The thing is, I’ve always tried to avoid challenging my friends and family to be more engaged with my personal passions. I’ve tried not to impose my personal convictions upon them (after all, each to their own, right?) But perhaps I haven’t pushed the envelope enough, because all along I’d secretly hoped that they‘d be more than interested (in my passions) for my sake. I’d hope for them to ask questions and come to their own convictions about making a positive, lasting difference in the lives of others. 

But over the past few weeks, I’ve learnt that there are many others like my beautiful friend who would like to be offered an opportunity to respond. I’m amazed at how, by simply sharing my heart, I’ve invited others to search their own, and respond to what’s on theirs.

Over 2,400 children have been sponsored through the 10,000 Children campaign. 

We didn’t reach 10,000 sponsorships in 10 days, but over 10,000 eyes and ears have seen and heard the desperate cry of the children in poverty. 

We didn’t reach 2,400 sponsorships within 10 days, but we saw a record number of children sponsored through a single event. 

By trusting our Lord throughout the 10,000 Children campaign, our faith has been stretched, our hearts have been expanded, and our praises to Him multiplied. 

Janine, our national prayer director, also saw the 10,000 Children campaign as an impetus for a boundary shift in our faith.

It is a time that God is encouraging his people to dream big. In all areas of our lives and ministries, if we make room for the miraculous in our life, He will come. I believe we stretched the tent pegs and prayed with faith for God to increase our influence. We were blessed.

I can’t wait to hear the stories of these newly sponsored children and the impact their sponsorships will have in their families and wider communities. As a result of over 2,400 child sponsorships, over 10,000 lives can be transformed into a Christ-like image. Can you imagine what that looks like? 

To Josh, our events & partner artist manager, the hard work is all worthwhile because of the lives that are now linked to our Creator. Josh paints a picture of a Compassion church partnership and what 2,400 sponsored children means to him:

I recently returned home from a trip to see Compassion’s work in Bali, Indonesia.

In Bali, the team and I travelled to a remote mountainous village called Munduk. While I was there I spoke with the local church pastor who had been spreading the gospel there for over 20 years. He explained to me that one of the most significant things the church had ever done was to partner with Compassion in establishing a child development center to help over 140 children from their village.

I watched that afternoon as the impoverished village children streamed into the project and were given tuition, food for lunch, and taught to sing and dance. I was struck by the immense love displayed by the church pastor and project staff towards each individual child. I was blessed with the opportunity to see the fruit of what was accomplished at this year’s Hillsong Conference.

Hillsong Conference for me is not as much about the logistical preparations, the crowds, the final results, (as it is about) the one child, who is linked to the local church and introduced to their Creator.

Even though it has been an insane few weeks for some of our staff members before and after the conference, we continue to celebrate before God.

For Kaye, the manager of our supporter engagement center, the 10,000 Children campaign was a reminder that “with God all things are possible”. She extols Paul’s instruction to the church in Ephesus: “Convince them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” – 1 Timothy 6:18 (NIV)

Throughout the event my own faith was increased by responding to the phone calls we received into our Engagement Centre immediately following and during the conference, we heard many stories of people whose lives were greatly impacted by the sacrifices they were willing to make in their own lives in order to change the life of a child.

One sponsor told us that not even two hours after he had made the decision to sponsor another child, God performed a miracle in his own life. He said that “sponsoring a child unlocked something in my life that gave way to a miracle.”

Love in action unleashes the miraculous. But we do not love in order to bring about signs and wonders. We love because God loved us first. Our natural response is to love Him and love others. When we reach out in love, we reveal Christ and release His power and authority on earth. When we reveal Christ in us, we share in His glory; we see transformation in our own lives and in others.

Irene

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Part of that internationality is that we work in 24 countries throughout the developing world … uh, 25 countries (you know about Togo, right?)

And the other part of that internationality is that there are 11 countries that form Compassion’s Global Partner Alliance. These are the countries where you, the sponsors, come from.

For the most part, the blog is written by Compassion U.S. staff with great contributions and insight coming from staff in the developing world. But there is more to us than those two perspectives.

Today’s post is written by Irene Kao, digital marketing specialist, in the Compassion Australia office.

Our plan is to have our global partners contribute as frequently as possible to help expand your perspective on who we are and how we work, as well as connecting you with sponsors and donors throughout the world.

Take it away Irene!

It’s not because I haven’t been confronted by poverty in the past. During my short-term mission trip to Uganda in February 2008, I came face-to-face with children who were born into desperate, heart-breaking poverty. I saw that without outside support, they were spiritually dead, physically malnourished, emotionally depressed, economically destitute, and socially rejected.

It’s not that I haven’t witnessed the powerful, positive impact that Compassion’s programs are bringing to poor communities around the world. I had the privilege of visiting the homes of Compassion children in Entebbe, Uganda. Seeing the little that they have was not only confronting for me but also a humbling experience. But despite the underprivileged lifestyle they still lived, they now have a life filled with hope …

I sensed their heart-felt gratitude towards their God-given Compassion support. Their Compassion support was a ticket that’d help them break free from the chains of poverty. Seeing children set free from poverty in the name of Jesus have been, for me, holy encounters with the heart of God.

Am I a child sponsor? Yes. Have I considered sponsoring another child? To be honest, sponsoring another child isn’t on my immediate agenda.

As a Compassion employee, releasing children from poverty has become a part of my lifestyle. I’m also constantly exposed to compelling facts and footage geared toward challenging me to do something about poverty. I’m conscious of how in the course of working in the ministry, I need to make sure that I don’t become desensitised to the brutal reality of poverty. And I believe that God orchestrated a series of events at Hillsong Conference 2008 to help me re-examine my heart and my actions, and to align them with His.

For me, Hillsong Conference 2008 focused on a running theme of God’s heart for His children, His church, and His desire for us to live a life of love. Our natural response to knowing His love would simply be to share in His love. On the third day of the conference, I sat in the Acer Arena along with 17,000 conference delegates as Compassion Australia presented its 10,000 Children campaign video.

Through Pastor Brian Houston and Pastor Darlene Zschech, the audience was transported to the slums in India, where grandparents shared their struggles to raise their abandoned grandchildren, where the struggling next-door neighbor of a mother of two shared his desire to help his less fortunate neighbor … if only he had more income. The video came to a close with a young sponsored boy expressing his heart-felt gratitude towards God and his sponsor.

I was heart-broken … and a mess. Thankfully, I wasn’t alone.

It was as if a veil were lifted from all of our eyes as 17,000 people were, together, exposed to the violent effects of poverty. At the same time, a sense of responsibility arose from within the arena. We were anointed to make a difference in a way I’ve never sensed before.

Conference delegates trickled through the Compassion tent during the rest of the conference. People thought seriously about making a sacrifice to see more children released from poverty, or to find someone else to help. A fellow colleague shared his experience working at the Compassion tent:

“The thing that impacted me the most was the number of complete strangers who threw their arms around me purely because I was wearing the Compassion jumper. Also, the number of young people, many of them students, who despite their difficult financial positions wanted to sponsor children. Inspirational!” –- Marcel

In moments like this I’m reminded that at the heart of this ministry is the heart of our God. It also reminded me that even though I didn’t enter into the ministry expecting people to love me for it, I have been affirmed countless times for simply doing what God has called me to do.

But I need to be reminded of that passion God’s given me for the cause (ever so often), and to remind myself that I’ve been empowered to act out love in His name. We can’t end world poverty on our own. But as Pastors Brian and Bobby Houston said, “We can’t do everything … but we must do something.”

Share the 10,000 Children campaign video on YouTube.

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