Passions of the Soul

Meltdown

Ever wonder whether sponsoring a child really makes their lives much different from the way they would have been? If you were to hear any graduate of the program speak, you would no longer question. If you were to hear any graduate of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) speak, you would wonder no more. They often talk about what their lives were like before they were registered in a Compassion project, and they may mention the importance to them of the education they were able to receive, as well as the spiritual training, the reality of Jesus Christ in their lives, as a result of being in Compassion. But unless they have had a sponsor who never wrote to them, you will hear a lot about how important the sponsor was in their lives; just to know that someone far away loved them, believed in them, prayed for them and encouraged them carried them through all the challenges of their lives. They are usually articulate (not always fluent in English) and poised young adults.

But if you want to see one of them dissolve into tears, watch them as adults, when meet their sponsor, for the first time. Watch this classic example of such a meeting. (If you know how, move the slide (bottom of video) to about 3:45 (minutes); otherwise you'll hear various people talking about Compassion's effectiveness. The whole video is about 18 minutes, but this part takes only a few minutes.) Jimmy Wambau's story begins at the point I gave you, and then his sponsor is introduced.

When you have dried your eyes and pulled yourself together, ask yourself whether $38 a month really might be possible for you. Ask yourself--better yet, ask God--whether you can be a real hero to a child. If the answer is yes, either click on the widget in the left sidebar, or go here to choose your own special child.

Revised 10/16/09

We're at 26!!

Some of us heard, on a conference call last night, that Compassion had opened in our 26th country: Sri Lanka!  I've heard nothing official about it, yet, but we were told that they are opening with the Child Survival Program (CSP), first; the Child Development through Sponsorship Program (CDSP) will grow out of the CSP, as children become old enough to need the next phase.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time Compassion has opened, this way.  In a way, it makes sense, but I can't help feeling bad for children who are already old enough to be registered and available for sponsorship, but may miss out, entirely, because of the timing.  But, then, for all I know, Sri Lanka presents a unique situation that makes this order of openings necessary and desirable.  What I do know is that Compassion is led by very wise, insightful and compassionate people, and they will do what seems most needful.

$10 to save lives? Why not?

More than a year and a half ago, Compassion International was ramping up its Malaria Intervention program and fundraising.  Then the global economy took a nosedive, and fundraising for Malaria Intervention took a back seat to the Global Food Crisis.

Malaria Intervention is back, in the form of the Bite Back! campaign.  Watch this video,* read the brief text, surf the site, if you wish.  And then decide:  Can you spare $10? $20? $50?  More?  Or can you give no more than $5?  Please give what you can; no amount--repeat, no amount--is too small.

If you sponsor a child in an area that is heavily affected by malaria, you can ask your child if she or he has a treated bed net; if not, you can call 800-336-7676 to arrange for a small gift to provide a net.  I think the Bite Back! campaign is focused in Africa, right now, but you can call the 800# to ask if nets are available through Compassion for your child's region.

Another great way to help is to sponsor a child.  It costs $38 per month; that's only $1.25 a day, far less than a cup of St*rbucks coffee.  Click on the widget in the left sidebar, or go here to choose that special child to love, encourage, pray for and write to.

So little is needed from us to make such a huge difference in the lives of those in deep poverty.  And if you still think one person can't make a difference, you haven't been in a closed room with a mosquito!

*UPDATE: From now through September 20, 2009, please use this link to donate.  Thank you!

What does it mean to be "called"?

Part of what makes this journey of following Christ such an adventure is that, no matter how many missteps I may take, no matter how long it takes me to grasp something, He eventually gets through to me.  The Aha! moment may come in a sermon, a simple conversation, reading a passage of scripture, hearing something on the radio . . . any number of ways.  Of course, it often takes hearing or encountering a message in a variety of ways, but the fact that God keeps bringing a lesson to my attention indicates the depth of His love for me.  He just doesn't give up!

One lesson I had heard numerous times has to do with advocating for the children served by Compassion International.  And, in typical fashion, I finally internalized the lesson after a couple of brief conversations.  I wrote this post a few weeks ago, for Compassion's blog.  It appeared last Wednesday afternoon, and I forgot to come on here with a link.  (To read the backstory, go here, first.)

By the way, if you are looking for a way to make a real and positive difference, in this world, sponsoring a child in poverty is a great way to do that.  I'm not talking about merely sending a check, each month; real sponsorship means writing to, loving, praying for, and encouraging your sponsored child.  He or she will write to you, as well.  Relationships take time to develop, even with people we see frequently, but if you make that commitment to nurture the child and your relationship with her or him, both your child's life and your own will be enriched beyond all imagining.

To get started, click on either the widget in the left sidebar or the link in the previous paragraph so that you can choose a child; you may narrow the selection by age, gender, region, or request a child who has been waiting a long time.  You can't imagine the way your heart will grow, when you begin to love one of these kids.  You also cannot imagine how much your child will love you, how vitally important you will be to your child and his or her family.

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17, 18)

Who's knocking?

Check out this video from Compassion International.  Will you respond?

UPDATE:  I initially linked the word respond to the sponsorship page on Compassion's website.  But the focus of this video is on the CIV's - Complementary Interventions - that help Compassion fight the kinds of problems (and more) addressed in the video.  So I have changed that link to go to the page with the list of funds, for any who want to give something.  Each fund named is also linked, so you can read more about it.  There are no minimum amounts; everything helps.

However, another great way to help is to sponsor a child!  So if that idea grabs your heart, you can click on the widget, in the left sidebar, or go here.

Charity Navigator rates Compassion

Recent word came down that Charity Navigator had awarded Compassion International its highest rating (4 stars) for the eighth year in a row!  Compassion has shown itself consistent in financial responsibility and is in the top one percent (1%) of all of the charitable organizations rated by Charity Navigator. To read more, go here.

Question:  We've heard of repeats and three-peats, but what on earth do you call an eight-peat??

By the way, I have packets for nearly 20 children who are registered in Compassion-assisted student centers and waiting for sponsors.  One of them has waited more than six months, and may have waited two or three times that.

To sponsor Hiran, in India, or to ask about any of the other children for whom I have packets, just leave a comment expressing your interest.  Your questions do not carry promises to sponsor, but they are a place to start!

Or (in case you're new, around here), you can sponsor the child shown in the widget, at the left.  Or click here to choose another child.

Psalm 42:5-7

We are told to praise the Lord in all things.  That's a cinch, when everything is looking good, but a challenge for some of us, when it isn't.  But contrary to the references to being downcast, I am not...exactly.  Disquieted, yes.

(5)    Why are you downcast, O my soul?
            Why so disturbed within me?
        Put your hope in God,
            for I will yet praise him,
            my Savior and (6) my God.

        My soul is downcast within me;
            therefore I will remember you
        from the land of the Jordan,
            the heights of Hermon--from
                Mount Mizar.

(7)    Deep calls to deep
            in the roar of your waterfalls;
        all your waves and breakers
            have swept over me.

Praise

Psalm 146

1 Praise the Lord.

2 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
      I will praise the Lord all my life;
      I will sing praise to my God as long
         as I live.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
      in mortal men, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return
      to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
      whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6  the Maker of heaven and earth,
      the sea, and everything in them--
      The Lord, who remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
      and gives food to the hungry.

Warning! Don't be duped by a name!

I took a fundraising phone call, this afternoon, for The Committee for Missing Children.  Good name, sounds like a good cause, but I'd never heard of this organization, before.  After I had ended the call with an "I'm sorry; not this year," I checked them out.  Here's what I found; notice the upside down relationship between program expenses and what gets spent on fundraising efforts.  At least, this caller didn't get totally rude.

Good stewardship includes looking into an organization, before you given them a dime.  I rest easy, knowing our support of Compassion International is used wisely and well and is making a serious difference in the lives of our sponsored kids!

You, too, can make a huge difference for a child, touching every area of a child's life and providing hope for a future without poverty for only $38 a month.  A dollar and a quarter a day.  Best deal around.  Click on the widget in the left sidebar, or go here.

More with Wess

Here's another clip with Wess Stafford.  In this one, he talks about the motivations behind his book.  It's worth listening to, but you may have to play it a second time to do that; watching Wess interacting with children, I can so easily imagine Jesus doing the same--playing with them as one of them, only taller; laughing, lifting them high above His head, blessing them, just loving them greatly.  So watch and listen:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2gxbGaBjYI.

If you haven't read Wess's book, Too Small to Ignore, I highly recommend it.  You will laugh, but you will also cry.  Men who rarely shed a tear have shed some while reading some of Wess's experiences as a missionary's kid in West Africa.  It's an important book.