This International Day of Friendship, join us in celebrating friendship by learning how important friendship is to children living in poverty — and praying for those special friendships.
What makes a good friend? Well, there are a lot of things! A good friend is someone who loves you no matter what, who listens well and who lifts you up when you’re down. They are loyal, trustworthy and considerate. Good friends laugh with you, cry with you and pray for you.
Knowing how important your friends are to you, imagine how sweet it is for children living in poverty to have good friends in their lives! To escape the cycle of poverty, children need love, joy and hope — all things that friends can provide! For many kids in poverty, good friends are supporters. They can empathize with each other’s realities. Good friends can be a key factor in escaping the cycle of poverty.
So, please join us in celebrating friendship!
The International Day of Friendship is celebrated at the end of this month. The United Nations recognizes July 30 as a day about recognizing “the relevance and importance of friendship as a noble and valuable sentiment in the lives of human beings around the world.” Events will take place across the globe celebrating friendship and the peace it brings to the world.
Want to join the festivities? In celebration of friendship, we’ve found special photos of Compassion-sponsored children and their friends. Check out the photos and read what each child has to say about their best friend. Then learn how you can join us in praying for friends around the world!
Pam and Anotenette
“We grew up together here and experienced the same problems growing up. We walked to the center together, talked about the same experiences and cried over each other’s problems.” – Pam, 23, the Philippines
Friendship Prayer Point: Pray that Compassion-assisted children would find friends who can share openly with each other about both the good and the hard stuff.
David and Desire
“Desire is my best friend. Some kids were making fun of him because of his birthmark. And I told them, ‘Stop. That’s not good. That’s not right.’ To be best friends, you need to help each other.” – David, 14, Togo
Friendship Prayer Point: Ask God that children living in poverty would stand up for and help each other.
Brenda, Sandra and Juan
Sometimes our best and first friends are our siblings! Brenda, Sandra and Juan all attend the Compassion-assisted center together.
“I love my siblings because they protect me.” – Brenda, 6, Mexico
Friendship Prayer Point: Pray that children would have good friends and siblings who help protect them from the dangers that exist in many poor communities.
Rival, Axel and Adrian
“The best thing about being friends is playing football. It’s OK when we beat each other.” – Adrian, 12, Indonesia
Friendship Prayer Point: Pray that Compassion-assisted children would find friends who share the same interests and passions, and that those interests and passions would bring immense joy.
Kuanany and Tainara
Meet Kuanany and Tainara. They live in Brazil. When Kuanany was only 7, she was diagnosed with cancer and lost her ability to walk. Despite much hardship, Tainara has stuck by Kuanany as her best friend. Kuanany said that Tainara plays with her, pushes her wheelchair and is her adventure partner!
Friendship Prayer Point: Pray that Compassion-sponsored children would find friends who selflessly serve them, and that they would do the same for their friends.
Richard and Jordan
“I am happy that we have a Christ-centered type of friendship. Or else, we could have easily ended up learning how to get drunk and take drugs together, as many of the young men we see around our neighborhood.” – Richard, 18, the Philippines
Friendship Prayer Point: Ask God to continue to create Christ-centered friendships for children living in poverty.
Friendship is incredibly important. And it’s especially vital to children living in poverty. Thank you for celebrating the International Day of Friendship by praying for those very friendships!
Looking for more specific ways to pray for Compassion-assisted children? Consider joining the Compassion Prayer Network!
Photos by Ben Adams, Javier Elis, Edwin Estioko, Ryan Johnson and Sara Navarro.
2 Comments |Add a comment
I humbly request you to assist me in this time of rockdown lam teaching children of different type and orphans in the community.
Hello Robinah, thanks for your message! Could you please send us an email at [email protected] so we can speak with you further about this? We look forward to hearing from you!