Resurrecting my blog

It's been a while, hasn't it!

I have had a few days of deep introspection and am reevaluating some of my priorities - where I spend my time on the net and the kinds of relationships I want to have with other people. I am recognizing a very deep need for real face-to-face friendships over coffee or Panera.

I also recognize that my work with Compassion is without a doubt, the most important thing I have ever done. We received a request today and it contained pictures of kids who are waiting for sponsors... some of them for 5 months, 8 months and one of them was still waiting after 13 months. Breaks my heart. I can't do much more than we already are, I can only share the ministry at every opportunity.

Since I last left this blog, we had a successful series of Compassion Sundays at our church. 30 children were sponsored over the course of Lent. I am hopeful that we'll be able to present the ministry to the small groups at our church over the coming months. Our church is sponsoring a medical missions trip (not associated with Compassion) to Guatemala next summer. To carry the momentum of missions beyond that trip, we're going to have a Compassion Sunday focused on Guatemala. We'll offer sponsorships of children only from Guatemala and possibly, connect them with the general area of where the medical missions trip will be. Perhaps, over the course of time, we'll be able to establish missions trips to the Compassion Center in Guatemala to offer VBS or even sports camps. I'm the most excited about the prospect to have a sports camp in Guatemala. Sports are a very important aspect of our church's ministry and ties in perfectly with the importance sports plays in Compassion's ministry model.

Another new development is that my husband went through the process to become a Compassion Advocate. We make a great time. He's wonderful at the admin stuff and I'm good at the communication/presentation part. He is just loving the work and it's a wonderful opportunity for us to do something together.

My husband and I have also started the Elder Training Program at our church. It's an intensive three year program. I plan on sharing our progress in that program here as well.

Thanks for hanging on through my dry spell.

~~Andrea

March 1st - Compassion Sunday

March 1st was my first Compassion Sunday event at my church. I went over on Saturday and set up our display. We had an 8' tall banner and an 8' table full of child packets ready for sponsorship.

I spent a great deal of time in prayer on Sunday morning. It is so incredibly hard to draw a line to distinguish how much work/effort that I must do and how much is really all up to God. Ultimately, it's not all about ME and how much I do. It's about matching these children with the sponsors that God intended for them.

A fabulous young lady, Erica, volunteered to help me man the table through both services. She really has a heart for the ministry of Compassion and plans on becoming an advocate.

One of our pastors made a very nice video announcement that announces our table in the foyer and my presentation on March 15th. Time is very limited on those video announcements and there was not very much information in the announcement, so most people did not have any idea of what the ministry of Compassion was all about when they stopped by.

We got two sponsorships yesterday and many more people took some informational materials and I pray that will be drawn back to our table and information meeting in the upcoming weeks.

And yes, I took pictures but haven't gotten them off of my camera yet.

Are you looking for something to pray for?

Hello Friends!!

Things have moved slowly around here but just recently, I have a positive new development.

I received a phone call last Friday solidifying my dates for my Compassion Sunday event(s) at my church. I will be setting up a Compassion table at my church every Sunday throughout Lent!!! I'm still in a little bit of shock over it.

On March 1, 8 and 15th, I will have a Compassion table set up at our church's main campus. I'll have one 8' table, flanked with narrow side banners and covered with a Compassion tablecloth and of course the table will be loaded with children waiting to be sponsored. I will have some extra help nearby to assist me in answered people's questions. On March 15th, I will have a 30 minute meet-and-greet where I can present my story about Azalech and get a little bit more in depth about how the ministry of Compassion works.

On March 22nd and April 5th, I will be at our church's other campus to share the ministry with them. This will be a smaller congregation and I am looking forward to it because it will be quite a bit easier to get more in depth with people to explain the ministry.

I need to get in touch with a few people associated with each congregation to pin down some specifics.

I first approached my senior pastor about this in October of 2007. I have prayed for one Sunday with 1 2x4 table. I am thrilled to see the doors that God has opened up here. It's so exciting!