Cindy is a little bit shy but always smiling. Her mother, Ana, is a fervent Christian who wants the best for Cindy and Antonio, her two children.

Ana enrolled Cindy at the Generación para Cristo (Generation for Christ) Student Center, knowing her daughter’s life would be blessed, but she never imagined the reach that blessing would have.

The Majucla community, where this story takes place, is a poor urban community on the outskirts of San Salvador city, El Salvador. In the words of Pastor Rodolfo whose church runs this center,

“This community is a place where people live either because they are poor and cannot afford to live some other place in the city, or live in rural areas and decide to move to the city to look for job opportunities.”

Though most of the area is urban with paved roads, street lights, and houses built with bricks, many homes lack other basic services such as water and electricity, because they cannot afford them. Most of the residents do not own the houses either, but they work hard to pay the $40 or $50 in rent every month.

Most of the people living in Majucla are hardworking people, from women selling tortillas in the streets or vegetables in the local street market to hardworking men working in construction or as bus or taxi drivers.

But Majucla has a stigma.

Its walls tell a story, with graffiti that claims a territory. To think of the name of the community is to think about gangs. To grow up in a place like this is to carry the stigma that most likely a boy will become part of the gang and the girl will become the wife of a gang member.

That means most teens in this community have one of three futures: the jail, the hospital, or the cemetery. The root of this shadowy environment lies in one key element: broken families. This was true for Cindy, but not anymore.

When Cindy is asked about the best thing she has received from sponsorship, it takes her a while to answer. After a few seconds in silence, her eyes become watery and a knot in her throat makes it difficult for her to speak.

She sobs for a few seconds and says,

“I prayed a lot that my dad would stop drinking and would become a Christian. I never gave up.”

The beauty of Cindy’s relationship with her sponsors was the support of their prayers. Cindy had the confidence to ask her sponsors to pray for her family which was on the edge of disintegration. The support they gave to Cindy showed up through the letters they sent.

While other young teenagers in the community were joining gangs (where they could find a “family” for protection, a “family” to give them nice clothes, a roof and food in exchange for lifelong loyalty), Cindy was at church, praying for her father. One day Cindy wrote to her sponsors,

“I want to thank you for your prayers, because now my dad does not drink anymore. Now he leads a small praying group, and he is a servant at church.”

Through the years, Cindy has received special opportunities, including math workshops, computer courses and learning to work in a bakery. Because she could make bread at a young age, Cindy could provide some income for her family.

Cindy and some of her classmates receive a percentage of the bakery’s sales. Other teenagers and mothers in the Child Survival Program help sell the bread in the community, so the workshop is self-sustaining and a source of jobs for the people in the community.

All this has contributed to Cindy’s development and to her family’s wellbeing, but it was in the hardest hours that Cindy’s sponsorship was a blessing for her and her family. Soon after her father became a Christian, the family struggled again.

Wendy, Cindy’s tutor tells us,

“It was hard, because you might think that since the father just became a Christian, things would go well, but it was not the case.”

Ana shares,

“The church has been of great support. Not just materially, they have been of great support emotionally.”

Since Cindy’s father did not have a steady job, it was the the Child Sponsorship Program that supported Cindy with basic things such as school uniforms and shoes, and also the family with staples during those times.

Cindy’s father spent almost two years without a steady job. Part of those scarce times he spent in bed, ill. The money from the bakery workshop and the aid from Cindy’s sponsor and the church helped the family stay afloat.

Things finally got better for the family. Antonio got a job, and now the family can cover their basic needs.

It is Sunday afternoon, and the whole family is dressed up and ready to go to church. Cindy’s father is one of the volunteers at church. They now look like the family God planned them to be.

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

Have you ever wondered what your sponsored child’s world looks like? What kind of environment your child lives in?

Have you thought about where your child plays or eats or learns?

Today, by way of our online community, OurCompassion, you can know.

The latest feature gives you a direct look at your child’s center. You can view pictures, read a letter from the church pastor and use Google maps to see where the center is located.

You can also share what you know about the community by adding your photos and videos, writing a journal or posting to the wall.

Not every center has pictures yet, but we are working to get them all updated. You can help us, and your fellow sponsors, by uploading your pictures and videos.

Simply create a gallery from your center’s page, or if creating a gallery from your personal profile, just tag the album with the center’s number (e.g., the first five characters of your child’s number – KE-717).

These pages are also the place to lift up the center’s staff and children in prayer.

You’ll get updated prayer requests, as well as updates, news, stories and crisis updates for your child’s country.

The pages are also a place to learn about upcoming sponsor tours.

Don’t forget to share your pictures and thoughts afterward.

“My favorite part [of the new pages] is the photos of children playing and making silly faces!” — Stephanie Green

“I love being able to message those who sponsor in the same center, and I love the ability to zoom in on the satellite [maps].” — Michelle Wright

“The pastor letters are definitely my favorite part!” — Joe Henegan

To protect the children and staff, we limit the content we share about centers located in politically and spiritually sensitive areas.

We’ve also created guest and sponsor views so that only sponsors with children in a center can view the pastor letters or interact with the maps. This was done with the safety of the children in mind.

So whether you have already visited your child, are signed up for the next sponsor tour, or don’t see yourself taking a trip anytime soon, the child center pages can bring you one step closer to your sponsored child.

Come take a look at what OurCompassion has for you.

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You are more than a sponsor. You are an answer to prayer, a vital helping hand, a voice of hope, a mentor and a friend.

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

It is sunrise on Friday, just a week before Christmas. The morning smells fresh and the sun shines strongly. A light breeze fills the air with that cool Christmas feeling. For a foreigner, it would almost feel like spring, but for Salvadorans, it feels like Christmas.

This is how the day starts for the team at the Lighthouse Child Development Center, run by the Central American Mission Church in a municipality of San Salvador named Soyapango.

Soyapango is north of the San Salvador metropolitan area. It is an industrial zone, with factories for brand-name beverages and a local shoe brand. Soyapango is also home to thousands of lower middle class to lower class families. According to the last census, it is the third most populated place in El Salvador, representing 4 percent of the population (nearly 250,000 people). Soyapango is also a stronghold of the Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang.

Yet, all that smoke from the factories and trucks, and the danger and crime, seem to fade away because it is Christmas time.

For the children at Lighthouse, that Friday, December 17, becomes Christmas. The special event has been planned for months, and arranged for days, with love and enthusiasm from the center staff. All week they have been working on the final arrangements – the food, the decorations, the packaging of the presents.

Every Compassion center in El Salvador presents a yearly schedule of the events they will hold, to plan and budget accordingly. The Christmas celebration is one of the biggest. It does not only mean lunch and piñatas for the children, but it also reminds them that there are people who care for them, at the center and also far away.

Their sponsors think about the children, and it is because of them that this celebration is possible and that the children receive a present for Christmas. Raul and his team recognize that effort made by the sponsors to bless the lives of the children, and they put their best efforts toward that celebration.

When asked about the average situation of the children in the community, Raul answers,

“They come from three communities: San Luis, October 10th, and March 16th. These are places with scarcity, dust floors, aluminum walls. Some people must survive on $1 a day. Our children do not want to go on vacation because they know that they will lack the meal they receive at the center, and also the love and hugs.”

Knowing this reality changes the perspective, and for Raul and the team it is not a celebration on the calendar – it is the opportunity for a blessing.

To celebrate Christmas in El Salvador means to mix a variety of traditional Christian beliefs and adopted Western customs.

Christmas for El Salvadorans still carries a strong meaning that brings families together. Despite the business on the streets and the red, green and white flooding the environment, Salvadoran people try honor the true meaning of Christmas – the birth of Jesus.

Santa Claus is known for appearing in TV and print ads, but people ask children if they already wrote a letter to little baby Jesus instead.

For Brother Raul and his staff, to host the Christmas event means an opportunity to put a smile on the face of each child and teenager at the center. They hold the celebration for the teenagers two days earlier, on Wednesday.

“With the older ones we make a special dinner. They all dress up. We start at the temple and then each of the tutors accompanies their students one by one to the place we prepare with the tables.”

Today, Friday, is reserved for the little ones. There are flowers at the center of the tables, all decorated with white tablecloths. But the nice lunch is just the frosting. They have prepared a special Christmas program for the children.

“In other years we just had a piñata. This year we had a clown who performed a small play to teach the children that their heart must be just for God. We wanted to do something that will have an impact.

“Nobody gives attention to these children. They might live in the capital city, but they have no attention, no love. What our center gives is love, understanding, and attention. We want them to know that somebody thought about them.”

The program starts with songs and games in a “Father Abraham” fashion. The clown presents the play. Then it is piñata time, followed by lunch. While the children enjoy fried chicken with fries and salad, all of them homemade, the staff starts to prepare for the moment that all of them wait for: the Christmas presents.

Raul says that in past years, most of the children chose shoes over the gift options they are given, including toys and clothes, because it serves them to go to school. For many children, the shoes that they received for Christmas was the only pair they received for the year.

This year, since the new government said they will provide shoes and uniforms to all the children in the public school system, the best long-term need the center can fulfill is the school bag, something that even the parents have agreed to. The children will remember every time they see that school bag that there is a sponsor who cares for them.

“Our parents understand that there is someone on the other side of the world making an effort to help their children because they love them. It has a big impact to know that someone cares,”

“We thank God for the sponsors lives, and we ask God to pour blessings over them. They are sowing, and they will see the fruit. God will provide and multiply everything they give.

“Thanks for providing for one more Salvadoran – one that will become a doctor, a lawyer …. Thanks for being a Good Samaritan, for giving us a hand and caring for our children. For a smile that you put on their faces, or a tear that you wipe off their cheeks, God will bless you.”

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Our day together was enhanced by Lorena, who served as our translator. About mid-afternoon, the two of them took off down the beach to collect shells. I could have gone, of course, but chose to wait for them by the pool. I had a plan in mind for the time I would spend with Denisse when they returned.

They were gone longer than anticipated, and when they did appear, they walked right by to go wash the sand off of their feet and change clothes. No problem. But when they came out of the hotel they did not come back to rejoin me.

In fact, I did not see them again until after the official photo shoot of all sponsors and children. So there I stood in the crowd, no sponsored child with me. I was seriously disappointed and upset, and I told Lorena what I had had in mind for my time with Denisse.

I cooled off as we rode the bus back to Compassion’s office, but my real turning point came the next morning as I dressed for the day. I thought about how my plans had gone awry and how disappointed I had been — and God broke into my thoughts.

He helped me to see that Lorena and I had spent the whole day loving on this little girl and giving her a big boost, and that was the all-important point of the visit.

That was my first lesson under the heading, “It’s not about me.”

Yes, I had used my money and taken my time to go to meet her, but her need to know that I was real and that my love for her was real took precedence over my needs or wants.

On my next two visits to see Denisse, we were joined by Maria, another child I sponsor, who was also accompanied by her mom and a staff member from the child development center.

On both occasions, at times when the two girls were enjoying the pools, Maria’s mom talked to me about their situation at home. She was the one who cried on my shoulder the last time we said goodbye.

I felt more strongly than ever that I was sponsoring a family, and not only a child, and that sense strengthened my belief that I should know the details of their lives, as a family.

This year I got my second lesson on, “It’s not about me.” I learned from a center director that one of the girls I sponsor and her family were dealing with a crisis. I wanted full information … and I wanted it now!

I ranted, I raved, I begged and pleaded with Compassion to get me information and to get it quickly. This was a crisis.

And then I received a letter from my child. It was not an emotional letter; she wasn’t begging to come live with me or for me to come see her.

She wasn’t telling me how terrible things were. In fact, she told me that “our fight is not against flesh and blood”! Whether from her or from God, I heard “Back off!”

I wrote a letter thanking her for hers and apologizing for my emotional intrusions into her family’s private matters.

The question of whether it’s about us or about the children we sponsor has generated a lot of discussion here, and some pretty strong disagreement. But let me tell you how my belief that sponsoring is not about me has been reinforced in an entirely different context.

My husband and I recently helped my sister and niece move my mother into an Alzheimer’s facility. My mother was in an independent-living home for several years, in a one-bedroom apartment with a lovely view from her windows.

She had a refrigerator and a microwave and made breakfast for herself in the mornings. She had her TV, her computer and her privacy.

Except for some privacy, she has none of those things now, and she will eventually have a roommate. She is still incredibly angry, as we expected, exacerbated by the losses.

The night before we came home, she kept talking about all the things that she missed. I am not suggesting that her grieving the losses was unreasonable. But in her complaints, I heard a wake-up call: I need to hold the people, places and things that I love in an open palm, ready to let go whenever I need to do that.

I want to walk into heaven with empty hands and a joyful heart, missing nothing that I’ve left behind.

This lesson extends to my sponsored children. Any of them might leave the program at any time; those who stay will eventually graduate. I might be able to stay in touch with one or two, but I must be prepared to let them get on with their lives.

I must be content to have been a part of their lives for a season, however long that season may last.

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

• Get the latest updates on the Haiti earthquake and it’s affect on Compassion and the children we serve.

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

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

Until we have a better way to help you with this – which we are working on and we think you’re gonna love! – let’s make this post the home for making connections.

UPDATE: May 27, 2010 – That better way to connect we mentioned, it’s ourcompassion.org.

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

The idea for the center began in 1989 through the initiative of Gezahegne and other church leaders who discussed various options to evangelize in the community. After these many discussions, Gezahegne says, “We agreed that Compassion would be the best method.”

At the time, Compassion required only three people to start a child development center – an accountant, a social worker, and a director. Gezahegne’s accounting experience prompted the church elders to invite him to that position.

After Gezahegne’s initial work as the center accountant, he was approached again by the church elders to become the center director.

As Gezahegne reflects on the impact of his program, he says,

“When I was a child, my friends and I had no direction or guidance growing up. Here at Compassion we fight to protect the children from negative influences, and we give them support to continue their education.”

This academic support for the children comes in the form of tutorial classes and money for school fees and materials, including clothing. However, the program also provides for their physical and spiritual needs as well; Compassion gives grains and other food stuffs, hygienic materials, and provides summer and Vacation Bible School and Bible studies for the children.

The child development center is located in one of the poorest communities in Addis Ababa, near the city dump where many beggars reside, pilfering through the garbage to get food.

As a result, the center organizes monthly family meetings where they distribute food and other materials as well as conduct Bible studies and educate families on how to care for themselves, their children, and how to effectively use their resources. Gezahegne says,

“We not only change the lives of the child, but also we change the lives of the family. We educate them [Compassion-assisted families] about not going to the dump and not begging; we support them and encourage them to work hard.”

Even though Gezahegne’s job as director keeps him busy with many administrative tasks, he still makes sure he has time with the children.

“Because I live in this community, children and their families come to my house if they need assistance.”

In addition to home visits by the children, Gezahegne and his staff also make a point of visiting the children’s homes to observe their home life.

“We not only take care of them here at the student center, but we go to their houses and ask their families ‘Where do they sleep? What do they eat? How is the communication between parents and child?’”

Much of Gezahegne’s work is that of a social worker, in counseling and giving advice to the children. Some of these children’s problems occur in the form of abuse; Gezahegne is called to minister to these special needs of the children.

“All the children respect me as a father. When they have particular problems, things they can’t share with others, they come to me – especially the teenagers. Stepfathers, brothers, and even high school teachers abuse these children and they come to us. We listen to them because they need someone to listen to them. In my trainings, I have learned to listen and ask few questions.”

After providing a supportive ear as they confide in Gezahegne, he then talks with their families and friends to come up with a solution together. “I ask the children, ‘What is your suggestion for a solution?.’”

While Gezahegne and other staff members have a significant impact on these children’s lives, Gezahegne also mentions the huge impact of the children’s sponsors. Of these people who touch the lives of children thousands of miles away, Gezahegne says,

“Sponsors do a great job supporting the poorest of children. From their own lives, they share with the children, and with their families.”

As the child development center director, Gezahegne witnesses the huge change in children’s lives when they begin a sponsorship program.

“When children get support, they begin coming to Sunday school and they have good hope. But when the support is stopped, the children become gamblers and beggars; they go back to the dump and stop going to church.”

Most importantly, however, the children relish the letters from their sponsors. The sponsors touch the lives of the children by encouraging them to keep up with their studies and remind them of their goals and promises they’ve made for the future. Gezahegne agrees,

“The words of the sponsors in the letters are words of encouragement for the children – a source of hope.”

As Gezahegne thinks about the center’s future, he dreams of networking with local governments and other organizations to better care for the community’s children.

“We have the opportunity with these children to effectively support and train them to become church leaders to continue the tradition of training more youngsters.”

One way he hopes to achieve that is by creating more awareness of how to better support children by communicating with churches and partnering with the government and Addis Ababa schools to cooperatively work at improving the lives of the city’s children.

But for Gezahegne, Mekanisa Addis Kidan Child Development Center has already achieved success. To date, Gezahegne reports that 109 children have been baptized in the program and these children have since become leaders in various church ministries, members of the choir, and lead Bible studies.

As these children come to know the Lord, Gezahegne says their lives are visibly changed.

“Their behavior changes within their families, the child evangelizes in the family – leads prayers over meals; their communication and interaction with friends and family changes. Even teachers in school notice behavioral changes in children since they’ve learned about Jesus. “The works are small, but the harvest is big. We planted some seeds and when you take care of them, they becomes beautiful flowers.”

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Laboni was there with her sister Sraboni. Everything around Laboni was entirely new for her. She belongs to a Christian family, but in their lives Christmas is just like every other regular day. There has been nothing very special about Christmas except going to church in the morning.

But after Laboni and her sister got registered at the child development center, everything around her has been changing in a positive way. The meaning of Christmas has also changed.

Laboni looked at the ceiling of the room, wonderfully decorated with colored paper and balloons. She never saw such decorations at their village on top of a small hill. There also was a well-decorated Christmas tree on the front stage.

Under the tree there were several packets wrapped in bright paper that were drawing her attention. Everything around her was a surprise. She comes to the student center every day and has her classes and meal together with her friends. They have lots of fun each day, but today was very different than the other activity days.

A week ago, Laboni heard from her development center teacher that all of them would receive gifts at the pre-Christmas program. The day before the pre-Christmas program, each of the children of the Compassion student center including Laboni and her friends received a new dress and a pair of new sandals as Christmas gifts.

These were the first gifts Laboni ever received in her eight years of life. She belongs to a village that is predominantly Hindu where there is no culture of exchanging gifts. Laboni has eight other brothers and sisters, and their parents never gave them any gifts. She was amazed by the generosity of the Compassion student center.

She returned home with her elder sister Sraboni who also received the Christmas gifts. Both the sisters were panting as they climbed the hill, and cried out, “Mother! Mother! Come out and see what the Compassion student center has given to us!”

They wanted to show their presents to their mom in the daylight as they don’t have electricity in their house. Their mother came out quickly; she thought that one of her daughters was hurt. Because her daughters are very gentle and quiet, they never make much noise without emergency.

But she was surprised, seeing her daughters laughing and holding something. Laboni and Sraboni showed their new dresses and sandals to their mother. Laboni said, “Mother! Our teacher invited you at the pre-Christmas program tomorrow.”

Their mother wondered at the generosity of Compassion. That evening Laboni and Sraboni visited all the houses at the neighborhood and showed their gifts to everyone.

Laboni wore her new dress and sandals at the pre-Christmas program. Before the program had started she noticed that many new blankets were arranged at the side of the stage. She was wondering about those colorful blankets.

But her thoughts got interrupted as the host announced her name to come forward to cut the Christmas cake with a few other children. A big Christmas cake was brought in front of them, another new experience for Laboni, who had never seen a pastry cake before.

She tasted some ordinary homemade cakes before but it was nothing like this. The cake was nicely decorated with candles. Laboni and the children blew the candles out and they cut the cake with the Compassion representative and pastor of the church.

Laboni got back to her place where she was sitting. She was getting happier proportionately with the time. Laboni and Sraboni enjoyed the cultural program by the children. After the cultural show, it was the time for distributing the other gifts among the children.

Sraboni and Laboni were busy in talking to each other, when the announcer called Laboni’s name to receive her Christmas gift. Laboni was surprised as she thought that her dress and sandals were her Christmas gifts.

She never expect more for this Christmas. She got on the stage and received a green blanket and a nice towel. She couldn’t believe her luck. Her elder sister Sraboni also got the same gifts. Her mother was also among the crowds, and was amazed by the love of Compassion student center for her daughters.

After the gift distribution, there came the thanksgiving part. The child development center manager said to the audience,

“Last year we gave sweaters and other accessories to the children as Christmas gifts. This year we are giving each of the children a new dress, sandals, towels and blankets. These blankets will keep them warm at night during this cold season.”

Then the Compassion representative told the audience that all these gifts for the children were from the beloved sponsors of Compassion who saved money for these kids. The whole audience stood up and gave a big hand to all the sponsors for their heavenly love.

Then the children prayed together for all the sponsors of Compassion. Laboni was among them, praying for the sponsors. After the program was over, it was time for Laboni and Sraboni to get back home with their mother.

They usually walk home, but that day their mother hired two rickshaws as the blankets were heavy.

They returned home and Laboni went away immediately to speak with her friends. Her mother said,

“This Compassion center helped us by providing rice and lentils during the food crisis period. They are taking care of both of my daughter’s studies. Now they are giving them these expensive gifts. I couldn’t wish more for my daughters.

You couldn’t realize how useful these blankets are for our family. It is very cold here in December. We are ten people in this house, at night we have to share just two warm sheets for protecting us from cold. These blankets will easily cover Laboni and Sraboni and their two elder sisters at night.

They also gave my children two new dresses and sandals. This will be the first time they will wear new clothes on Christmas day. Though I couldn’t afford my elder children new dresses but they are also happy that, at least their youngest sisters are having something new. I consider myself very lucky because we have a Compassion student center near our village.”

Laboni returned home with all her friends. She showed them all her gifts. She said to me,

“Now we will sleep well at night. I will take my elder sister with me under my blanket and Sraboni will take our other sister. This blanket is so soft Please say thanks to our sponsors who send these gifts for me and Sraboni. I am very happy; this Christmas is the best Christmas of my life. I will wear my new blue dress at the Christmas service. I asked my mother to buy me pink earrings for this dress.”

The eight year old girl was sparkling with joy.

Most of these children (especially the children who got registered less than a year ago) don’t understand the meaning of gifts as they never received any gift from anybody. The Christmas gifts from you, the sponsors, are teaching the children of the love of Christ.

By giving the joy to these children you are giving presents to the true KING, our Lord Jesus.

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