Passions of the Soul

A challenge for you!

On Compassion's blog is a post about listening.  Read it, and then consider this challenge:

For one week (not less than one day!), listen to yourself, your spouse/significant other/family, listen to people around you wherever you are, wherever you go.  Listen for conversations, questions, statements, comments--anything that you would not hear among people who live in real poverty.

I read the post on Compassion's blog and immediately thought about some of the conversations at our house having to do with vacations.  Vacations give us a break from work and, depending on how we plan them, a chance to catch up on some rest, time to just sit and reflect, time to go deeper into God's Word, to watch in leisure as boats and sea planes go in and out of a bay...as we plan to do in June.  Vacations give us a chance to have some fun, whatever that means to an individual:  rock-climbing, surfing, deep-sea diving, kayaking, fishing, skiing...fill in the blanks for yourself.

But the poor never get a break from their poverty.  Even the children who are registered in a Compassion-assisted student center continue to live in their poverty. Yes, they receive a good meal, every day that they are at the center, as well as education assistance; health care, and nutrition assistance, as needed; a safe place to play and develop social skills; a life skill, which will enable them to provide for themselves and their families; many opportunities to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to learn the Word of God; and so much more.  Most of those who are sponsored will exchange letters, periodically, with their sponsors and receive small (to us) birthday and Christmas gifts.  But they go home to a very small structure, often very shaky, which typically houses far more people than can reasonably be accommodated.

The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is enough.  Anything more than that is more than we need, and we have a responsibility to share.  So take the challenge, thank God for all that you have and remember that, as we say at my church, "We are blessed to be a blessing."

Sugar

I have just made a momentous commitment to myself:  I'm going off all empty-calorie, sugary snacks.  I seem to go from one to another; for a while, I'll pig out every day on one favorite, until I take myself by the scruff* of the neck and make myself stop.  Before long, I'm onto a different favorite.

I Googled the question, "how does sugar affect arthritis" and looked over several pages of links, hoping for something fairly scholarly, as opposed to Cousin Ginny's "research" and personal experience...whoever Cousin Ginny might be.  In six or seven pages of links, I didn't find anything that looked directly applicable and reasonably reliable, but I did peruse one document that purported to tell all the ways sugar--especially the stuff that isn't a natural part of foods, like fructose--is harmful to our bodies.  Some of it I already knew; who hasn't heard that sugar will rot your teeth?  Some I hadn't heard, and I don't know if any of it was based in junk science, but it was convincing enough that I just threw out almost half a canister of my latest and greatest snack.

You might notice that I haven't identified any of my favorite sugar "fixes."  I would really hate for someone with a similar problem to read this post, with snacks named, and say, "Oooh, that sounds good!" and then go to the store and start pigging out on them.  I don't need that guilt.  Got enough of my own!

Who knows?  Maybe I'll lose weight more easily, too.

*Does anyone know what this is??

Compassion Sunday

Compassion International's biggest annual campaign is known as Compassion Sunday.  Last year, well over 21,000 children in poverty were sponsored through this campaign; the goal this year is 22,000.

The official date for Compassion Sunday, this year, is this Sunday, April 13 '08.  Many, many churches will be hosting CS's, this weekend, although many CS's will be held--and, indeed, have been held already--on other dates throughout the year.  But this weekend is big, in terms of getting close to our goal.  Today, many Compassion employees, volunteers and sponsors are observing a day of fasting and praying specifically for the thousands of children whose packets have been sent out to churches, and for all of the people attending those churches who will have the opportunity to "[release a child] from poverty in Jesus' name." 

If you are reading this, would like to sponsor a child and your church does not (yet) host Compassion Sunday, each year--perhaps never has--you can choose a child right here, anytime.  The cost is $32/month and frequent letter-writing; no, letters aren't exactly required, but if you want to sponsor a child without investing in building a relationship, Compassion may not be your best choice.  On the other hand, if you want to sponsor a child through an organization that is Christ-centered, child-focused, church-based and committed to integrity, but you legitimately will not have the time to build the relationship, you can choose to provide the financial end and either find a friend or family member to be the correspondent-sponsor, or ask Compassion to find such a person for you.  This is not uncommon, especially for large corporations that sponsor perhaps thousands of children, or for doctors and other people who legitimately do not have the time and may, in fact, sponsor many children (like a doctor I heard of who sponsored 100 kids; trust me--she's not going to be able to write letters to them!)

If you are a sponsor or become one and would like to hold a Compassion Sunday in your church, click on the link in the first paragraph of this post and read how to go about it.  You may also pose questions to me, here, or by e-mail.

Sponsoring a child, sharing life with him or her through letters, possibly visiting by traveling with Compassion, loving, encouraging, praying for, nurturing that child may change you in ways you never thought possible.  I know it's one of the best things I've ever done...the other "best thing I've ever done" is to advocate for children through Compassion.

Announcing...

First, my guest post is up at Compassion's own blog.  Reading it is not required, and there will be no quiz.  However, I have it on the authority of my friend Candy, at Compassion, that she laughed, and she cried, while reading it.  (One of my former graduate-school professors would have given me an A on it, simply because a reader was moved.)

Second, and very important, is a bulletin just in from Compassion:  April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.  Compassion's board policy states:

Concern for children is the cornerstone upon which Compassion International has been built.  We are opposed to all forms of child abuse and exploitation and will do everything within our power to ensure that no harm comes to any child registered in our program due to his or her involvement in the ministry of Compassion International.

The bulletin goes on to define some ways in which workers in the field "safeguard children in Church Partner activities from all forms of abuse and exploitation...:

• Providing a positive and save environment for children that enables them to fulfill their potential;
• Engaging the active commitment of caring adults who surround them, to care for children with dignity, respect and integrity at all times;
• Preventing and/or reducing the risks of the incidence of abuse through enforcing policies, strategies and procedures on child protection;
• Educating children on the limits of acceptable behavior as it relates to physical, sexual and verbal abuse.

"As child advocates, our mandate is to ensure that all children in our care as well as those we come into contact with every day enjoy safe, loving and well protected lives thus releasing them to achieve their ultimate potential."

And anyone who thinks this is just a nice-sounding board-room policy needs to read Too Small to Ignore:  Why the Least of These Matters Most, by Dr. Wess Stafford, President and CEO of Compassion International.

Children of the world

I haven't written a post quite like this in quite a while.  Today, I received the Prayer Partner Newsletter from Compassion, and several of the requests for April really struck me.  The Newsletter is set up with one prayer request or praise for each day of the month.  All are important, but some get between my ribs, so to speak.  I want to share some with you.  We're praying for:

six-year-old Dariana, in Guatemala.  Her mother was hit by a car and killed, after dropping Dariana off at the child development center;

hundreds of families in Ecuador who have been affected by severe flooding.  Besides the losses of many homes, hundreds of Compassion-assisted children have contracted dengue fever or rotavirus;

a child in Nicaragua who was recently diagnosed with HIV.  [In Africa, Compassion would be able to step in and provide treatment for him, and other help for the family to prevent the spread of the virus.]  Please pray that the office staff will be able to find appropriate help for this boy;

50,000-plus sponsored children in Tanzania, many of whom have lost their parents or guardians to AIDS.

Bequer, 7, in Peru, who suffered leg injuries in an auto accident in which his brother was killed.

April 13 is the official Compassion Sunday (Compassion Sundays can be held anytime during the year, however).  Pray that thousands of children all over the world will find sponsors who will love, encourage and nurture them as they are released from poverty in Jesus' name!

Pray for the family of two children in Bolivia, whose mother needs surgery for arthritis.  They face eviction, because she has no money.

Pastor Jose, in El Salvador, whose church runs a Compassion-assisted child-development center.  This pastor faces financial struggles and gang threats.

Many children in Kenya have been scarred by sights of looting, killings and angry people carrying machetes through streets and neighborhoods.

Ten-year-old Anthony, in Ecuador, suffered third-degree burns on his legs and may not walk again, unless God heals him.

A 12-year-old boy in Guatemala has been diagnosed with leukemia.

April 25 is World Malaria Day.  While we praise God for those who have supported Compassion's Malaria Intervention Fund, we also pray for help in combatting this deadly disease.  And please consider contributing to this fund:  $10 pays for an insecticide-treated bed net and other assistance.

Pray also for children in child development centers in Rwanda's western province; an earthquake there left more than 1000 families homeless.

And, of course, if you are interested in sponsoring a child in any of 24 countries, please go here!  All it takes is $32 per month, a caring heart and a willingness to pray for and correspond with a child in poverty, encouraging, nurturing and loving that child as she or he is released from poverty in Jesus' name.  I have seen the work of Compassion in the field, and I know it works!