The church youth sponsors

Last week, I shared that I had gone to our church's other campus to share the ministry of Compassion with the youth there. My presentation went well, I think. I didn't get the impression that the kids were into it. But their leadership certainly was, in a big way. I guess after a year of struggling to get people to hear what I am saying, to see people go from being completely un-familiar with Compassion to being just absolutely on fire for the ministry is still taking me aback.

I had taken 5 packets with me for the youth to prayer-fully consider and pick 1 or 2 for them to sponsor. When I was done with my presentation, the adult leader of the youth was very excited and he said he was going to en-courage the youth to sponsor 2 children. But before we could discuss which ones they might sponsor, another mom came up to me and said she wanted to sponsor one of the children. You really have to understand that I have had a very, very difficult time getting people to sponsor children. I've tried my bible studies, twice! And I never had someone choose a packet I had on hand. So, I was pleasantly surprised. On Dec. 14th, I went and saw those same youth leaders again and learned that one other child packet was taken by another family. When I asked about the other packet, the leader said "Don't worry! I'll get that child sponsored too!"

I feel a heavy weight of responsibility when I get child packets. I feel that I am the one who should be carrying them to find them sponsors. I need to let that go and remind myself that these children are all in God's care and God will find them the sponsors they are meant to have. I'm just the "middle man". God has gone on ahead as I have gotten out of his way.

I do want to have their pictures here on my blog though. I'll have to see if when this all shakes out, I can get their pictures to share with you here.

Why Ethiopia - Wess Stafford

I found this at the blog of Shaun Groves. You might need tissues.

When you get out of God's Way

Galations 6: 7-10
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

For the last 13 months, I have been approaching my church about holding a Compassion Event. There have been many, many setbacks but at the same time, I have been encouraged by the leadership that something would come together some time. I almost had the opportunity in September, but then Hurricane Ike made his presence known. I was recently greatly discouraged again, but spoke up once again to open the door for the ministry of Compassion. I spoke up and then stood back to see what God would do with it. I got out of God's way.

Do you want to hear what God did?

I got a phone call today from the Exec. Pastor at my church. Pastor Karl. He called to invite me and open up the opportunity for me to present the ministry of Compassion International at our church for.... Are you ready for this?....

5 WEEKS OF LENT.

Our church has 2 campuses. I will be presenting the ministry to the main campus for 3 weeks in a row. Then, I will go to the other campus and present the ministry for 2 weeks there. The main campus averages 1000 worshipers through Lent and the other campus will average about 200.

THIS is what happens when you speak up and then get out of God's way. This is a GOD SIZED miracle. I am so excited and in such awe that I can not even contain myself.

And I can not wait to tell Azalech what we have done together.

Sara's Mother

I was blessed with more mail today. I was in a sour mood all day long until I got the mail. It sure puts my day into perspective to walk out to the mailbox and see "A Letter from your Sponsored Child".


We sponsor a young woman in Tanzania named Sara. Sara is 17 years old and lives away at a boarding school. She wrote that she did not see her family very much. So, when it was time to send her a birthday gift, I thought I would send a financial gift and I asked that it be used for travel expenses for Sara to go and see her family - but, if it was not practical to do that, use it as they saw fit. Her birthday was in September and I know that I had sent the gift in sufficient time for it to be received then. So, I was anticipating a response about what happened with this gift.

That is what was in the mail today. The letter stated that Sara had not been able to come home but that gifts had been bought for her and she would receive them when she got home. I'm not sure, but it seems like this gift that I sent was divided evenly between Sara and her mother. The best part - I got a picture!

This is Sara's mother. Her gift was the "Kitenge" that she is wearing and the other one over her shoulder. Kitenge is an African Sarong (thanks Google!) plus the cooking oil and the large cooking pot. I know Sara has two brothers still living at home, so this is a gift that Sara's mother will use to bless the whole family.

The letter is a full page of "thank you's", "bless you" and "gratitude". I wish they had squeezed in Sara's mother's name in there - but I imagine it was being dictated to the writer by Sara's mother and those were the only words that came to her mind.

This makes me wonder also if Sara has very many pictures of her mother? I wonder if she would get a copy of this? I could make a copy and send along in my next letter.

If you sponsor a little girl... a handmade gift suggestion

I have always wanted to send my sponsored children gifts that I made myself. There are strict regulations on the types of gifts that you can send - they must be made of paper, but you can send small bits of ribbon. they can not be bigger than 8x10 and a foldest stack can not be bigger than 1/8" thick. It's perfectly acceptable to send financial gifts. With a financial gift, the staff at the Compassion center can go out and find out just what your child needs and they buy it for them. By spending this money locally, it also helps the local economy in the area.

But anyway... back to my original idea of this post. Several months ago, I thought of the idea to send Haoua a gift of paper dolls. Look at these -

I printed these dolls out on Card Stock. And then, before I cut them out, I put reinforced, clear packing tape on the back of the doll. I made sure that the packing tape went over where I would cut. Then, when I went to cut it out, the packing tape created a very strong support to help support the paper and prevent it from tearing.

When I colored the dolls with colored pencil, I made one doll white/cream colored and the other one brown. BUT! I colored their clothes the SAME color - pink shorts and a baby blue top. I labeled one Haoua and the other Morgan, for my daughter.

With the clothes, I did the sam thing. But the tape did make it difficult to fold the tabs back, so I used a craft knife to score the fold lines to break the reinforced tape string.

I have wondered if Haoua has played with her paper dolls or if she has just kept them safe and treasured. She has two little sisters now and I have wondered if they are all still intact! I will ask her in my next letter and see if she would like some more dolls. Perhaps I should make a whole set JUST for her little sister.

You can find the paper dolls I used at Marilee's Paper Dolls.

If anyone comes up with a creative, homemade gift for a little boy, please share it!

Veral Bautista, you have SPONSORS!

This morning, I met with our Youth Pastor to fin-alize the paperwork for Veral Bautista's sponsor-ship. This last Sunday, the youth offered an opportunity to sign up and commit to sponsoring this boy. Those who signed up promised to bring $1 a month to help support the sponsorship of this boy. Also on that day, they took in $93 to kick off the support of this boy!

There are two young ladies in the Youth Group who have taken this idea and really pushed it. I introduced them to it, but they have taken it over. I won't post their names on a public blog, but God knows them and I know he is smiling!

Veral Bautista is from the Dominican Republic. He is 9 1/2 years old. He lives with his mother and two other siblings. His favorite thing to do, like all little boys from the Dominican Republic, is BASEBALL!

I look forward to hearing about how this relationship between Veral and our church youth grows and develops. I pray that Veral is blessed by having so many praying for him. And I pray that the Youth as a group and as individuals, seek out other opportunities to bring Jesus to others.

This is a great starting point for my church and the growing partnership with Compassion International. I am so excited for what God is going to do here!

World AIDS Day

On Facebook, there was a group for those who planned on attending Starbuck's World AIDS Day. For every cup of coffee sold today, Starbucks would donate 5 cents to Project RED.

5 cents per cup of coffee really is a paltry amount of money for a corporation like Starbucks. For a $5-$8 cup of coffee, I think they could do better. But, in my opinion, I don't think of Project RED as the perfect mode of raising money to make a REAL difference. The only way to make a real difference in the lives of those affected by AIDS is JESUS.

But what it does do - and does very well - is to raise awareness. I still run into people who don't realize the scope and depth of the AIDS crisis in Africa. Project RED has made "being aware" cool. Yes, it is pretty pathetic that people will buy a $100+ pair of RED tennis shoes just to look "Cool". It's a negative side effect of our culture. But! ANYTHING that raises awareness is a good thing. For many people, that awareness becomes a spark and then it grows into a cause and then it blooms into action. Once people get a real grip on the crisis, they are quite often to do more, say more and be more involved. They can moved from needing those $100 pair of tennis shoes to just giving the $100 to the cause.

The value in the cup of Starbucks coffee or the size of Starbuck's donation to PROJECT RED is not in the now - it's the cost of a seed that is planted in someone to DO SOMETHING.

I run into these people who don't understand the AIDS crisis and they feel helpless to actually DO SOMETHING. My suggestion -

JOIN COMPASSION - SPONSOR A CHILD who is an AIDS affected country.
Luke 30- 35

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.

Pick that child up and bring them to Compassion where they (and their caregivers) will receive AIDS medications, nutrition, education and the gospel of Jesus. READ MORE about what Compassion offers to those affected by AIDS.

Whether all you can offer today is a prayer, a cup of Starbucks coffee or you sponsor a child - shout out for for those who cannot speak for themselves today.

Get out of God's way!

God is about to do something amazing at my church with this ministry. I just know it. I'm going to get out of God's way and just let him use me as he sees fit.

I am so excited and overjoyed I can barely contain myself.

But things aren't going to be clear until after the Christmas season. I've made a conscious decision to only post positive, certain things that I am doing. I have not shared some of the anguish I have been experiencing. But the veil has been lifted and the sun IS rising!!

Bono's Prayer Breakfast Speech.

I just came across this. It's powerful.

If you have never heard this speech in its entirety, it is here.

Sometimes it is just too much

My heart is heavy with the growing crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I stumbled upon a news article from some Christian Aid Agencies that are there.




There is a slideshow here.

I pray that the Body of Christ comes together and helps the youngest of these victims. I feel so helpless. Our finances have been a bit tight in the last several months and I don't have anything to spare. It makes me feel even worse.

My heart is committed to the ministry of Compassion. I believe that is where the best change needs to happen in the hearts of these children. But what of these children in this crisis? I pray that when things settle down in the DNC and other countries that the ministry of Compassion can be brought in. But for now, the work is on the front lines.

My prayers are with them.

~~Andrea

Yeah... what he said!

A blog post on a blog I have been following for a few days really touched me...

Check it out...

Why I work in the Fields of the Fatherless.

Moving forward...

I posted the other day about meeting with the Youth Leaders about sponsoring a child. I realized that I hadn't considered our church's other campus and meeting with those youth about sponsoring a child as well. I immediately emailed the Youth Pastor over there about meeting with them. I received a reply last night and he is very interested in having me meet with the youth there. To add more to my excitement, he already sponsors 2 kids through Compassion. It makes my job so much easier when the leadership is already familiar with the ministry.

We've arranged for me to come to the Youth at the other campus on the 1st Sunday in December - 2 weeks from the date of this post.

When I ordered packets from Compassion, they all came with an expiration date of Dec.5. This means that I need to find sponsors for them by Dec. 5 or send them back so that they can either be reprinted or rolled into the children up for selection online. So, for this upcoming meeting, I'll have to order some more Child Packets.

Our main campus was going to meet and decide today about the children they want to sponsor. The two young ladies in the youth who are spearheading this are very excited. I look forward to hearing from them about who they have chosen. Please pray for their discenment for how they go about presenting these choices to the youth.

~~~Andrea

A commercial break

I started another Blog. It's a Recipe Blog for crock pot cooking.

http://meals-on-the-move.blogspot.com/

Switch Rant ON - the United Nations

When I was a little girl, our church didn't have a trunk or treat or a fall party in place of Halloween. What I do remember is going door-to-door with a little cardboard change box and saying "Trick or Treat for UNICEF". The idea of collecting money for needy children did stay with me. I wonder how much of an impact doing that kind of thing has had on me as far as what I do now. My disgust at what the UN has become now makes me not want to give them much credit. I would prefer to give the credit to the church I grew up in and my parents for exposing me to those needs, even as minimal as it was.

Fast Forward to now...

The UN announced the completion of a $23 Million Art Ceiling at U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland that was paid for by Foreign Aid Money.




I can't even begin to describe how I feel about this.

I believe that we do have to approach the issue of poverty from both a personal each-one-reach-one concept and through political channels. To affect change NOW, those governments of impoverished countries need to change and they are not going to change without political incentives. To promote lasting change in the people and those governments, we have to change the children and that is where my heart is.

President-Elect Obama, before the financial crisis had hit, had pledged $400 BILLION dollars toward UN Poverty Relief under his new administration. Of course, the money has been diverted, so to speak, toward the financial crisis. Bono certainly found this ironic.

It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to saved 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.

It is just unreal to me that an organization that is designed to protect humanity could, in good conscience, flush so much money towards a CEILING. I'm just dumbfounded!

Can you hear the money being flushed down the Golden Toilet of the UN?

When I was thinking of that, I remembered a movie... "All of Me" with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin? In that movie, there's a "Swami" who mistakes the sound of a flushing toilet with a ringing telephone...

I believe the UN likes to hear the sound of it's own flush.

Rant OFF.

As the Compassion family grows

I just came from meeting briefly with some of the Youth Leaders at my church. On Sunday, they will "vote" on the children they will sponsor. I am encouraged by their excitement. It is either going to be a boy from the Dominican Republic or Brazil. There's also a little girl from Columbia. I pray that God gives them wisdom and brings them together with just the right child.

Nobody hits me at church

A Compassion photo calendar

I want to direct your attention to a post on the Compassion Blog about a calendar being offered for sale. Check it out!

http://blog.compassion.com/photo-calendar/

More in the mail!

Oh, my heart!

I got a letter from Azalech. You just have to read it. And for more background, go here.

How are you doing my dear sponsor? My sisters and I are very fine. I received your letter and your family gift that was 475.33 Ethiopian Birr ($50) you sent for us last time. I will write you about its detail in another letter. May God give you waht you want. I love you very much because you think and help me like my mother. Please keep on praying for me. I wish you happy new year and happy Christmas. I also wish these holidays could be of blessing, of joy and of praises to you. What things did you see when going to your husband's homeland? Please pray that I could be clever in my education and that my sisters and I could live in Joy.

You wrote me that you saw many things when you visited your husband's relatives. I am 9 years old. I like cleanign our house. I learn the word of God in Sunday School in church. I was not promoted from grade one. So, I decided to work hard in this Ethiopian New Year. I also received your birthday gift that was 239 Ethiopian Birr ($25). I write you about the detail in another letter. Goodbye.

Oh, how my heart just stopped when I read that first paragraph. How desperately I ache to hold her and really tell her how so precious she is to me and to Jesus. Some day, I will meet her and tell her this. But it just can't come soon enough.

I had received a letter from her some time ago asking for prayers for her end of the year examinations. Her letter also included a copy of her report card. She is also struggling academically. But you can see improvement from one semester to the next. I will focus on that in my reply to her.

It has been very revealing to me through Mesay's obvious delays and now I see that Azalech is struggling how critical the early development of these children is. Compassion's answer to that has been their Child Survival program. This teaches parents the value of good nutrition in pregnancy, breastfeeding for brain development and to promote bonding. And the importance of play and safe exploration in their infant and toddler years. Most children die before the age of 5 in impoverished countries and so many that do survive, do not have that foundation of learning that is so critical to their further development.

What a blessing it was to receive this letter today! My heart soars!

But it also reminds me that I have a purpose. And for all of those other orphans out there like Azalech, her story is not unique. I can not give up. Every 14 seconds, another child is orphaned by AIDS. They need help desperately. There are 167,000 children available for sponsorship. And God has one in mind FOR YOU!

Haiti schools in the news

While this news clip does not mention Compassion, it's an interesting look inside educational choices in Haiti.



The news of this school collaps was on Compassion's website - no sponsored children were killed. My prayers are with the families of the 92 children that were killed.

What's in the mail?

I used to dread getting the mail. Even now, almost everything is junk mail and I try to not set the mail down without weeding through it so that the junk doesn't pile up.

But with Compassion letters and the five children we sponsor, getting the mail can be like Christmas morning! Like today! We were away for a few days camping with some friends and came home to find two things from two of our kids.

The first one - we got a new picture of our newest addition, Guntur. Here he is -

He looks so little! He's 6 years old. We've only been sponsoring him for about 2 months and so we have only received one letter. He's so precious!

The other thing we got today was a letter from Mesay, our boy in Ethiopia. Mesay is very close in age to our son Matthew. They are both 13. I have thought for some time that Mesay may be a bit developmentally delayed. His letters always include the prayer for him to be a "smarter student". The letter today shows a tremendous amount of improvement in his understanding and he responded directly to a letter that I had written to him.

What was most interesting about this letter is that it included, for the first time, a copy of his report card.

I am greatly encouraged that he has now progressed a grade. I can only imagine what a life Mesay would have as a developmentally delayed boy in Ethiopia - WITHOUT COMPASSION. His letter says that he wants to be a doctor. What a wonderful thing it is that he actually has dreams and has hope. I am so proud that he is sticking to school, even though it is obviously very challenging for him. I think I'll send him some stickers!

Reap a Harvest

Galations 6:9
So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

Hope Lives

Last night, I was asked how God was taking the bits of broken pieces of clay in my life and reshaping them into something good. Other people were asked the same question and they reflected on their own personal tragedies - some of them profound like the death of a child, their prodigal children or a history of abortion. While I have chapters in my own life that God has taken, reformed that part of my broken spirit into something good and then did his work through me to touch the lives of his people. Nothing in my life has affected me more than what God has laid on my heart through our sponsored child, Azalech in Ethiopia.

When we first started sponsoring Azalech, I really was not (what I would call now) a "good" sponsor. I had my sponsorship automatically withdrawn from the bank and it happened without my even having to think about it. But I rarely wrote. I couldn't think of how I could connect with this child. But I would get desperate letters from Azalech begging and pleading me to write to her. But I was too busy. How do you explain to a child in Ethiopia that you are too busy?

And then a letter came in June 2007 that would change my life forever. Azalech wrote :

"Peace of Christ be with you. Thank you for writing to me. I am very hapy and showed the letter for my friends. Thank you again for all your help for me. I am praying for you and your family. This is rainy season and it is raining but during the afternoon the weather is very hot. In Sunday School I learned about the Good Samaritan Woman. Would you write to what you learned in the Sunday School? I will be graduated from KG and will join Grade 2 and [I] pray about it. I never celebrate my birthday. (I had sent her a birthday gift, her first ever). My health is very good. My mother died ten days ago. My father came from an unknown place after my mother was buried. He asked me to withdraw my class and to go with him but my sister was not allowed to go with him. She said that you don't withdraw your education and I can help you by working some hard work and God gave you good mother from the other part of the world. Please pray for me and my sister. She is 16 years old."

I tell you, this letter brought me to my knees.

I do not know how Azalech's mother died. I do know that she had been ill for some time. I have not asked if it was AIDS or not because it really doesn't matter. But statistics would tell me that it was likely AIDS.

I can only imagine the despair that Azalech's mother felt while she was ill. I can only imagine the prayers she lifted up that someone would look after her daughter. In the 18 months since this letter, I have prayed and reflected on it and have realized that Compassion International was the answer to her prayers. As Azalech's sponsor, I was the answer to her mother's prayer. It is through me that Azalech's Mother's Hope Lives.

With the estimated 2700 children orphaned by AIDS EVERY DAY, Azalech's story is repeated every 14 seconds. I have yet to meet someone who hears her story who isn't touched by it. I have become a Advocate for Compassion International so that I can take Azalech's story and the hope of her mother and tell everyone who will hear me. Compassion International, Advocates like me and Compassion sponsors are picking up those broken shards of clay of those affected by poverty and AIDS and are reshaping them through the saving grace of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Releasing children from poverty, in Jesus' name,
Andrea G.

My Compassion International Q&A

I have asked some friends of mine to help me with some questions about Compassion International. If you have any questions, please feel to ask them of me through the comments section. I will add to this post as more questions come in.

Edited to add - Compassion does have a Question and Answer Page.

Question - How was CI started?
Answer
Compassion International was founded in 1952 by Rev. Everett Swanson in the rubble of the Korean War. He wanted to reach out to the Korean children and connect them with sponsors in the United States. In the last 56 years, Compassion International has spread to 25 countries and recently celebrated it's one millionth sponsored child. You can read more about the history of Compassion International here.

Question - From what doctrinal slant is the gospel taught?
Answer
Compassion is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals. Compassion's mission statement is In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults.

Question - How much of my donation goes to the child?
Answer
83% of each of your dollars goes directly to the programs your child participates in. Each individual Compassion International project receives funds towards their program based on the number of children that they provide services for. Your funds go directly to that program where the services are provided for your child. In this way, each child will receive the same services regardless of if they are not yet sponsored or, for one reason or another, they have lost their sponsor.

Your sponsorship covers their local education expenses. It insures that they will have regular medical check-ups and vaccinations. Children will receive supplemental food - particularly critical in this global food crisis. And most importantly, they will receive the Gospel - the knowledge that Jesus welcomed the little children to come to them and that they are precious in his sight.

Question - Does any of my donation go to improving the local situation -- so that the need for sponsorship is being diminished?
Answer
At the core of Compassion's Program is their child sponsorship program. This is where a child enters the program between the ages of 4 and 9. Outside of that program are programs that supplment it. One of those programs is the Complementary Interventions Program. Through this program, community improvements are made so that the child CAN learn. If the community has no access to fresh, safe water and children are dying of diahrrea, they can not learn... they can not soak in the words of Jesus. So, improvements are made that make the living situations for the children tolerable.

Compassions goal is different from other sponsorship programs that build community projects, like a school, medical clinic or a playground. They believe that a changed environment does not change the HEART of the child. But a CHANGED CHILD can change their environment.

I mentioned that Compassion started in Korea. Compassion no longer provides services in Korea. When the CEO of Compassion went to South Korea and met a group of pastors saying that they were no longer going to be in Korea because the harsh poverty no longer existed there, he urged the pastors to bring the message of Compassion into their congregations (some 100,000's strong!) so that they might sponsor children elsewhere in the world. One pastor stood up and said he knew about Compassion because he was a Compassion assisted child. And one by one... pastors stood up and joined to say that they too had been Compassion assisted children.

Changing the children can change a country.

Question - What kind of interaction can I have with the child?
Answer
Your letters of reassurance, hope and salvation are one of the greatest treasures that you can share with your child. You write your letter at home and then send it via domestic mail to the Compassion mail office in Colorado Springs, CO. It is then joined with other letters to your country and then on to your child's project where it is then translated and shared with your child. It can take 4-8 weeks for your letter to reach your child. Some projects are in extremely rural areas and can be difficult to reach. You can send paper gifts to your child. My favorite gift that I have sent to Haoua was homemade paper dolls. You can send paper bookmarks, coloring pages, blank paper for them to use or homemade photo albums on paper.

Question - Can I send gifts to my sponsored child?
Answer
Compassion recognizes that sponsors would like to send gifts as well. Sending gifts are discouraged because they can raise red flags in customs offices or they could be stolen. Compassion offers sponsors the opportunity to send financial gifts for birthdays, holidays and special occassions - or just because you want to. These gifts
are limited to a total of $300 per year. By sending these financial gifts, you provide a boost for the local economy as the Compassion Program meets with the child's family to find out what would be the most useful gift - clothes, furniture or even something as special as a sewing machine or bicycle taxi. Those things are useful because they can help the family become self-sufficient. Compassion;s Christmas gift program is the exception to this rule. All funds donated as Christmas gifts are pooled together so that children who are not sponsored or their sponsors did not donate funds, still receive a gift.

When you do send a financial gift, Compassion project directors have to report to you how EVERY PENNY was spent. In most cases, photos are provided as evidence as to what you had bought. For example, I sent our child Azalech a $50 financial gift and they bought a table and a set of chairs. Their first set ever!

Question - May I visit the child?
Answer
Compassion International invites you to come and visit your child. They only ask that they have 6 weeks of warning before you do come so that they can prepare the visit for you and your child. But the best way to experience this opportunity is through Compassion International's sponsored tours. In these tours, you get to experience the relationship of several children and their sponsors. Compassion tries to visit each country every 2-3 years. Information about these trips can be found here.

Question - Where can I read CI's financial reports?
Answer
Here is a link to Compassion International's 2007-2008 Financial Report.

Question - What is CI's involvement "on the ground" like, to make sure things are being done ethically?
Answer
Audits are performed regularly by the in-country Compassion International staff and are also followed up with audits from CI's International headquarters in Colorado. In 1995, Compassion went through a tremendous restructuring process and has reported remarkable process in their bookkeeping. There are occassional reports of Compassion Projects closing due to corruption. There have even been instances where entire countries were shut down. This happened in Mexico. But Compassion did not give up on them and they've gone back, with more oversight and Compassion has now re-entered Mexico in the last several years.

I found a blog entry that was most interesting
A Day In The Life of a Development Center Accountant.

Question - What kind of job training do older children receive?
Answer -
This varies by location and culture. Children may learn how to weave, sew, bake, engine repair, etc. Compassion children learn a variety ofmarketable skills. But what sets these children apart is their hope in Christ and their Godly character that is nurtured throughout their program.

Question - What happens to the children once they're too old to be in the program?
Answer
The goal of the Child Sponsorship program is for them to be responsible, Christian adults. Every month, 50,000 children come to accept Christ through the Compassion program. But it's not a requirement - it most certainly is a hope! The goals are -

---Follow Jesus Christ in faith and deed as part of their spiritual training
---Support themselves and share with others in need as part of their economic training.
---Be responsible members of their family, church, community and nation as part of their social training
---Maintain their own physical well-being

Compassion students who perform very well may be eligible for the Leadership Development Program. This program provides an opportunity for tuition or tuition assistance for these exemplary students to go to a university in their country. You can read more about the Leadership Development Program here.

Question - Does Compassion send the children to school?
Answer

Depending on the country, your child sponsorship does support your child's tuition to attend school. Or, your sponsorship may pay for tuition assistance - books, uniforms, etc. It is a requirement for Compassion sponsored children to be actively attending school.

Question - What happens if I can't afford to sponsor a child any more? Do they have to drop out of the program?

Answer

Sometimes events do happen in a sponsors life that causes them to not be able to maintain their sponsorship. If this happens, the child is allowed to stay in the program and Compassion will re-issue the child's name for a new sponsorship.

Question - How many children of the same family can be sponsored? Won't the unsponsored children be jealous

Answer

The limit in one family is 3 children. Compassion's hope is that relieving one family of at least 3 children of paying for their education and healthcare will help with the family paying for the children who are ineligible. In cases where this does not happen, it is quite common that the children will bring home what they have learned and will share it with their siblings.

As far as the jealousy? This is something that does concern me with my own Compassion children that I sponsor. When I have sent gifts, I have tried to include the siblings as well as I can. I would suggest, if your sponsored child does have siblings, inquire about their involvement with the program and attempt to include them in your correspondence.

Question - I want the child I sponsor to go to a Christian school. Can Compassion Int. arrange that if I pay the tuition?

Answer

Not all Compassion projects have access to so many options. The most practical option in most places is the local public school. Trying to insist on different options would create a difficult relationship between the local Compassion project (which operates out of the local church) and sponsors. There are some Leadership Development Program students who do go on to attend Christian College. There is even a scholarship to Moody Bible Institute here in the United States. So, while this option may not be available now, the chance is there in the future.

Who is in your family?

I have been participating in a bible study at church. It's a Beth Moore study and it is entitled "Stepping Up". It's a study on a section of Psalms known as the Psalms of Assent. I've been very excited to be a part of it because it's the first time in years that I have been able to participate in a study. As a homeschooling mom with a husband who is gone most of the time overseas, getting to a bible study on a weekly basis has been difficult. But now that my son is old enough to look after his little sister's (my kids are 13, 9 and 7), I have felt as though I can get into a study.

Last week, our study led us to Psalm 127 -

The Blessing of the Lord
A Solomonic song of ascents.
1 Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.

2 In vain you get up early and stay up late, eating food earned by hard work; certainly He gives sleep to the one He loves.[1] Or work; He gives such things to His loved ones while they sleep

3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, children, a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons born in one’s youth.

5 Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them. Such men will never be put to shame when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.

In verse 1, God is talking about buiding a house, a home... a family. And, unless God is watching over us, we watch over our own houses, homes and families in vain.

God has a very broad concept as to who our family is... the bible study continues to look at this in Matthew 12: 46-50:

46 He was still speaking to the crowds when suddenly His mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to Him.

47 Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.”[16]

48 But He replied to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, that person is My brother and sister and mother.”

See what it's getting at there? Whoever does the will of My Father - whoever is part of our Christian community - those are our family members.

This is what makes my relationship with my Compassion kids so special. They are part of my family. And this is the house... this is the home... and this is the family that God has brought together.

In the course of our bible study at home, we were to write as to who we had in our "family" that was not part of our nuclear, biological family - did we have a mother-like figure that mentored us or did we have other children that we were "mothering" or mentoring. It was so exciting to me that during our discussion at Bible Study I mentioned my sponsored children when we were discussing this section. Two other people mentioned that when they had went over this section, they had left that part blank because they could think of NO ONE that they were mentoring. Lucky for them, I had my Compassion sponsorship information with me!

Can you think of someone in your life that you are mentoring? Is that space in your life blank too? God has big plans for his family and for yours... please consider sponsoring a child!

An 8 year old's experience in the Dominican Republic

Here's a blog of a boy traveling with Compassion International RIGHT NOW to experience the ministry first hand - http://www.challies.com/challiesjr/

Introducing, our children

We have sponsored children with Compassion International since 2003. We now sponsor 5 children. We started our sponsorship after learning about Compassion on a homeschooling forum I participate in. We chose our sponsored children based on their birthdays. The first 3 of our sponsored children are close in age to our own 3 children by a matter of weeks.

Our first boy was Jonathon from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He would write to us and have all of these wonderful drawings on the back of his letters. He is a gifted artist. We were terrible sponsors though. Oh, we sent our money every month - that was the easy part. But we rarely wrote. I struggled with how I could connect with him and so I didn't give writing letters to him as a priority. As Jonathon grew older, we received letters from his teachers commenting on his struggle to stay in school. He was being pulled in different directions from his seperated parents and by other groups, possibly gangs, that caused him to not value school. A year ago, we received our last letter saying that Jonathon and left the program. I grieved this loss! I was distraught over the fact that he had nothing from me that made him feel connected to the Compassion Program. Had I written more, connected with him more - could that have made a difference? I won't know till I see him in heaven. But everything I have read about the impact that the letter writing relationship has on these sponsored children says that YES, the letters... the relationship, is of the utmost importance to these kids. The money buys them material things that don't last - but the relationship is critical to their spiritual development. It's Hope. And Money can not buy that.

Our second child is a girl from Ethiopia. Her name is Azalech. She is now 9 years old and we started sponsoring her when she was 5. We started out sponsoring her in a similar way to Jonathon - we didn't write. I received these heartwrenching letters from her BEGGING me to write to her. Within weeks after receiving the letter telling us of Jonathon's departure from the Compassion program, we received a letter from Azalech that truly, changed my life and changed my perception of Compassion International forever...

Peace of Christ be with you. Thank you for writing to me. I am very hapy and showed the letter for my friends. Thank you again for all your help for me. I am praying for you and your family. This is rainy season and it is raining but during the afternoon the weather is very hot. In Sunday School I learned about the Good Samaritan Woman. Would you write to what you learned in the Sunday School? I will be graduated from KG and will join Grade 2 and pray about it. I never celebrate my birthday. My health is very good. My mother died ten days ago. My father came from an unknown place after my mother was buried. He asked me to withdraw my class and to go with him but my sister was not allowed to go with him. She said that you don't withdraw your education and I can help you by working some hard work and God gave you good mother from the other part of the world. Please pray for me and my sister. She is 16 years old.

It has been over a year since we received that letter and I still struggle to wrap my brain around it. I feel that God has tapped my shoulder to reveal to me what he has planned for this little girls life AND that of all of the Children living in Poverty in the World. It woke me up! God got my attention and I am listening. Not long after receiving this letter, I signed up to become a trained Advocate and Representative of Compassion International.

Azalech, one year later, is still in school. Her sister is now her legal guardian. There is 1 other sister under her older sister's care. Azalech is full steam ahead in her school work. Her last letter said she was studying for her exams so that she could move into the 4th grade.

Our 3rd child is Haoua (we say How-WAH) and she is from Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. Haoua is now 7 years old and we have been sponsoring her for 18 months now. In the photo, our Haoua is the child on the left holding the kitty - something I can surely see my own girls doing. What has been so enjoyable and unique about sponsoring Haoua is her country's approach to letter writing. Normally, children have "letter writing days" and you might only get 4 letters a year from you child. Haoua's project allows her to write a letter whenever she feels like it. If I send her a letter, I will immediately get a response. In the relatively short time we have sponsored her, we have established a unique bond with not only her, but with her family - her mother has written to me as well.

Recently, Haoua wrote to me and she was very concerned for her mother who was about to have a baby. It wasn't until 5 days later when I received a 2nd letter announcing the birth of her new baby sister that I realized that the first letter was written WHILE her mother was in labor.

Just weeks ago, we received a precious picture of Haoua's new baby sister. Her name is Roufiatou. Isn't she absolutely precious! What I treasure about this baby is that with the recent global food crisis, Compassion has helped with supplying sponsored children's families with supplemental food. Even though we sponsor Haoua, our sponsorship impacts and supports the entire family. Many people would feel "guilty" to ONLY support just one child out of an impoverished family. But consider how much it relieves a family of one child's education, food and health concerns and it is a boost to the entire family.

Most children in Africa do not live to see the age of 5. I pray that we will be priveledged to see Roufiatou grow to hold and squeeze kitties just as her sister has done.

We have 2 new sponsored children. I was hoping to sponsor an older child and establish a more mature writing relationship. We now sponsor Sara, a 16 year old girl from Tanzania. I am excited for Sara and her efforts in school. She is an above average student and lives away from her family at a boarding school. Her last letter shared that she is going to start learning English. It will be exciting to see how that effort develops!

My husband has also taken to child sponsorship. My husband works all over the world for a major oil company and has seen absolute poverty first hand. He appreciates sponsoring a child close to where he works. He is now working in Malaysia and has chosen a child in Indonesia. It is by pure coincidence that his newly acquired sponsored child also shares a birthday on the exact date of our youngest daughter. His name is Guntur.

I look forward to sharing more about our sponsored children as our letters come in. Letter day is like Christmas morning at our house and I look forward to sharing that with you.

Sincerely,

~~~Andrea