Rossy is a sweet and active 8-year-old. She is God’s literal miracle of life for her family.

Rossy comes from a family of six. She has three older siblings and they all live with their parents in Cantel, Quetzaltenango, located about four hours northwest of Guatemala City.

Quetzaltenango is known for its cold weather and very nice people.

Rossy’s siblings Orfa and Eleazar are enrolled in our Child Sponsorship Program. Rossy’s parents wanted her to attend the same center too, but there were no available spots for new children.

Nevertheless, another child development center in Cantel, located only several blocks away from their house, had available spots.

One of the benefits Rossy received as a sponsored child was a medical checkup. Our ministry provides two medical checkups a year for younger children. And it was during Rossy’s first medical checkup that the doctor identified a suspicious murmur in her heart.

The doctor asked our staff to take Rossy to a cardiologist in Quetzaltenango. However, Rossy did not seem or act like she was sick.

After an echocardiogram, an electrocardiogram and X-rays, the cardiologist confirmed that Rossy had a heart problem and told us not to wait until she had symptoms to treat it. The doctor recommended we travel to the city that offered a special cardiovascular surgery unit called UNICAR.

The child development center nurse, Ruth, tells us,

“The doctor explained that Rossy had a small hole in her heart; even though she had no symptoms she still needed the appropriate treatment.”

Our staff at the child development center talked to Rossy’s parents. They offered financial support through a Partners of Compassion fund, but Rossy’s parents did not follow up with us.

Rossy’s father, Ipolito, explains,

“I was really scared. I had no ways of paying for her surgery. I had also heard how many children die during surgery. She did not look sick, so I did not want to risk her life in a surgery that I thought was not needed. I was hoping for a miracle.”

Even though her symptoms were not noticeable to her family, Rossy noticed them.

“I would get really tired and short of breath. On my daily walk back home I could not walk up the hill without having to stop many times to take a breath.”

A year after her doctor visit, everything changed for Rossy and her family when she started bleeding from her nose and mouth and it would not stop.

Rossy’s parents took her to the hospital and for the third time Rossy’s heart problems were confirmed. The first time was when Rossy was just a baby. The doctor had told them about her heart murmur, but due to the lack of resources they did not give her the treatment needed.

In addition to her bleeding, Rossy started developing purpura, a condition were purple-colored spots start showing on the skin.

It was during this time that her parents realized the importance of the surgery.

“My wife and I argued a lot, because I did not want Rossy to have surgery. I was very afraid.”

After realizing his daughter was only getting worse, Ipolito accepted help from the ministry.

“I went back to apologize to the child development center staff. I was wrong. Rossy needed help and I did not take advantage of it on time.

“The brothers and sisters at the center have been of great support, not only financially, but spiritually too. They were always praying for us. Through Compassion, God gave me the miracle I had been waiting for.”

Rossy went to UNICAR and during her first appointment the doctor diagnosed her with Tetralogy of Fallot, a cardiac anomaly involving four related heart defects. Rossy needed open-heart surgery. The doctors warned her family that there was a great chance Rossy would not make it because of how long they waited to treat her.

The doctor asked Rossy to go to the dentist before her surgery. She needed to not have any cavities to prevent infections. She also had a catheterization to make sure her veins and capillaries were in good shape before the surgery.

Finally, Rossy’s open-heart surgery took place.

The staff at the child development center made sure that Rossy’s family felt cared for and loved during this time. One person from the center was with Rossy and her mom at all times while they were at the hospital. Others would visit her father and siblings at their house.

Children at the center started a “Rossy’s Fund” to raise funds for her surgery. They also had a prayer and fasting week for her.

Rossy responded really well to the procedure, and two weeks later she was on her way home.

The doctor recommended Rossy rest a lot so her heart and sternum could fully heal. Rossy was not happy since it meant she was not going to attend school or the child development center. But, she is now back at the center and school.

Today, Rossy is a girl filled with life. She loves to play with her dolls and kitchenware toys. Her favorite subject in school is math. She loves to go to the child development center. She likes to read her Bible, especially the book of Genesis.

Rossy tells us,

“I like the project because it is where I learn about the Word of God. My favorite Bible story is God’s creation, especially the part where Adam and Eve disobeyed. It helps me remember that we always need to be obedient.”

Center Director Abigail also wants us to know,

“Rossy is very smart and likes to participate in contests or special activities. She is the one who gets the medals and awards every time. She had a perfect attendance score.

“She is an outstanding 8-year-old. We are so grateful for her life. There are no words to thank all the people who donated money for her surgery. Please know that it was not in vain. Your donations saved a life. You saved Rossy.”

Thanks to you, Rossy has a promising life ahead of her. A life full of dreams, dreams like being a doctor. She wants to be a doctor who helps children when she grows up.

Thank you for giving life, literally.

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

But I’ve got to tell you, working at Compassion spoils you for pop culture. Suddenly everything is in perspective.

Before starting my job here, I used to love Extreme Home Makeover. I loved seeing the crazy kitchens, the creative design and the happy people. I would cry with them when they yelled with Ty, “Bus driver, move that bus!” And I still do love the heart of helping and generosity it is spreading.

But since being daily faced with the realities of the majority world, I can’t help but be distressed by our sometimes-trend toward bigger is better and more is more attitude. We seem to be in a never-ending game of one-upmanship.

I don’t personally think there’s anything inherently wrong or sinful about a big house. What is dangerous is the subtle message we are ingesting that if our homes aren’t big, if they aren’t new, if they aren’t decked with the trendiest design, it’s a reason to shake our heads shamefully. We can begin to look around at what we have and think, “This isn’t that great” when we compare it to the over-the-top luxury we see.

It’s sad. We have so much! Think of Joshua’s home in Indonesia.

Home security in Indonesia.

Vanity dresser.

Mood lighting.

Kitchen island.

He and his family all sleep together in one big room, his father with the two older brothers on a mattress by the door, and the mother with the younger siblings on a bed.

His favorite part of his home is the mattress. It gets lots of light from the front door. But he wishes the roof was a bit better so he wouldn’t get rained on at night.

His mom wishes the electricity worked more often — they share it between eight families.

When asked what he thinks about living here, Joshua said, “I like it here because I have so many friends.”

The sweet heart of a child.

I don’t propose we all move to open-air shacks and share one bedroom between six people. But I do propose looking around at what we have! Appreciate it. See it for what it really is.

How sad it is when we “tsk” at the great blessings we have as not enough. When we complain about this or that little detail of it. (I’m speaking from personal experience. I HATE my ugly old kelly green bathroom and can look beyond the beauty of my home to that one seeming blight.)

What may really need an extreme makeover is not necessarily our homes, but our hearts.

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

I sit in the meetings barely able to focus. I’m overwhelmed by this all-encompassing ache that envelops me. I’m experiencing what so many of you are experiencing: My heart is in Haiti.

I cannot find words to express my anguish and sorrow. I imagine if I could name the ache, it would help alleviate some of the pain I am feeling. But the words won’t come. And so, here in Thailand, I wait.

Waiting alone can cause despair. But waiting together offers hope.

I’ve seen that not only within my co-workers but on OurCompassion. I go to the site daily, sometimes hourly, to read other people’s posts and comments about Haiti. In their words, I find that I am not alone.

One of my OurCompassion friends posted this:

“The first two days after the quake, I could barely think straight about anything but Haiti. I just stood there watching the news, holding my breath, with my insides shaking.”

That’s me too.

In the OurCompassion group, “Heart for Haiti,” members are posting pictures of their sponsored kids, encouraging each other, and sharing prayer requests. Some are fasting together. We’re reaching out to one another in hope.

If you’re feeling like me and need to wait together instead of waiting alone … come join us. There are more than 450 of us in the group and we’re waiting, grieving and hoping together. We’re praying for God’s mercy and love to pour out on His people in Haiti.

If you’re not already registered on OurCompassion, do so. Then join the group, “Heart for Haiti.” You’ll see a link to it on the home page.

You don’t have to be a Compassion sponsor to join OurCompassion, and you don’t have to sponsor a child in Haiti to join the “Heart for Haiti” group.

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

You know when you go on a mission trip that is a completely life-changing experience, and you come back all fired up? You just stared injustice in the face and realized you can actually do something about it. Your life takes on new purpose. It’s like the small seed of justice that had been lying dormant within you suddenly bloomed, and you feel an almost uncontrollable urge to share your experience with others in a way that will make them understand what has to be done.

You know that feeling?

That’s the type of passion-driven person the Compassion Philippines office hires. And they’ve come up with a pretty unique way to find those people.

The Compassion Philippines hiring process is unique. As part of the final round of interviewing, each candidate is required to participate in an “immersion experience,” a process designed to look into the heart of the candidate.

The immersion experience requires the candidate to spend four days and three nights living with the family of a Compassion-assisted child. The location selected is usually among the worst of the slum areas.

The candidate stays with the family, eats what they eat, sleeps in their home, and remains in their community for the entire time.

After the stay, the family and the church partner write a review of the experience and provide input on how the candidate related to them in their poverty. If a candidate does not pass this review by the family and church partner, he or she will not be offered a job at Compassion Philippines.

Country Director Noel Pabiona explains that the purpose of this final step is to identify candidates who truly have a heart for serving Compassion-assisted children and church partners.

“A candidate may look perfect on paper or in office interviews, but you can’t fake it in the field.”

Program Communications Manager Wendy Sebastian spent her immersion experience with a family of seven children in a small slum home. She worked with the mother breaking large pieces of charcoal into smaller pieces to sell.

Wendy shares how that experience impacted her: “Chopping and re-packing coal with Anna helped me see firsthand the difficulty and health risks she encounters every day to net 40 to 80 pesos a day ($1-2). I felt compelled to do something beyond enjoying and maintaining my privileged life. This experienced confirmed that God purposely led me to Compassion to help build His kingdom agenda and I had to obey His calling.”

Along with the hiring process, Compassion Philippines office staff who do not spend time in the field are required to participate in an immersion experience every two years to keep them in touch with the children and partners they are serving.

Wow! Now that’s on-the-job training if I ever saw it.

Working at my desk thousands of miles away from those in the field, sometimes I catch myself losing track of the reality of the ministry we’re doing. It’s easy to get swept up in the mundane routine of my daily tasks.

A radical interview experience like those in the Philippines would surely sear into the mind of any potential employee the serious and life-altering impact of his or her job.

As I was writing this, I was also working with the Compassion Philippines staff in the wake of Typhoon Ketsana. Along with thousands of our children who have lost homes, some of our staff have lost everything as well.

If you are interested in more information on this disaster, visit its crisis page. And please remember that we will contact you directly if your child has been affected by the disaster.

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