Stories to Connect You With Compassion & Grow Your Faith

There is a common challenge in many countries where we work. We know where children are living in extreme poverty. But, there are often no local Christ-centered churches in their communities — or no church that intentionally disciples children. Because of strategic partnerships, we’ve imagined a way to change that.

Wait! I know what you’re thinking after reading that title.

“She’s going to tell me Christmas is too commercial. And that I need to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.”

You obviously don’t know me.

I love Christmas. I love twinkly lights and decorating sugar cookies and candlelight services and presents. I love presents. I’ve already started my Christmas shopping — NOT because I’m organized but just because it’s so much fun!

This Christmas, I’m not going to encourage you to do less. The opposite, in fact. You should make Christmas more! Not more stuff. But more love. More joy. More Jesus.

Which moments during the holidays make you feel happiest? Bring you joy? Help you feel most in line with how Jesus taught us to live and care for one another?

Is it the Christmas cards? Handwrite special notes for people you love (including the child you sponsor)!

The baking? Make a basket of cookies to share with that person in your life who feels alone this year.

The gift giving? Consider giving a gift from Compassion’s Gift Catalog — not only will you honor a loved one, but you’ll also provide a life-changing gift to a child in poverty.

So go forth, and Make Christmas More this year! And let us know how you do it!

Use #MakeItMore on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to share your ideas for how you spread the joy of Jesus this Christmas season.

And follow all the inspiration as we post your great ideas and more to our Make It More Pinterest Board. Be sure to tag us and we’ll share your great ideas to inspire others!

Snapchat doesn’t just give me the ability to take pictures. Because what would be the point of using it instead of my camera? It lets me and my own kids get creative together in our letters to Fabian, our sponsored child, with features that let us draw, add text and stickers, and even overlay a cool filter based on where the picture was taken.

I don’t understand why, in the 10,080 minutes of our week, we as the Church put most of our resources and efforts into the 80-minute gathering and forget the rest of the 10,000 minutes of our week.

This month for our Totally Worth It series, we’re asking you to reflect. It’s easy to concentrate on what’s been hard in your life — to focus on everything that’s bad. Our hope is that this month’s news and stories will reflect God’s goodness and truth. And we hope you’ll be inspired to reflect on what’s good in your life, too … because you are totally worth it.

Because letters may have taken two to three months to be delivered in the past, something needed to be done to help us deliver letters more efficiently. If we could speed up the time that it takes for a letter to be exchanged back and forth between supporters and children, it would also enrich the relationships between them. For several years we prayerfully worked to bring this vision to fruition. Then in April 2016, we began using a new system designed to help us deliver letters faster than ever before.

Appreciating the abundance we’ve been given can help us and our children gain a perspective that empowers us to live generously.

Haiti, which has had its fair share of destruction from natural disasters, has been ravaged by Hurricane Matthew. Hear amazing stories of survival, learn about the ongoing recovery efforts, and learn how you can help bring restoration to the resilient survivors of Hurricane Matthew.

Ten brave girls living in impoverish communities in Kenya talk openly about their lives and the joys and struggles facing all girls, everywhere. From child marriage to education, female circumcision to the definition of beauty, their stories and images are a testament to the resilience, strength and courage of girls living in poverty.

As your friend, we want to help ignite your compassion for kids, God’s church and those struggling under the weight of poverty around the world. So here in our second, monthly installment of Totally Worth It, we’ve got the happenings with Hurricane Matthew in Haiti and other noteworthy things that we hope will inspire you and fill your head and heart. We’re taking our cue from Nobel Peace Prize announcement today. With all the weight of the world’s hurt pushing down on us, we think we could all use more peace to lift us up.

I wondered, what if, as the lonely traveler in a hotel room, I could feel connected to a larger story out there? What if when you walked into your hotel room, there was a child’s face and their name above the room number? What if you suddenly felt connected to that story? What if the room was giving a couple of dollars a night to sponsor a child? What if you could even write a note of encouragement to that child?

A survey conducted in Niger by the Office of the Prime Minister asked the poor of that country to describe poverty. Their answers included: dependence, marginalization, scarcity, incapacity and restrictions on rights and freedoms.