For almost four years we’ve been talking to you about our ministry and children in poverty. During that time, one of the most common questions we’ve gotten is, “How can I get more involved?”
We’re constantly looking for opportunities you can connect with, that allow you to respond to the desire the Lord has placed on your hearts to get involved on behalf of children in poverty.
Here is one option we hope you find compelling: writing a guest blog post.
Consider this an open invitation, one you can take advantage of as often as you like.
It’s time for you to take the stage. Your perspective is valuable. We want to learn from you. And we want to be challenged by you.
If you’re interested in writing a guest blog post, we are happy to consider publishing it. We’re looking specifically for posts that do at least one of the following:
- Provide a unique insight into the lives of children in poverty.
- Detail specific experiences with our programs and ministry.
- Call people to take action on behalf of children in poverty.
- Teach others about Christ’s heart for children and/or the poor.
- Encourage others into a deeper relationship with Christ through service to children and/or the poor.
- Promote understanding of cultural differences between the developing world and developed countries, and how these differences play out in the fight against extreme poverty.
- Explore different examples of spiritual, physical, social and economic poverty in our lives and/or the lives of children in poverty.
- Redefine what is possible in the fight against poverty when we follow Christ.
- Examine God’s leading in your life in relation to children in poverty.
- Challenge people to engage deeply in their sponsorship.
Beyond this and a few other simple guidelines, you have a great deal of flexibility in writing guest blog posts.
Let us know what questions you have. We look forward to reviewing your posts.
17 Comments |Add a comment
I cannot find the guidelines either. I have an idea for a post, but don’t know where to begin.
Teri – You can access the guidelines here:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B774o3Kc6CxkZmQxZDIxODctMGU1ZS00ZGM2LTg0NjktNDA3OGIyOWFkYzBh&sort=name&layout=list&num=50
Let me know if you need anything else!
Sorry, not sure if it’s just me being silly, but I can’t seem to get at an option to download the guidelines page either. Frustratingly I’m sure I read through them the other day, but now can’t remember how many words the post was meant to be or what the email address was to send it to, nor can I find the file anywhere on my computer. :/ Sorry, but if you could email them to me, that would be awesome. Not sure if what I’ve written has too many words. 🙂
Thanks so much!
I have sent the document to you via email. The post length should be between 500 and 2,000 words. You can submit your post to [email protected].
I so want to write a guest post – the possibility has kind of fried my brain but I WILL do something. I write poetry and have written a couple regarding my Compassion children. Is that an OK kind of thing to include, with maybe a little about the children who inspired it? Because I haven’t at present the money or health to visit, so I can’t write a “what it was like to visit my children” post…
Sure. I’d be willing to consider something like that.
Hi Marvin,
Yes it takes you to Google Docs, and there’s a download link. Go to that and you can download the guidelines onto your computer.
Thanks, but I don’t see anything to download… I live in Asia so maybe its just being blocked….
I will share the document with you via email.
The guidelines take me to Google Docs, no other info…is this only for people that live inside the USA?
Yes! I absolutely want to post! Please let me know what’s next for me…
The guidelines link in the blog post explains how the process works.
On the eighth night in Nazareth, Ethiopia our group had a meeting and our tour guide had asked us to think of one world to describe Ethiopia thus far. My word that night was “Hope.” I had so much “Hope” that Ethiopia was changing as a whole and lives were being changed here; not only was Ethiopia changing, but myself as well. I had a different type of Hope now. I had a new pair of eyes that made me see life differently. I was happy to be here, I was hopeful. However, once I arrived back to the states and had lay over time, I realized my word had changed. My word was now “Nothing.” The definition of the word nothing is defined as “not anything, something that is nonexistent.” My word changed because once I came to Washington and California my eyes were fully adjusted. It’s like when your outside in the sun for a few minutes and then enter into a building with no lights on, it takes you a few seconds for your eyes to adjust. Well, once I came home my eyes were adjusting, and it took awhile to adjust. My word became nothing because we simply have everything here in the United States and for most people when I say “Nothing” they have to think about what that might mean. We don’t have an understanding of the word “nothing,” and that’s how it was for me when I first arrived. I didn’t have an understanding of their lifestyle, the culture, their concept of time, or any of it. We were sent tour guide packets before the trip to be informed with their lifestyle and how to present our selves, but somehow all that information slipped my mind once actually being in Ethiopia.
Writing this paper from my experience was one of the hardest things for me. I didn’t want to write any of it down and I didn’t want to share any aspect of my trip to anyone. My sponsorship tour in Ethiopia changed me! I have a different heart, a heart that pounds for the poverty louder than before. I have new eyes, eyes that see for the weak and who need Jesus more than ever. And, I have new ears. I heard more praise over there in Ethiopia than ever before in my life, I have ears that hear songs of worship for Ethiopia to this day. I didn’t want to share any of this because it was something very sacred to me. Something that made me. The only metaphor that I can think of is this: It’s like when you get a new car and that’s your car. You don’t want anyone to drive it, eat in it, nor drink in it. It’s your pride possession. Or better yet, when you first have a baby. It takes a mother a few days to let other family members hold the baby. Her pride possession. Even through you can’t see my pride possession, I’ve been holding it tightly to my heart. Now, I am at the point where other people can hold my baby, share my experience. I’ve named my “baby” Beauty from Ashes.
Beauty from Ashes comes from Isaiah 61:3-4. It states, “…Of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planning of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” While in Ethiopia, I learned to change my perception. Instead having a deep sadness over Ethiopia, I learned to be excited for Ethiopia. We have a responsibility to fulfill, a job to attend to that didn’t even require a job application. “When heaven opened up over me, I was saturated in His Love.” I was more than saturated in His Love in Ethiopia; I was changed and made new.
If I went on telling ends of stories we would be here until midnight. There are details and stories for each day that I was there. But, the most that I got out of the trip was when we were driving from one location to the next. Most people live on the streets and live their lives as beggars. Individuals would constantly place their hands in the window of the vehicle to sometimes just receive a simple touch, to feel loved. More than often we were told to close our windows so their arms wouldn’t get cut. Walking the streets I saw skin and bone on more individuals than not. Breast-feeding in broad daylight is of normal living. Constantly being called ferenge, which means white foreigner. Eating livers and jalapenos became a new morning tradition for me, and the day I became fearful of children never thought to enter my mind until I was jumped by children for a piece of candy. There concept of time makes me a fifteen-year-old girl, in other words they are the only country that uses the Julius Caesar’s calendar. Other than it being 2003 in Ethiopia and having 13months, I don’t really understand how it works. Meeting my sponsored child, was— unreal. There aren’t many words to describe the rush and feeling of meeting him for the first time. All of the sponsored were lined up and across from us were the sponsored children lined up. The first plan was for the sponsors to simply just go up to the sponsored child and introduce our selves that way. However, we were all in the line and some, myself, of the sponsors started crying because we couldn’t recognize and pick up our sponsored child, to us they all looked alike. We were frozen. I kept thinking, how could I be his sponsor for three years and come to the point where I don’t know which one is him, but I was glad to find out that I wasn’t the only one with such stress. They decided to have a represented to call out the sponsor name of the sponsored child. I kept eye-balling on a little boy with a jean jacket thinking to myself “That’s him, it has to be. But, I don’t want to be wrong.” Well, sure enough I was right, when Engada was called up next in the line up, they called my name, both him and I literally ran to each other. He was and I was crying- I have never cried like that before. So many mixed emotions in one moment, I didn’t want to let go. But, once I did- I was bombarded with a surprise backwards hug from his mother. She was crying harder than he was. It’s a day that I will never forget. It’s a trip that I will never forget.
Ethiopia affected me hugely; to the point where when I got back home I didn’t take a shower for five days. It was hard for me to be back here. To know that I have access to running water at anytime, would just blow my mind. After all the mosquito bites have disappeared, the memories are still and will always be with me. However, I hope that after you leave here today that my story of Ethiopia will become your story. I hope it will not affect you as hard as it do to me, with not showering, but get excited for Ethiopia and start praying for Africa.
I could go on, and explain the most outrageous aspect of Ethiopia that I had witnessed, but that won’t grasp your attention in actually seeing it. I am going to try my best to recreate Ethiopia for you with the numerous different photos and video footage, because they speak louder than my own words. We have everything should we bring something that has the nothing in our eyes, however in reality we are the one’s with nothing!!!
Woops – the E-mail is in the guidelines. Sorry!
Hurray – I’ve been waiting for this post! Where do we send our writing for you to review it?
Does our experience of poverty have to be of a visit with a sponser child or can it be a general experience which includes a cry for assistance in poverty?
Sounds like a great idea. I’ll take you up on that next time I’m in the Philippines – would love to share some of the personal stories of the kids I encounter there.