Hope as Wide as the Prairie
Our pioneer ancestors scraped and sacrificed and barely got by, in many ways living a similar lifestyle to what millions of subsistence farmers still lead around the world.
What Makes Gratitude Overflow?
There is something special about giving a gift to a child who rarely receives gifts. Most families in developing countries don’t have the extra funds to buy gifts like bubbles and Dora dolls.
A Pear and a Prayer
Tears poured down Cesar’s face. He was ready to give up. You could feel it in every fiber of his being.
Chatting with Pastor Matt Chandler
We recently talked with Pastor Matt Chandler about The Village Church, child sponsorship, the poor and his book, The Explicit Gospel.
From Cristo Rey de Gloria Student Center (GU-970) in Guatemala. Shaun Groves takes you on a two-minute tour of the child development center and shows you what it looks and sounds like when the children are there.
Solidarity
After meeting our staff and church partners on the field, reports of natural disasters, civil unrest and family tragedies suddenly becomes more personal.
Feliz Cumpleaños With No Piñata?
Piñatas are often associated with Hispanic birthday celebrations. However, some birthday celebrations in Guatemala do not include a piñata.
Pressing On
It’s hard to press on when you feel abandoned. It’s easy to give in to discouragement, but Paul and Barnabas didn’t do that.
Bizzy’s Burden
Elisabeth “Bizzy” Mellado’s first encounter with Compassion started with what she calls one of her dad’s “crazy ideas.”
Melissa and her family belong to the Mayan group Ixils. Ixils live in three villages that make up the poverty-stricken Ixil Triangle.
Cook With Compassion: Rellenitos
Rellenitos is a Cook with Compassion dessert submitted by Claudia de Ramirez, a ministry Tours and Visits Specialist in Guatemala. Rellenitos are plantain donuts filled with an ingredient you may not expect.
What If This Was the Fate of Your Letters?
After taking a trip to Guatemala with Compassion, sponsor and ministry advocate Julie Berger felt a responsibility to protect all other sponsors from what she experienced. Let her explain…
You Saved a Life
One of the benefits Rossy received as a sponsored child was a medical checkup. It was during her first medical checkup that the doctor identified a suspicious murmur in her heart.
Ministry Highlight: Guatemala
We began our ministry in Guatemala in 1976 as a family help program run by missionaries. The Child Sponsorship Program started in 1980, and the Leadership Development Program began in 1997.
To finish well in life it makes an enormous difference if you have opportunities that allow you to begin well. Our Child Survival and Leadership Development programs help children living in extreme poverty to both begin and finish well.
Keeping Dreams Alive in the Midst of Hardship
Cobán is beautiful city, but plagued by major issues like extreme poverty, alcoholism and drug trafficking. Poverty is rampant in Cobán, with 61 percent of its population living in poverty and 26 percent in extreme poverty. Lack of education and job opportunities, large families and high-priced food are just some of the reasons for the…
Easter in Guatemala
Guatemala, a country whose whose religion is chiefly Roman Catholic and Protestant, is deeply rooted in local traditions, making the celebration of Easter a colorful and massive one.
The First Letter Builds a Cornerstone
The first letters are a cornerstone to building the new relationship between sponsor and sponsored child. These letters make the sponsorship commitment more personal, and now Vanesa and Alexandra will be waiting to hear back from their sponsors.
We Teach Children How to Dream
The youths in our student centers face many challenges. Because of cultural paradigms, poor academic preparation by the national school system (especially in rural areas), and financial barriers, one of the greatest challenges for youths is learning how to dream.
The Heart and Soul of Guatemala (in Pictures)
Pictures courtesy of Keely Scott. Visit compassionbloggers.com to experience all of the highlights of the Guatemala blog trip through the words, pictures and videos of the team.
A Cup of Gratitude
The woman gleefully handed me a cup. It was filled with a warm drink made of corn and cinnamon. Our staff guide looked at me and said, “She wants to offer you and the group this drink. Please take it, so you are not rude, but don’t drink it for it might make you sick.”
Our Sixth Blog Trip Begins Sept. 8
The Compassion Bloggers are traveling to Guatemala on their latest trip to see our ministry in action.
Made for Each Other
Each of your sponsored children is uniquely yours. You may not know the reason exactly, but that child was chosen by you for a reason. And you were chose for for that child.
Baking Without a KitchenAid in Sight
The girls teaching me to bake were part of a baking class at the Compassion student center I was visiting in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. As part of the class, they make snacks for the nearly 400 students at the center. They also make baked goods they can sell in the community. With that money, they have…
A Pear and Prayer
There is nothing in the world like visiting a Compassion-assisted child’s home. Absolutely nothing. Nothing can prepare you for the sights, the sounds, the smells. Most of all, nothing can prepare you for the beating your heart is about to take. It’s like you got in a fight with the Holy Spirit. And every time,…
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