How Becoming a Sponsor Gave Me a Heart for Children
When I felt the Holy Spirit’s promptings to sponsor a child through Compassion almost two years ago, something held me back. It wasn’t timing, finances or a need to do more research. It was a fear that I wouldn’t know how to interact well with a child, let alone a child halfway across the world. Although I was eager to exchange words of love and encouragement with someone living in poverty, I’d never closely related with children before.
This Is How Grace Lives Without Limits
Many in Grace’s community saw her disabilities as a curse and even suggested to take her life. But her mother would go to great lengths to ensure she was safe, loved and could live without limits.
We Stopped Sharing Sponsored Children’s Full Names. Here’s Why.
If you sponsor a child, you’ve probably noticed some updates this fall. The most obvious one: Compassion has stopped sharing the full names of beneficiaries in our program. It’s part of our ongoing efforts to protect child privacy in a digital world.
This is What Happens When You Send a Letter to the Child You Sponsor
In the United States, we don’t really think about it much because it’s so easy — you mail a letter or a package, and a few days later it arrives in the mailbox or on the doorstep of the person you sent it to. But mail and package delivery in the developing world is quite a bit more complex. And because we take child protection so seriously, there is a series of checks and hand-offs that happen at the national Compassion offices all they way down to your child’s local center.
Behind the Scenes of a Compassion Christmas Celebration
Giddy anticipation ripples through the crowd of children arriving for the Compassion Christmas celebration. I watch from the window of a barn-turned-church in Uganda, which sits uphill from a child development center where the kids are gathering. I’m recalling Christmas mornings as a child in Colorado, my siblings and I sitting on the staircase waiting for our parents to let us come down and open presents. The excitement I felt back then must be nothing compared with what these kids are feeling, knowing they will soon open presents and eat cake.
Not Convinced Your Letters Matter? Meet Kenenisa.
Letters. They are a source of joy and discouragement for nearly every sponsor I’ve met. If you sponsor a child, you might wonder: Do my letters really matter? To answer that question, let me introduce you to 6-year-old Kenenisa in Ethiopia!
Kids in Poverty Adapt to the Strange New World of School at Home
In early 2020, we documented children all over the world as they returned to school or began kindergarten for the first time. Just months later, the COVID-19 pandemic saw schools close in almost every country in the world.
As International Literacy Day approaches, we’re sharing these before and after photos of how school has changed for children around the world because of the coronavirus.
Dignity and Diversity: Honoring the Children You’re Helping
The Latin term “imago Dei” is one that I first heard in a college Bible study. I remember sprawling on the floor of our dorm lobby, rolling the funny words around in my mouth.
Imago Dei. Image of God. That phrase has meant a lot to me over the years. For an organization that works in 25 developing countries, each with its own cultures, languages and customs, it is so important to see the imago Dei in every church and child we work with. Simply put, we must always make sure we are honoring a child’s dignity.
How Do Sponsors Help Kids Spiritually?
The issues that prevent a child from thriving — malnutrition, illness and emotional and relational instability — are symptoms of poverty, what it looks like from the outside. That means that addressing just one of these areas of development, while temporarily helpful, won’t do what we as the Church are ultimately called to do: release God’s children from poverty in Jesus’ name. That’s why in addition to helping children with education, health care and nutrition, Compassion sponsors also help kids spiritually.
5 Biblical Truths to Share With the Child You Sponsor
We all struggle to separate truths from untruths, especially these days.
Children living in poverty are surrounded by untruths too — lies told them by their circumstances of poverty. So when you write to your sponsored child, look for ways to incorporate biblical truths into your letters. Here are five ideas to get you started.
Inspiring Stories of Bravery and Courage
“It is easy to get discouraged in a world full of evil, murders and lack of opportunity. It is easy to take our eyes off God and see our weakness and limitations. But with God, there are no limitations.” These are the wise words of 17-year-old Compassion student, Meryl. She’s our inspiration for these curated stories of courage and bravery from around the world.
Around the World With a 4-Course Meal
No matter where you are in the world, a love for food is one shared trait that unites us all. Yet each culture has its own unique way of preparing, spicing and serving its traditional dishes.
To give your family a taste of what kids around the world eat, we came up with a fun dinner idea featuring recipes from the regions where Compassion works. We call this version of a progressive dinner Taste of Compassion, and we hope it helps your family connect more to the diverse cultures of kids in Compassion’s program. It’s also a great chance to pray about child hunger and poverty around the world while thanking God for his provision. Let’s get started!
