Stories to Connect You With Compassion & Grow Your Faith

Luis Palau went to be with the Lord on March 11, 2021. He was 86 years old.

For more than 65 years, Palau preached, taught and wrote about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Originally from Argentina, Palau always had a big heart for the Spanish-speaking world. As the Lord blessed his ministry, he shared the clear Christian faith in 80 nations and to an estimated 1 billion people through his citywide festivals, television programs, radio programs and writings.

Many of the children in our program think about their sponsor as an extension of their family. Maybe you feel the same way about the child you sponsor. You know you want to pray for him or her daily and write letters often. And through those actions and your financial gifts, you’ll no doubt make a powerful impact on your sponsored child’s life. But … you feel the need to do more. You want to incorporate your sponsored child into your daily life as much as possible. The question is: How?

This International Women’s Day, we honor the strength of women around the world. They are mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts and daughters. And with their unshakeable faith in God, they are all warrior women.

As a sponsor during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been hard to lose the connection to my child in Colombia through our letters. I miss learning about his life and hearing him describe his day-to-day activities. Yet, as I reflect on our past letters, I realize they reveal a whole world of support that my child has hopefully been able to stay connected with during the pandemic!

Like most families with young children, my husband and I don’t have a ton of disposable income. There are always diapers to buy, groceries to replace or the unexpected medical bill or home repair to cover. So with the little money we do have at our discretion, we make sure to use it wisely. Intentionally.

I still remember walking through the doors of the Global Ministry Center, Compassion’s headquarters, for the first time. An indescribable feeling came over me — I had arrived home. I knew that I wanted to work for children, see God’s kingdom come by upholding the cause of the oppressed, and build a bridge between different cultures that need each other. But, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that his plans for me included being a part of the Trips and Visits team at Compassion.

To answer some of sponsors’ common questions about exchanging letters, we asked sponsored teenagers in Ethiopia and Colombia what they like most about their sponsors’ letters — and what they’d love more of.

The tiny house movement that’s sweeping North America is actually nothing new. People have always found peace in the simplicity of tiny homes. Here are some remarkable photos of tiny homes from communities where we work in the developing world.

For the next 40 days (plus Sundays), Christians around the world will recognize the season of Lent. Please enjoy this mini Lent prayer guide that includes a portion of Scripture, thought and prayer for each week over the next six weeks. Also, because we know that you’re busy and juggling multiple priorities, we’ve included a set of prayer reminder cards!

For 46-year-old Behailu, a farmer in Ethiopia, hearing of locusts reminds him of stories told by his father’s generation of farmers. But today the threat of locusts is no longer just a folk tale for Behailu and other farmers in East Africa — it’s a nightmarish reality.

Here’s a look at some of the great lengths children around the world are going to every day to get themselves to the classroom.

Poverty places children at physical risk, but it also places them at risk of damage within. It robs them of the belief that they matter, that they have value and that they can dream of — and achieve — a different future. Breaking down destructive thought patterns and helping children see themselves for who they really are — beloved by God and capable of changing their circumstances — is vital to helping them break free from emotional poverty. But it isn’t easy.