Compassion Fatigue in the Time of Coronavirus
The broken state of the world and sheer number of things requiring your compassion can cause you to reach a state of numbness and apathy. When you just stop caring because you simply cannot care anymore. But as Christ-followers, this is not the place we want to stay. Here are ways to prevent compassion fatigue and find our true soul’s rest in Jesus.
Continue Reading ›10 More Reasons to Write Your Child
For many of us, the letters we exchange are the closest we’ll ever come to our sponsored children. And even though we may understand the impact of our letters, it is still difficult to actually make the time to write a letter. That’s just reality.
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Cook with Compassion: Zucchini and Poblano Soup
While making zucchini and poblano soup, Becky got in touch with her inner celebrity chef and took some creative license with the recipe. Which means — she winged it!
10 Motivating Reasons to Write Your Child
Out of 3,500 letters from our Project Facilitators, we compiled a list of 10 of the most motivating reasons to write your child.
You Are Not Helpless, You Are Empowered
One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to make you feel impotent. To get you to believe that no matter what you do, it won’t make a difference.
Redeeming Haiti
No one in their right mind would call the earthquake that hit Haiti a good thing. It was utterly devastating. And yet still there is good.
Because of the earthquake’s destruction, Haiti is now having to start with what feels like a nearly clean slate. The [corrupt and inefficient] government was toppled. The [inadequate] school system was destroyed. Proof of [unjust] land ownership is now virtually impossible. The [enormous and unbridgeable] gap in economic status was decimated, putting government officials in tents next to poor slum-dwellers.
The Healing Power of the World Cup
Haiti, which is still digging out from the catastrophic earthquake that struck in January, did not qualify for the 2010 World Cup. But the Haitian people badly need a team to root for to lift their spirits, and most are cheering for the powerful Brazilian team.
Fewer Children Are Dying
Good news from the government is pretty rare. Good news in the media is even more rare. So when I read this headline the other day, I smiled: “WHO sees good progress on UN health goals for poor.”
According to a recent study by the U.N.’s World Health Organization, good progress is being made on health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
- Fewer children are dying.
- The estimated percentage of underweight children under 5 has dropped.
- New HIV infections have declined.
- Existing cases of tuberculosis are declining.
- The world is on track to achieve the MDG target on access to safe drinking water.
Let’s just pause for a moment to let this sink in. We are making progress. Let’s celebrate this!
Of course, this doesn’t mean we can slow down in our fight against global poverty. If anything, seeing progress should motivate us to work even harder. And, as has been mentioned around here before, eliminating extreme poverty is just a matter of priorities.
The annual income of Christian American churchgoers is $5.2 trillion. The amount of money needed to end global poverty is about $74 billion a year. … Basically, 1 percent of our annual income a year is what is needed to end extreme poverty.
So the question is, what are your priorities?
At My First Graduation, I . . .
I knew our Leadership Development Program has graduations. I knew our Child Sponsorship Program has graduations. But I had no idea that our Child Survival Program (CSP) has graduations, until I saw this precious little gem…
The kids obviously take the graduation ceremony very seriously. (Or maybe they’re simply concentrating on holding such a large diploma.)
I distinctly remember my first graduation ceremony … 6th grade. I marched across the stage to get my diploma and then gathered with my class on three tiers of bleachers and sang “Country Roads” by John Denver. Even after 21 years I still remember every word to that song. I wonder what these CSP graduates will remember about their graduation.
How about you? What do you remember about your first graduation? Anything interesting?
I No Longer Sponsor a Child
You know the scene in any coming-of-age movie when a teenage girl is about to go to her first dance and she appears at the top of the stairs and her parent (usually a widowed father) stands there with tears in his eyes and a huge lump in his throat, totally entranced by his daughter’s newly uncovered beauty? That’s how I feel.
Was My Sponsored Child Affected by That Crisis?
In a perfect world, here’s how the process would work:
On Letter Writing: Would You Rather … ?
The topic of letter-writing always sparks lively discussions. It even seems to spontaneously come up in posts on other topics.
So seeing as we genuinely value your input (and OK … I admit … in an attempt to stimulate a discussion), I hereby pose the following question to you:
Would you rather receive more general letters from your sponsored child more often or more detailed letters on a less frequent basis?
Discuss.
