country, and tens of thousands of children are sponsored through their efforts.

This year Compassion Sunday is April 18, but if you ever want to host a Compassion Sunday at your church you can choose any date that works best for you … and your church, as Debbi did.

My name is Debbi Akers. I have been an Advocate with Compassion in north Alabama for nearly 1 1/2 years.

As soon as I completed my Advocate training, my first thought was to host a Compassion Sunday at my church. I was on fire, passionate, and thought that was the obvious next step. I was wrong.

Even though the administration at my church was very welcoming of my passion and the ministry of Compassion, their calendar was already set in motion for the holidays and then for the beginning of the year.

Of course, once the first of the year rolled around, Compassion Sunday got pushed back on the church calendar again and again.

If you have ever been told “no” or “maybe next year,” please do not be discouraged. Time that you commit to God for His glory and for His kingdom is never wasted.

As I waited for a later date for Compassion Sunday, the passion God had given me for the least of these and for His ministry through Compassion could not be squelched. I felt that if I did not “speak up for those who could not speak up for themselves,” the rocks would start crying out for those who were suffering! So, I spoke.

I spoke to Sunday school classes, women’s groups, combined classes — anyone in my church who would give me a opportunity.

While doing all this speaking, I was blessed to have about 30 families sponsor me to go on an Advocates tour to Guatemala. After that life-changing trip, I spoke even more.

The beauty of having so many people support me financially on the tour was that they felt they “owned” me when I returned, and I had a duty to speak to their classes and groups and share about my trip!

God’s time was not wasted. He used what I initially perceived as rejection as a time of planting. Seeds were planted throughout my church, and my heart learned to trust Jesus like I probably had not done in a long time. I started to remember what it felt like to rely on Him again as He prepared the fields for harvest.

During that time of planting seeds, I made a chart. It was a simple chart where I kept the name, contact information, child name and reference number for each new sponsorship associated with my efforts. This has proven to be one of the most effective things I have done as an Advocate. As new sponsors came along, I simply add to this chart.

By the time I actually held my Compassion Sunday (Nov. 29, 2009), the list had grown to close to 70 sponsors — one child at a time!

In planning Compassion Sunday, I remembered something Wess Stafford once said about the reason many people do not get involved with charity organizations. He said they do not know where to begin and they do not know who to trust.

Well, having a Compassion Sunday shows people where to begin, but I needed to focus on showing my congregation that Compassion was an organization they could trust.

I pulled out my handy, dandy chart of sponsors. If my congregation could see that the leaders and many longtime church members were trusting Compassion, it might make a difference.

I called Compassion and gave them the reference numbers from my chart. Compassion was able to provide me with a digital picture of every sponsored child connected to my church.

I made a simple slide show with those pictures. Each slide had the face of the child and his or her name alongside of the sponsor’s name. Our adult and children’s choirs sang “He Knows My Name” as the slide show was presented. My congregation felt like those children were “their” children.

We were then abundantly blessed to have Miguel Figueroa speak, as a formerly sponsored child and now Leadership Development Program graduate attending Moody Bible Institute.

None of these things could have taken place if the dates I had initially requested had been granted. God’s timing brought about a harvest that surpassed what I had prayed for.

We now have close to 200 sponsors at our church, and the sponsorship table is still up! Each week someone stops by to either ask about sponsoring, pick up some information, ask questions about a current sponsorship, or tell me about a letter received from a child. It is my act of love to sit at that table each week. To Him be all of the glory!

The little chart with sponsor information did not end once the numbers grew. It took on a life of its own. My trip to Guatemala left me with a passion even greater than the one I already had for finding sponsors. It is a passion for getting those sponsors engaged in the lives of the children they sponsor.

With the contact information in hand, I have been able to establish a monthly newsletter for the sponsors in my church. In addition, this past month I offered six different opportunities for members to attend a Compassion 101 class where they could come together and learn how to set up an online account at compassion.com, learn about letter-writing, gifts, trips, blogs and more.

Also, if there is a crisis in a country such as we just experienced in Haiti, I immediately know which sponsors to connect with. Or if there is a blog post that pertains to one of our sponsoring family’s child development centers, I can let them know. Basically, anything that I can do to advocate for the continuing relationship between the sponsor and child is made possible through a simple task of record keeping.

So my fellow Advocates and precious sponsors: Pray. Trust His timing. Pray. Take every opportunity, especially the seemingly insignificant ones, to speak up. Pray. Keep some records if you can. Pray. Enjoy His harvest. And give Him all of the glory.

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

When you put a Mentos mint into a bottle of soda it explodes like a volcano, just like an explosive phenomenon taking place all over the country on behalf of children in poverty. In both cases this explosive phenomenon is about multiplication.

With the Mentos and soda, carbon dioxide bubbles rapidly form on the pitted surface of the mint and explode out of the bottle.

With Compassion Sunday, dedicated volunteers present Compassion in churches across the country, and tens of thousands of children are sponsored through their efforts. The purpose is to draw the attention of the Church to the needs of the world’s poorest children.

As a new child advocate in 1994, I started sharing about child sponsorships in people’s homes. One at a time, children were sponsored. Then it dawned on me that if I shared in a group, I could get more children sponsored at one time.

I shared in a Sunday School class and several children were sponsored in one day. So my next step was to speak during a worship service.

Having done that and having seen so many children sponsored all at one time made me realize that if I shared in another church or two, I could multiply the effects of my efforts even more.

Within five years, I spoke regularly in 12 different churches and would see up to a dozen children sponsored each time I spoke. It was exciting and almost addictive, this process of watching new sponsors sign up with such excitement and gratefulness. In one youth group alone, 19 kids were sponsored at once.

Within another five years, that list of church groups multiplied to an additional 25 churches because God was helping me see all of the opportunities around me.

But the multiplication effect wasn’t limited to my efforts. This is where the explosion comes in. Some of the churches began to place their own Mentos in soda bottles, so to speak.

I made a practice of returning to the same churches every two years, and alternating years (and seasons) for the large group of churches I was visiting. When I called one of the churches, they said, “No, we don’t need you to come this year. We’re going to host our own Compassion Sunday.”

And that’s what they did, gaining 10 new sponsorships. One member of the planning committee even signed up to become a Compassion Child Advocate — one who would also share in other churches besides her own. That church now has one sponsored child for about every eight church members.

One of my most special Compassion Sundays involved attending this church and hearing the pastor ask each sponsor to pray for their child, one by one, out loud in the service. As I heard the voices throughout the sanctuary, along with the names of each child affected by this love, I cried with tears of joy.

This has happened all over the world, causing the Advocates Network to expand rapidly. Why? Because the joy of leading others to sponsor children is deeply satisfying and contagious. You are changing not only the life of the child, but also the life of the new sponsor.

I can’t begin to tell you how many people have thanked me for telling them about child sponsorship. When I return to churches, they thank me for coming back, and they bring their friends and family members to the Compassion sign-up table. Multiplication. And more than 500 kids have been sponsored in our region.

I’ll never forget speaking in a tiny church of seven people, and seeing five new sponsorships. Or another little church that has faithfully added new sponsorships each time I visit.

The joy at that church was so contagious that a church in a neighboring community heard about it and asked me to come and present a Compassion Sunday. It was just a tiny one-room church (with no restroom facilities, except perhaps an outhouse in back), and yet five sponsorships came out of that visit.

Do you understand what I mean about explosions? Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to multiply your efforts!

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