I’m Going to Mexico
I’m going to Mexico! And I want you to come with me.
I was left behind once, and I’m grateful it wasn’t in the “missed the Rapture” sense. Because of that experience I will do my best to make you feel like you’re in Mexico with me.
I’m going to Mexico as a co-leader on a sponsor tour, not as a Compassion Blogger.
My first responsibility on the trip is to support the sponsors who are traveling with us to meet their sponsored children. However, you will always be in my thoughts.
I intend to:
- upload photos to our Flickr photostream, and I’ll add the best ones to our Flickr group, which you can see in the sidebar under Your Flickr Photos.
- tweet – send regular text updates of what’s going on – so follow us on Twitter
- write colorful and moving commentary you’ll find here, on this very blog
- take some Blair Witch/Cloverfield amateur-style video to share with you when I get back
- eat lots of beans and rice
- hug lots of kids
- et cetera
I don’t sponsor a child in Mexico but if you do, and they’re at one of these child development centers, let me know. I will TRY to get a photo of your child for you. I cannot promise anything other than I’ll try.
The child development centers are:
- The King’s Children Ambassadors Student Center (ME-730)
- The Jesus’ Friends Student Center (ME-737)
- The House of Bread Student Center (ME-708)
Please don’t leave your child’s name or number in your comment. Just let me know you have a child at one of the centers and someone will contact you via email to get the information.
Child Photos in My Account
They’re here! You can see ‘em. Excellent!
But you can’t download them yet.
We know. We know. It shouldn’t be that hard to do something that seems so simple, but things aren’t always what they appear. Just ask the Jews who didn’t recognize the Messiah.
Anyway, download functionality will be available when the redesigned compassion.com launches.
Remember us mentioning the redesign thing … back in early June. We’re still working on it. Making great progress too.
For now, this is where you can find your photos.
- Log in to My Account at compassion.com
- Click on Child Information in the left hand navigation
- Rejoice!
When you click on the Child Information link that is next to your child’s photo, you’ll get more detailed information about your child and a bigger photo.
See.
Why Does Poverty Exist?
Have you been following the discussion on this post – Why We Can’t End Poverty?
It’s been lively, deep, heated, tense, stimulating, frustrating and just simply down home good. We like honesty.
The comment thread birthed a related, but new subject. We’d like to give our new baby its own home.
Welcome!
Let us know what you think. Why does poverty exist?
Throw-Aways
I’ve been putting off writing this post. There are some things that are just easier not to think about.
They’re called “throw-aways,” people whom the world has no use for. (more…)
Never Ending Poverty: Why We Can’t End Poverty
I realize that what I’m about to post isn’t going to be very popular. But I’m willing to post it because I hope it will start a healthy discussion.
Here it is: Over the past few years, I’ve heard this phrase come up literally dozens of times at missions conferences, ministry events, churches, on blogs, etc. The discussion turns to poverty and inevitably someone says “this is the generation that can end poverty.”
I don’t know if I believe that. In fact, I’m not totally sure Christians are called to end poverty. Before you go looking for handy throwing stones, allow me to explain:
First, let me say that I do believe there are enough resources in our world to take care of everyone. There’s enough food. Enough water. Enough materials for shelter and clothing.
But to make sure everyone gets their fair share, it would mean an end to greed and corruption. It would mean a massive shift in human nature. I don’t think this generation, or any other, can accomplish that.
Secondly, I don’t know of any scripture that says we are called to end poverty. We are called to fight injustice. We are called to be a voice for the voiceless, look after the orphan and the widow. But I don’t know of any verse that says we are expected to end poverty.
And third, I wonder if saying that we can end poverty is contradictory to what Jesus told us:
“The poor you will always have with you…” –Mark 14:7 (NIV)
Granted, a lot of people misuse that quote. They use it as an argument against doing anything about poverty: “We’ll always have poverty, so it’s fruitless to try to fight it.”
That’s not the point I’m making here. What many don’t know is that Jesus was actually quoting a passage from Deuteronomy. That original scripture goes on to tell us what we’re supposed to do about poverty:
“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” –Deuteronomy 15:11 (NIV)
Notice that the command is not to “end poverty” but to give. To share. And when a command is given, obedience is what’s expected.
I don’t think we’re called to end poverty. I do think we’re called to be obedient to God’s command.
It’s about taking care of those who are less fortunate. I think it’s about making sure that no child ever starves to death for lack of food, or dies from a preventable disease. It’s about making sure no one has to drink unsafe water. It’s about making sure everyone has a chance at life.
When we come together to fight poverty, God’s glory shines. And isn’t that what we’re called to do after all? Be reflectors of His glory?
My boss reminded me of the old ad campaign, McGruff the Crime Dog. Remember his famous catch-phrase? “Take a bite out of crime.” Not END crime … but take a bite out of it. I think we can take a bite out of poverty. I think we can stop some of the injustices. I’m just not sure we can end it.
Okay. Now you may grab your stones.
Compassion and Children
“As I sit here and write this, I have mixed emotions. Part of me is embarrassed that my child behaves this way, and her selfishness …”
my twelve year old daughter came from camp this past thursday and the first thing she said as soon as she entered the house was, “Mum, I am now a mother and that makes you a grandmother!!!”
A Little Can Mean a Lot
Our SpotLINK guest contributor today is A. She currently serves as a worship leader and choir director. She blogs at Be Thou My Vision and co-maintains Women in Worship, a site connecting Christian women who are passionate about worshiping and serving God through music and the arts.
I remember when I first felt God leading me to sponsor a child through Compassion. I was reading Extravagant Worship by worship leader Darlene Zschech and discovered Compassion’s information waiting for me on the book’s final pages.
I began sponsoring a girl in Honduras, wanting to do something to make a difference in her life. How humbling it was when I received a letter she sent after a gift received during the holidays enabled her family to buy items that we often take for granted, such as a pair of shoes and three pairs of socks. This letter brought tears to my eyes and makes me ache to do even more to help those in need!
As a blogger myself, I caught on to what Anne Jackson is doing at Flowerdust.net and have begun featuring at least one child on my blog weekly, particularly those who have been waiting to be sponsored for six months or more. It excites me when I find each week’s featured child has been sponsored!
Compassion also has many wonderful widgets that can help you make a difference by featuring children in need on your Web site, blog and even Facebook. Also, don’t forget to venture to Compassionbloggers.com where bloggers share their stories about Compassion and even join in on a trip to visit Compassion and the children whose lives are being changed.
Though it may seem miniscule, bloggers have a great advantage in reaching out just by bringing needy children to the attention of others who God may lead to sponsor them.
What about you? Do you sponsor a child? If you already do, could you help further by blogging about other children in need?
Smile
I just got this cute, cute picture of Pamela at her child development center, viewing herself on the blog from Wednesday’s post! Samuel says she was embarrassed at first but couldn’t help smiling once she saw it.
Non-Traditional Family Traditions
Many of Compassion’s sponsors are young families. Our family fits that category with children 9, 6, 5 and 2 years old. Not only do we want to help little ones overseas, my wife and I want our own children to realize the hope-stealing effects of poverty. We want our kids to understand poverty to a point where they’re compelled to do something about it both now and later.
Do you think this way? What traditions have you started in your own home to cultivate an understanding of what the poor go through in the developing world? We’re just starting out, and I know we can get more consistent, but here’s a glimpse of what we do:
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- I made an 8-by-10 print of this picture taken by Tonny Tunya. It’s in our dining room. Occasionally, we pause to see whatever we’re facing through the bright eyes of these children whose playground is a garbage dump in Indonesia. At best, our conversations are speculative. But there’s truth in these talks, too. And our perspective is refined bit by bit.
- When we sit down for a meal and make the effort to think about Karen, our sponsored child in the Philippines, and her family, our gratitude to God for the food in front of us grows deeper.
- We’re moving in the direction of connecting each one of our kids to a different sponsored child. They’ll get to minister and be ministered to through sharing words of hope, art and prayers. Who knows? Maybe our kids will be some of the few of their generation to have a true pen pal.
- I’m memorizing verses about children and the poor and my son is helping me. I hope that these scriptures sink in for him, too, and that seeing his dad take the time to do this would inspire him.
I’m sure there are many other ways to teach children about poverty through day-to-day life. I’ve heard of kids initiating fund raisers and families who rethink gift-giving at Christmas. Some of these families have even gone on one of Compassion’s sponsor tours to see it all with their own eyes.
Would you take a few moments to share your traditions? It’s OK if you don’t do them 100 percent of the time. None of us do. But we want to. And it’d be great to learn from others. The kids need it. Ours and theirs.
A Letter to My Fans
SUBJECT: One on One with Anthony Njoroge
To all my fans,
Based on the many emails, letters and phone calls I have received I’ve decided to give you an opportunity to ask me any questions as you would like.
As part of this, I have already hired quite a number of secretaries and personal assistants to help me answer those questions. So be assured of a timely and appropriate answer.
So in a way this will be like an online press conference.
Yours sophisticated,
Anthony Njoroge
Are You Okay With Dung?
In his book The New Friars, Scott A. Bessenecker tells a story of living in and serving a garbage community in Cairo with his family and some college students. After a month, “what at first was repulsive — rotting garbage piled everywhere, animals feeding off the trash, mothers climbing rubbish mountains with their babies playing next to them in the refuse” became normal. Inwardly, he questioned if that was okay. He wondered if they were “bringing Western standards of housing and cleanliness to people who have developed their own culturally defined norms for quality of life and are just fine with how things are.”
The Lord answered him in a dream.
I dreamed about the dung truck. You could always smell the dung truck before seeing it. It was the kind of smell that is more like a taste at the back of your throat; pasty and bitter…. Temperatures of over 100 degrees released the dung’s pungent odor with a vengeance, making this task even more intense than can be appreciated by someone reading this in comfort.
In my dream I was walking past the dung truck. To my horror, I saw my children, Hannah, Philip and Laura, sitting on top of the mountain of dung heaped on the bed of the truck. What struck me most about them was that they appeared perfectly content although every inch of their bodies was covered by animal waste. Then I felt the Lord speaking to me. He seemed to be saying, “As their father, are you satisfied? Even if they are satisfied, are you satisfied?”
I’m still sifting the impact of that dream, but the immediate implication is that a person’s contentment with a situation of poverty does not make it okay. My passion for my kids is a shadowy reflection of God’s heart, which yearns for his children to have more than the dung that surrounds them; not riches, but a life in which their needs are met in a way that doesn’t mask their need for him.
Share Your Umbrella
A few weeks ago my little girl Brooklyn asked me for some cookies and milk for herself and her 2-year-old brother. They sat down in front of the TV in their pajamas (we call them jammies at our house) and watched their favorite DVD while I served them cookies and milk.
That’s when it hit me. We are so blessed!
There my kids are eating chocolate chip cookies and cold milk with nothing on their mind but “I hope Dad forgets that we’re supposed to do nap time today.” While somewhere in a land far, far away from their minds (and mine most of the time) is a little girl Brooklyn’s same age working long hours of forced labor who has never had a day of cookies and milk in her whole life. Somewhere there is a child my daughter’s age (4) that will work harder today than I will and will go to sleep hungry tonight.
On our refrigerator at home there is a picture of our sponsored child. Her name is Heidi, and she lives in Bolivia. (Brooklyn thinks the little girl’s name is Bolivia.) We pray for Heidi often. We pray for her to have plenty to eat. Sponsoring Heidi is a great way for my wife and I to teach our children about others’ needs and how we can help by sharing.
Last Wednesday at Compassion’s chapel service I had the chance to hear a young man that truly grasps the power of sharing. Zach Hunter is a 16-year-old abolitionist who is giving his life to the cause of releasing slaves and giving them their God-given right to freedom. He has been speaking out against slavery since he was 11 years old.
I wonder how many students (or adults for that matter) have even thought about slavery today. Thanks to Zach Hunter at least 600 people thought about slavery that day in chapel and 500,000 more will think about it this year as he speaks to them.
As I studied Zach’s message I realized it is storming all around us, and for whatever reason God has given most of us in this country an umbrella. He didn’t give us an umbrella so that we would deny that it is storming. He gave us the umbrella to acknowledge the storm and share our umbrella with those who don’t have one.
Zach asked the question, “How do people in severe poverty know that God is good?” The only way they could know that is if God’s people share His goodness with those who have not experienced it.
It’s raining hard, Church. Share your umbrella.
