Stories to Connect You With Compassion & Grow Your Faith

Jesus gave priority to people. By helping them in different ways, He served them and made them His priority.

Instead of focusing solely on places to send our money, let’s take a look into ways we can give of our time, money, and talents—in every season.

We join this story as the apostles return after Jesus had sent them out. They were eager to tell their rabbi about “all they had done and taught,” but “many people” made conversation impossible.

We recently talked with Pastor Matt Chandler about The Village Church, child sponsorship, the poor and his book, The Explicit Gospel.

Her rich dark skin was perfect. Her smile made me forget all my worries. If I concentrate hard enough, I still hear her infectious laugh invade my senses.

Rwandan baby girl enrolled in our Child Survival Program

This little Rwandan child, only 3 years old, changed me profoundly. Her name was Arianne.

There is one in every country, every place you visit. One like Arianne. One child who seems to capture you in a way you didn’t think possible.

How could one little angel grab you when you barely just met?

You do not speak the same language, but the Father gives you a piece of His deep love, and in return, teaches you about Himself.

A few years ago, I had the incredible opportunity to stay in Rwanda at a home for children who were abandoned or orphaned. Every moment there felt alive with activity and serving.

One day, the Father gave me a rare moment of silence. The older children were at school, the babies were taking naps, and Arianne had just awakened from her rest. She crawled right into my lap and just held my hand, curled into a ball, and sucked her tiny thumb.

She didn’t try to talk to me or point at things. She was simply still in my arms.

It was exactly what I wanted. I did not need her to color me a picture or try to entertain me. I just wanted her to be with me!

That day, the Lord used Arianne to teach me a lesson: He wants us to come to Him, crawl in His lap, and just be still. There is no sweeter joy.

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. —Psalm 62:1–2, NIV

Prayer Lord, when life feels overwhelming, please provide ways for us to retreat and crawl into your lap. Thank you for wanting to spend time with us and for being the God who loves lavishly.

Read all the One in Spirit devotionals. 

Let’s talk about how the next 20 days are going to be different than normal for each of us. Let’s talk about the joys, rewards, effort and difficulty involved with giving. And let’s raise $20,000 for children in need this Christmas.

As the country director, Sujitha Siri Kumara dialogues with pregnant and new mothers from our Child Survival Program. With his experience of sleepless nights with twin babies, he is able to identify with their struggles.

Excerpted from Compassion Blogger, Emily at With Elephant Grace. Emily won third place for the ‘Dear God’ Blog Month assignment.

I wasn’t looking for another child to sponsor. But then I saw two things next to her picture on the website: a red heart and a red ribbon.

Josiane, from Rwanda, had been waiting for a sponsor for over six months.

The red ribbon showed that Josiane lived in an AIDS-affected area.

Online, as I added Josiane’s sponsorship to my account, I took the opportunity to pay an additional $8 per month to give to the HIV/AIDS Initiative Fund.

According to UNICEF, 2.3 million children in Africa live with HIV and 14.9 million are orphaned by AIDS.

For the cost of a couple of fancy lattes a month, I’ve chosen to give to the HIV/AIDS Initiative Fund which does the following for Josiane and our other 470,000 + African beneficiaries, and their families:

• Provide complimentary testing for all of our beneficiaries, their siblings, and caregivers. Testing is not a requirement, and if they decline, we respect that decision. However, it is available to all.
• We bring awareness to all of our beneficiaries about HIV/AIDS. According to AVERT.org, only 24 percent of young women and 36 percent of young men in low-income countries are knowledgeable about HIV transmission and prevention. Last year alone, we trained more than 2,600 HIV/AIDS peer educators who focus on increasing knowledge about the disease to bring about behavioral change.

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The World Health Organization reports that the African region is the most affected by HIV/AIDS, where 1.8 million people acquired the virus in 2009 alone. This means African nations must intensify their campaign against the disease, and Ghana is no exception.

Corrupt regimes oppress their citizens, slave traders, pimps and global corporations. Outrageous. Maddening. Deeply sad. But what corruption lives on in our own hearts?

For two years, Janvier spent most days lying in the hospital. When he wasn’t a patient there, he still had to go to the hospital every morning, afternoon and evening for injections.