How Deep Does Compassion Run in Your Family?
This past Mother’s Day I got an interesting gift from my daughter, Sarah, and I called to ask what it meant. The number 38 rang a bell for me, but I wasn’t sure what she meant by her note.
Churches that wish to open a child development center will go through an application process, and maintain a continued relationship with local Compassion staff who provide training, support and accountability to their child development programs.
Run Emilda!
Emilda’s first race at the Special Olympics Summer Games in Athens, Greece is today, June 26, at 1 a.m. MDT. Division competitions run until June 29. If Emilda wins in these, she qualifies to continue running for a chance to win medals.
Finding Purpose Among the Dead
Vilma chose to hope that she — a woman whom others look down upon because she lives in a cemetery and dropped out of school to clean houses at age 13 — has a purpose too.
Experience the Beauty of the Philippines
As you know the Compassion Bloggers were in the Philippines earlier this month getting introduced to our ministry in very personal way. Here’s a little of what it what was like for them.
Where Does Poverty Live?
What I found while I was in the Philippines were communities of children living in poverty but not allowing poverty to live inside them. I think it’s because they are also focusing on the One.
Children are given the freedom to start dreaming. They are told they have hope for a future, one that doesn’t have to be controlled by poverty.
How Do We Decide Which Churches to Partner With?
The concept of partnering with a church may seem simple enough, but what’s actually involved in choosing which churches we should partner with? It’s relatively simple question with a not so simple answer.
Allow Me to Introduce You to the Philippines
The Compassion Bloggers are in the Philippines and I have come along with them. This is our journey, infused with Jesus’ focus. I am going to focus on the child, the one Jesus leads me to, the one who may be alone.
Compassion Bloggers Going to the Philippines
Our latest team of Compassion Bloggers will be in the Philippines May 29 through June 4, 2011. So mark your calendars and be sure to check in often to read firsthand what God is doing to eradicate poverty in this beautiful country.
Emilda is competing at the 2011 Greece Special Olympics in June and we are watching her train. She has been training daily since February, with her mother as a constant and faithful companion.
When Apriliz was about to enter college her family was completely penniless. But Apriliz’s mother is resourceful and she thought of a way to send her daughter to college: cook delicious banana chips and sell them around the neighborhood.
There’s a Stain on My Carpet
So there’s this stain on the carpet in my living room. Right there in front of the sofa. It’s a blotchy, brown spot where my 3-year-old son, Morgan, spilled some food. Oh, I’ve tried to clean it. But it’s a stubborn stain. I think it might be there for good. And that’s frustrating.
What Are You Doing?
Jesus has come into our lives, and because of that, somehow there is the light and the certainty that things will be better. What you are doing for Emilda has inspired the children of the student center, as well as our church. The possibility of Emilda going to the Special Olympics sets the bar of…
This Is Where You Come In
Child development specialists say that 18-year-old Emilda Soriano has the mental capacity of a 3-year-old. But this hasn’t prevented her from qualifying to represent the Philippines in track and field at the International Special Olympics in Athens, Greece this summer. Let’s raise the money to send Emilda to Greece.
The Making of a Special Olympics Champion
“My problem was she couldn’t run in a straight line,” Coach Gen explains. In several of the local competitions in Iloilo, Emilda lost some races because she would crisscross from lane to lane.
“Our objective is that before (the sponsored children) leave the center, they should have something to fall back on for their daily living,” said Liza, child development worker and youth facilitator for Paglinang Student Center. “Not all of them can go to college and not all of those who do make it to college can…
My Mountaintop Experience
I’ve been to the crummiest, smelliest and most depressing communities around the Philippines, so I thought that climbing up a pile of trash wouldn’t be any different.
Rural Life in the Philippines
Due to poverty, many children drop out of school to work in sugarcane plantations. Here, they are exploited and forced to work long hours for meager pay. Negros Occidental has the highest magnitude of poor families in the country, mostly concentrated in rural areas. About 33 percent of the population lives on less than $1…
Urban Life in the Philippines
Metro Manila, seen as a “land of opportunities,” has lured many people from different provinces to work and live here. About 35 percent of the families live in informal slum areas that are unfit for settlement, such as in low-lying flood plains, on riverbanks, near highways and railroads, and on dumpsites.
The Value of Churches Working Together
Compassion Philippines is partner to 320 evangelical churches from 17 Christian denominations. While normally denominations such as Baptists and Pentecostals in the Philippines would not see eye to eye in matters of doctrine and practice, our church partners work together very well regardless of denominational differences.
“Sponsorship is not about the money you give but about the lives and relationships you build.” This is not just a clever thing to say. It’s a profound statement that I learned from the children themselves. I’ve seen that our children are more concerned about building their relationship with you than the help they get.
Charles in Charge: By Design of the Master
Both of Charles’ parents labored hard in the rice paddies all day long but brought home little money. When Charles mother got sick, they did not have money to take her to the hospital.
Charles never found out why she was sick. She just grew weaker by the day, until finally she died. He still wonders…
Best Caption Wins a Free Book
Best caption wins a free copy of One: Celebrating 50 Years of Compassion.
The book is a 158 page hardcover photo essay we published in 2002 to commemorate our 50th anniversary.
We’ll select the caption we like best and announce the winner on Monday, Apr. 26.
Angelica’s Father Is Missing
Angelica’s father is missing. The last time he’d gone astray, he was found after a few weeks, but now it’s been months. Angelica’s mother explains that her husband is mentally ill. He used to work on the farm, strong as a water buffalo.
“He just went home one day afraid of dying,” says Emma, Angelica’s…
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