Most of us have a story. Actually, most of us have a lot of stories. We have our life story. We have relationship stories. We have travel stories. We have “remember that one time when … ” stories. 

Stories make up our lives. They hold memories, moments that last a lifetime. They often hold the explanation to why we are who we are. 

I’m guessing that since you read this blog, you also have a Compassion story. A story about what caused you to pick up a Child Packet or visit Compassion’s website and sponsor a child who lived in poverty. Maybe you have a story about why you have continued to sponsor your child even in the midst of an economic recession, or why you have chosen to sponsor more than one child. 

Your story is unique. It’s also a very powerful way to bring more people into the Compassion family. 

Here is the Reader’s Digest version of my Compassion story:

I was 16 years old, a recent high school graduate, with no job and no income and a pending move to a new city. I heard a certain recording artist share his story about meeting a young girl in Bolivia that he and his family had sponsored for years. 

He shared about her life and the poverty in which she lived. Pictures flashed up on the screen, pictures of slums, tiny one-room houses, and trash piled up in the streets. 

Then there was a picture of a young teenage girl with a beaming smile standing next to him. He talked about how his sponsored girl now had an education, health care, nutritious meals, and a place to be a kid in a safe and nurturing environment. He talked about the letters they exchanged back and forth, how he considered her to be his daughter and she thought of him like her father. 

He shared that on the day she decided to give her life to Jesus, hope broke through on her world of darkness. But then he said this: “Whatever your financial situation, God’s Word is full of promises that if you will care for the poor, God will care for you. That doesn’t mean you’ll be rich, but God promises to take care of your needs. You can trust Him in this. Completely.” 

I sat down and began flipping through my Bible, reading passages that the man had shared. It was true — God gives great promises associated with our willingness to care for the poor, the needy, the orphan, the widow. So I decided to see if the promises were real. I walked back to the Compassion table and sponsored a young boy from India named Naveenababu Mutyala.

More than a decade later, I can tell you with full confidence that God keeps His promises. I have a few more sponsored kids in my family. I have gone through job transitions and moved across country, done a lot of wrestling with God and “working out my salvation with fear and trembling.” 

Through it all, as I have remained faithful in sharing what I have with the poor, God has continued to share with and take care of me. It has been through my experience with Compassion that I have learned about God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises, and it has been the single most influencing factor in my willingness to walk the journey of learning to trust God completely. 

I have been blessed to be a part of the life of a young girl in Mexico who gave her life to Jesus this August, the life of a teenage boy in Thailand who has gone from writing self-loathing letters to letters of hope for the future and inquiries about God, and wrapped my arms around a precious boy in the Dominican Republic who stole my heart with his quiet sincerity and silent tears at our parting. 

Sponsorship is a journey. A journey of faith, a journey of learning to invest in another person, someone very far away whom we might never meet. And sponsorship changes two lives – yours and the life of a precious little one. It’s a gift where everyone involved becomes better, stronger and learns more about what it means to follow Jesus.

We are in the midst of the holiday season, a time when folks are looking for ways to share and bless others. Why not think through your own Compassion story and consider giving one to a family member, friend, neighbor or coworker this season?

Family gatherings, Christmas parties and work celebrations are all great places to talk about what sponsorship has meant to you and why you have chosen to care for the poor. The impact of your story could be all that is needed for someone else to join with you on this journey of sponsorship. Let’s work together to give hope to a child this Christmas.

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Our president, Wess Stafford, recently asked you to share your stories with us – moments when a kind word changed your life, when an encouraging gesture caused hope to rise in your heart.

In this video, Wess describes a simple moment he witnessed that epitomizes the kind of action that can cause a child’s confidence to skyrocket. As you watch it, we hope it brings to mind similar experiences in your life that you will share with us!

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

Do you remember the words and kind acts that encouraged you when you were young? Who was the adult that spoke into your life? Hopefully, they spoke words of love and acceptance that encouraged you to explore an interest or talent that is uniquely yours.

A life can be launched with as little as a single phrase, an uplifting word or an act of kindness. Think of the impact we could make if we were to become more intentional about encouraging the children around us!

The words of adults quickly take root in the fertile soil of a child’s spirit, for good and for bad. Sadly, some of us have been profoundly impacted by harsh words, neglect and even abuse. But even out of those tragic circumstances our heavenly Father can redeem our past.

Perhaps you know my story of childhood abuse in a West Africa boarding school. Mine is a story that Satan intended for evil but that God redeemed for good. My story is what has fueled my passion against injustice, my crusade against abuse, my fight against poverty.

It is what drove me to Compassion, where I now have the great privilege of speaking up for the little ones who have no voice and no choice.

Will you join our campaign to motivate adults to deliberately bless the children in their lives? We’re gathering stories from across the world to powerfully demonstrate that children are indelibly shaped by the words and actions of adults.

By simply sharing our true life stories through various media channels, I believe we will challenge and inspire others to actively invest in the lives of children!

Who believed in you before you believed in yourself?

Who told you that you were smart and then that encouragement planted a seed of confidence in your life?

Who said, “You have a beautiful voice; I loved your song,” and now you sing for a living or get great joy from singing for others?

Who told you they appreciated your creativity and their comment gave you a sense of self-assurance that is still with you today?

Who said, “My, what a lovely picture you drew,” and now you make your living as an artist?

Please share your unique story with us! Or, share someone else’s story: that of a friend, family member, historical figure or Bible character.

In addition to posting your story as a comment on this blog, it may eventually be printed in a book or perhaps in Compassion Magazine or featured on my daily radio program, Speak Up With Compassion. Let’s share our stories with one another and become very intentional about blessing the children God brings into our lives!

Please post your short story (300 – 400 words) below, send us a private e-mail via the “Contact Us” button at the top of this page, or leave us a voice message at (888) 503-4589, if you prefer to share your story by phone.

Written stories may also be mailed to:

Compassion International
Tell Us Your Story
Colorado Springs, CO 80997

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

What is a SandStory?

“Sand scattered on a light box is formed and reformed into ever changing shapes and images that tell visually powerful stories. Set to music they inspire, challenge and motivate in a captivating way.” – sandstory.com

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

I read Gerald McBoing Boing (my personal favorite), Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?, and, of course, the ever-popular, Green Eggs and Ham. 

I don’t know what it is, but it seems that when I open up a Dr. Seuss book, I immediately become a child myself…and the children I’m reading to are transported to a magical world where non-sensical rhymes suddenly make sense…and imaginary characters come to life.

As I was reading to the kids, I wondered what it would have been like if Dr. Seuss had written some stories about children in poverty. What a great opportunity to teach kids today about the conditions that their counterparts in other parts of the world live in!

What would that look like? Perhaps:

I do not like that the Sneetch children cry
with empty star bellies that growl all night
I do not like that they can’t drink
of water as clean as I have in my sink.

I don’t like famine, disease and war
I wish they didn’t exist anymore.
I don’t like the heartache, come to think of it,
I do not like poverty,
not one little bit.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Dr. Seuss book if it just focused on the sad. No, indeed the Cat in the Hat turned dreary, rainy days into wonderful, happy, if not misguided, adventures. Maybe something like this:

Then all the Sneetch children would wipe away frowns
To laugh with each other on Flozzle playgrounds
They’d swing and they’d sing and they’d dance in a ring
‘Tis the end of poverty–what a wonderful thing!<

Unfortunately, we don’t have such a book. Perhaps it’s because poverty is far too real and dark to capture in whimsical rhyme. 

But maybe, just maybe, we can all be a Dr. Seuss by rewriting the stories of real children in poverty. It’s not that hard actually.

Sponsoring a child gives you the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty for a child. It gives them the chance to believe in a world where poverty comes to an end. And that is a wondrous thing indeed. 

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