Show Us Your Life - Favorite Charities/Non-Profits

I'm excited to join in this week's Show Us Your Life about our favorite charities and non-profits.  I've got a number of groups that are dear to my heart, but there are three that I am especially passionate about and want to share with you!



The first is Compassion.  If you've followed the blog for long you've probably seen posts about Compassion and the things that they're doing.  I was even more convinced that we need to be supporting Compassion when their Summer 2013 magazine came out with an article about a study conducted by a professor at the University of San Francisco and their findings that Compassion's program makes a significant and positive difference in sponsored children's lives.  The fact that the scientific community was able to verify that is amazing to me and I want everyone who can be involved, to get involved, to help these children across the world.

Whether it's by sponsoring a child ($38/month), a one time gift, or just your prayers, you can help this organization.  Keep up with them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, blog, YouTube, and Pinterest.  And you can get their magazine on your iPad for free whether you're a sponsor or not!





The second organization that we love and support is Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ).  I attended Crusade while I was in college and loved the support and friends that I made in the organization.  I also attended their Christmas conference one year and was powerfully impacted.  Now, we're involved with Cru through my cousin, Mary Leigh, who has just finished an internship year with Cru and is going on staff full time with them this fall.  Cru works domestically and internationally to connect people with Jesus Christ.

You can check out their giving page to see ways that you can give, or you can find a staff member and help support them.  Keep up with them on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and their RSS feed.  I haven't blogged a lot about Cru in the past but hope to start featuring them more.





And the last organization that I'd like to let you know about is the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund at Huntsville Hospital Foundation.  This fund was started after two parents, Chris and Amy George, lost one of their daughters in 2005.  Melissa and Ann Catherine were born at 26 weeks and Melissa weighed one pound, nine ounces, and died just a few hours after she was born.  Ann Catherine weighed one pound, fifteen ounces, and was discharged from the NICU after 68 days.  She is now a full of life little girl and their family started this fund to remember Melissa and support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cared for both Melissa and Ann Catherine after their births.

Over the past few years, I've been involved with the funds project called the Miracle Bash, but this year I had to pull back so that I could devote enough time to our family.  This fund is still near and dear to my heart though and all money raised goes to support the Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children.  This is the 8th annual event and so far over $1.4 million dollars has been raised to provide lifesaving equipment and technology for this Regional NICU that cares for more than 1,000 babies from across the Tennessee Valley each year.

You can support Melissa's fund through various ways like a donation to the fund, attending the Miracle Bash, or support a swimming team that's participating in Swim for Melissa.  Keep up with Melissa's fund through Facebook.  Keep up with the Miracle Bash through Facebook and their blog.

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Head back to Kelly's Korner to see other's favorite charities and non-profits.  And please remember that no matter how much or how little you can do, even your thoughts and prayers make a difference to those who are changed by these and other organizations.  No donation is too small and there are plenty of ways that you can be involved without spending a dime!  I would also love to hear about the organizations that are near and dear to your heart.  Leave me info in the comments so that I can check them out!

A New Perspective

Over the month, I have blogged a few times at Compassion's request about children who need to be sponsored.  Each week they have given us a topic and I have usually mulled it over for the week before finding time on the weekend to write on it.  As the weeks have gone on the requests have gotten harder.  When they asked us to write a letter to God, I struggled over whether that was too personal or showy to include on my blog.  But after praying about it, I decided to ask God to give me the words and to use them as He saw fit.  As long as I'm blogging with the goal to please God, I should trust him to take control of where my words go and who they impact.

And then the last assignment came last Monday.  Write a letter as if you are a sponsored child.  And I felt totally overwhelmed.  Even as I'm sitting here writing this post I have no idea what I'm actually going to say or whether I will actually complete this assignment.  How is it possible for me to possibly know or imagine what it's like to be a child living in the depths of poverty?  Isn't is demeaning for me to try and act as if I know one shred of what they're going through?

So I'm sitting here thinking about what I know about these children.  Our family has sponsored a little girl in Rwanda since Charlotte was born (we picked her because they share the same birthday).  We've been receiving letters from her for three years now about what her life is like.  We know that she lives with her Mother and Father and siblings but that her parents aren't consistently employed.  We know that she loves Jesus.  We know that she isn't a spectacular student but that she is trying.  We know that she helps her mother with the laundry and gathering food.  We know that she likes animals but the animals that she references are different than the typical dog and cat that we mention.  We know that when we send her a birthday gift she talks about using it to buy food for her family.

We started sponsoring a little boy from Bolivia when James was born (again, the same birthday).  We chose him because he had been waiting for a sponsor for over six months.  Over the past year we've corresponded with him and learned about him.  He loves soccer.  He went to visit his grandfather during a school break.  His father is sometimes employed as a bricklayer and his mother is unemployed.  He also talks about buying food for his family with his birthday gift.

These children live in homes that have dirt or cement floors.  Tin roofs.  The common medical problems in their communities include worms and parasites.  Instead of big birthday parties with lots of friends, they buy food for their families with the money that they receive.  Their only access to medical review is through Compassion's child development center and Compassion provides support for not only the child but their whole family.

When I was at dotMom last weekend, Compassion had a former sponsored child, Olive, who spoke to us.  She spoke to us about spending the first five years of her life living with her grandparents and spending years spending the night in the woods because that was when the rebel army would come and steal children to join their army.  She talked about meeting her mother for the first time when her grandparents could no longer care for her and standing in a line and getting her picture taken because her mother asked her to.  She had no idea what the picture was for, but she says now that it was the best day of her life.

She talked about going to school at the place where her picture was taken and still not knowing what it was or why she was there.  And then one day she received a letter from a couple in Australia that said that they were praying for her and that they would pray for her for years to come.  She still has that first letter that she received over 20 years ago from her sponsors.  She said that knowing that someone out there knew who she was and were praying for her changed her life.  She began to believe in herself because they believed in her.

Olive now lives in America (she came to the US on a volleyball scholarship for college) and has a daughter who has chosen a child to sponsor.  She didn't mention if she ever got to meet her sponsors or if they're still in touch, but the fact that they radically changed her life was evident in every word that she spoke.  This couple paid $38 a month and that $38 gave Olive hope and a life.  Their sacrifice and generosity changed her life and the life of her child and family and is still being felt as Olive travels and speaks on behalf of Compassion.  They're changing other children's lives by choosing one and changing hers.

Compassion has used the month of September as a way to educate people about their mission (Releasing Children from Poverty in Jesus' Name) and to ask people to join them in their mission by sponsoring a child.  They had a goal of 3,108 new sponsorships this month and as of a few hours ago there were still 266 kids that need sponsors.  If you have been praying all month about whether or not you can sponsor a child, I urge you to go and look at them.  Scroll through the pages of children and pray over each one.  Look at those that have been waiting almost 300 days for a sponsor.  Those who live in a country that is highly affected by AIDS.  Those who have special needs.  Those are all children, real people, who need those of us who can barely grasp the kind of poverty they're living in to step up and help them escape it.

How hard do you think it would be to wrap your mind around a loving and generous God when the floors of your home were made of dirt?  How difficult to believe that you are worthy of love and that you can amount to something other than an occasional day laborer if that's the only life that you've ever known or heard about?  These unsponsored children are learning about God already in the child development centers.  They are already part of the program even when they are lacking sponsors.  But I would guess that it's harder to believe all that they're being taught without knowing that there is someone in a far off country praying for them and believing in them.  This is what I would imagine a prayer from a waiting child would be like.

Lord, I know you're there.  My teachers tell me that you love me and I guess I know that you do.  I'm glad that I get to come to school.  It makes my Momma feel better to know that I'm getting something good to eat every day.  She worries about me a lot but I think she's been worrying less since I've been coming to the center.

Lord, my teachers tell me that there are people praying for me around the world.  She has always told me the truth so I guess there are, but I don't know any of their names.  I wonder if any of them know my name?  My friend received a letter from a family last week and they said that they were praying for him.  I wonder why no one writes me a letter and says that they're praying for me?

Please let someone pray for me.  I just want to know that there's someone out there in this great big world that you created who knows my name and prays just for me.  Who says that they love me.  I know my Mom loves me and I'm thankful that she does, since some of my friend's Mom's are gone.  But it would be really nice if there was someone out there who loved me just because I am me and not because she's my mom.

Thank you for letting me get to come to school.  Please let my friends know that there's someone out there praying for them too.
Amen.

You don't have to sponsor a child this month or this year or this decade.  But please take a second to look through the list of unsponsored children and pray for them.  And if God moves you to sponsor one then please pick one and start breathing the gift of hope into his or her life.  You have no idea what God can do with your prayers and your money if you just give them to Him.

Compassion Pinterest Contest

Due to a crazy week I'm a little behind on this contest and post.  Compassion is holding a "My Sponsored Child" Pinterest contest and it ends tomorrow (September 23rd).  You can check out the details for how to enter the contest on their blog post about it.  You can check out those who have pinned in this contest by following this link or searching for #mysponsoredchild on Pinterest.  Please go to Pinterest and spread the word about these children.  These sponsors are hoping to win money for their sponsored child and their family that they can buy important items like food.  With your repins of their pins you will help spread the word about the children that are sponsored by Compassion and those that are still waiting sponsors.  We are 8 days away from the end of September and 1,515 children have been sponsored.  There are only 1,593 that need to be sponsored in order to meet our goal of releasing 3,108 children from poverty in Jesus' name.

Dear God

After last week's Dear Me post and, with prompting from Compassion, I'm writing a letter to God today.  When we got this assignment last week I started thinking about it and all week I've been trying to figure out what I was going to say.  Brianne told us that as of last Monday we had already had 837 new sponsorships!  That's 837 children who got the news that they have been chosen by someone and now have a specific family that will be praying for them and that they can pray for.  Can you imagine the joy on those children's faces?  There are still 2,271 children to go to meet the goal for Compassion's Blog Month in September.  If you're interested in becoming a sponsor check out Compassion's page.  And pray with me for God to move in a big way this month in the lives of these children and the lives of those who are sponsoring and praying for them.

Dear Lord,
We are taught from a young age that you love the little children.  I've been singing "Jesus Loves You" to my children since they were born and putting their names in the song.

Jesus loves Charlotte, this I know.  

Jesus loves James, this I know.

For the Bible tell me so.  Little one's to Him belong.  They are weak but He is strong.  Yes, Jesus loves Charlotte.  Yes, Jesus loves James.  Yes, Jesus loves Charlotte and James.  The Bible tells me so.

It amazes me to sit here and think that you love my children more than I do.  That your love encompasses them and me and that you loved them before time began and gave your only Son for them.  And I think about how thankful I am that I can teach them that even though Jason and I love them forever and ever and so very, very much, that you somehow love them even more than we do.  

Lord, I don't know a lot, but I know that you love the little children.  Those who are just learning about you and those who are walking in darkness.  You love my children, who have never known what it's like to be hungry or not have a solid roof over their heads.  And you love the children that are sitting in a hut in Rwanda right now with rain pouring in through the cracks and wondering whether they're going to have anything to eat this week.

Thank you for loving every child in the world.  And thank you for organizations who take care of the children.  These that are so young that they can't make a way for themselves yet.  Those that are so downtrodden that they can't even see that there might be a way for themselves.  Thank you for providing for them through organizations like Compassion to draw them to you and teach them that you have a purpose and a plan for their life.

Lord, please move this month in the hearts of those across the world.  Please touch all of our hearts and give us a passion to help these children that so desperately need our help.  Please bring about a revolution that makes those who don't believe stop and stare and wonder why all these people are doing so much for those who can't give them anything tangible in return.

Please use this movement to bring glory to your name.  Please bless those that are praying for your will in their lives and their finances.  Please bless those who can't help financially but who can cover these children with prayer.  Please bless those who work day to day helping these children learn about you.  And please Lord, please, bless the children.  Every single one of them on this Earth.  So that they might grow into a population who seeks You first and others second and themselves last.

Thank you for the opportunity to change the world through your power.  Please help me believe that you can change the world through us.

I love you,
Jennifer

Can you help?

Sometimes the pain in the world seems overwhelming.  Wars.  Famine.  Hatred.  Pain.  Selfishness.  I could go on and on.  It so overwhelms me that I've actually removed all news apps from my phone and hardly ever check the news online.  When I'm surrounded by the news of the sin in our world it can sometimes seem like that there's nothing I can do to make a difference.

When I get into a place where I'm overwhelmed with the nature of the world around us, it's often easy to turn inward and stuff those feelings down to think about them "later".  But then when later comes they're just concerns piled on concerns and not only are my feelings not eased but they're compounded.

One thing that I wish I did more instinctively, but am still trying to put into practice, is turning upward when I'm feeling so overwhelmed.  Looking for little things that I can do to make a difference in this world.  Satan wants us to feel like there is nothing that we can do to make a difference but God tells us that that is not true.

"He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch on its branches.""

- Matthew 13:31-32

God is telling us here that like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed, that our small acts will grow with God's grace and multiply to be huge, world changing acts.

I am now trying to turn to God in prayer when I feel like the world is out of control and feel like that as one small person in Alabama I can't make a difference.  One place that I love to go and pray is at the Compassion Sponsor a Child page.  I will go through and look at the children and pray for them.  By name.  By nation.  In whatever way I can, I will pray for these children.  

I pray over their families.  That, if their parents are still in their families, that their parents have jobs and are encouraging them.  That they are learning that they are important and they can rise above the poverty with an education.  That they are healthy and getting the medical care that they need.  That they feel loved and cherished to God if to no one else on Earth.  That God will press upon the hearts of many to support these children with their gifts, their prayers, and their time.

Sometimes just looking through them can get overwhelming too because, really, there are so many of them.  So many children in such desperate need.  Living in conditions that we wouldn't wish on our worst enemy.  With little to no food.  Next to no opportunities.  And devoid of encouragement from adults.  

But as my mind spirals downward, I lift my eyes upwards and focus on what I can do for each of these children.  

I can't sponsor all of them.  But what I can't provide for them financially, I can cover them with prayer.  And my small prayers, like the mustard seed, can be used by our Great God, to be turned into huge blessings for these children.

September is a month that Compassion is asking their bloggers to spread the word about their mission to release children from poverty in Jesus' name.  I ask you to join with me and pray about these children and God's will for their lives and your life.  It might look like sponsoring one child or more.  It might look like a one time donation for medical assistance or where funds are most needed.  Or it might just look like praying God's blessings over their pictures.  

I ask you to please join with me this month and every month and reach out from your small corner of the world, in whatever small way that you can, to make a huge impact.

*If you are interested in becoming a Compassion Blogger please check out their webpage.  Compassion is providing incentives like free e-books for participating in their blogging month.  For information about what is possibly being provided check out their blog post about the blog month.  But even if they weren't providing any incentives (which they haven't until now), I would still be blogging about the organization because I feel strongly about the work that it is doing throughout the world.

Compassion Blog Month

As you might know I am associated with the group Compassion Bloggers.  There are lots of big names in the blog-world associated with this group (BigMama, BooMama, Angie Smith, The Pioneer Woman, Ann Voskamp...just to name a few) but all my being associated with it really means is that I feel like the ministry that Compassion does is important and I want to share their ministry with others.

During the month of September, Compassion is having a "blog month."  They are working hard to get 3,108 children sponsored between the dates of September 1st and September 30th.  And they're going to use their bloggers to help achieve that goal.  Every week during the month they will provide us with a topic to blog on (they provide us with most of the topics and information that we blog on throughout the year) and then sometime during that week I will blog about the topic and share the information with you.

There are a lot of reasons why I want to share this with you.  I know that some of you read my blog because you're family and you like to keep up with the kids.  Or we're friends or acquaintances and you want to see what our family is up to.  Or you're someone that I know online or don't know at all but, for some reason, you've connected with me and us and are keeping up with us.  I want anyone to be welcome here and don't want to exclude anyone [except crazies...if you're crazy please don't read my blog (: ].  I know that some of you share my beliefs that Christ is my personal Savior and some don't.  Some have money left over at the end of the month and some don't.  Some feel called to use their extra money to support local ministries or some other organization.  And all of that is fine.  There is nothing saying that because you read at Tales of a Peanut that you have to support, believe in, or give money to Compassion.

Some of you might skip these posts.  Some might be frustrated because of all the Jesus talk.  Some might think that there are better places to spend your money.  But for some of you it might be different.  You might be looking for a place to get involved.  You might be looking for an area where your money can reach children and literally impact the world.  You might be wondering what being a Christ-follower means and how you can put that into practice in your busy life where you have extra resources but not extra time.  You might love going on mission trips to help those in need but find that your family...little one's, spouse, aging parents...need you more at home right now.  For those of you looking for something new to be involved in, please follow along with me during this month.  Let's learn how we can change the life of a child with $38 a month.  Let's pray about whether this is an opportunity that would fit in with our lives and our families.  Let's see if you want to get involved by becoming a Compassion Blogger yourself (check out their post for the run down on September blog month) or by sponsoring one child or ten children.

I will be blogging about the topics that we're given because no one other than Compassion headquarters knows more about the program and they can provide me with more resources and information than I have on my own.  But if you have any questions or want more information about something, please email me (talesofapeanut at gmail dot com) or leave me a comment and I'll try my hardest to find out that information and share it with you and everyone else.

I believe that God calls us to be missionaries to the world and to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I believe that includes being a missionary in our own family/church/town/state/country but I also believe that there are lots of people who haven't heard the Good News throughout the world.  Compassion allows me to reach some of those people without leaving my home.  And if the most number of people sponsor children from my posts this month, I would be so honored and excited to travel with Compassion on a blog trip next year to meet those people in person.

Please be thinking and praying about how you could possibly be involved with Compassion and be on the lookout for the first blog month post next week!

Chosen

In life there are seasons of fulfillment and seasons of waiting.  Times when I've asked God for something that I feel is something that he has called me to and there is no immediate answer.  I don't feel like I've been told no, I've just been told to wait.  And while those seasons are difficult to live through, some more so than others, the things that I'm waiting for aren't essential to my survival.  I still have a home and food and clothes.  These are just desires.  Some that God has placed on my heart and some that the world has.  And so I wait, but I wait in comfort.

There are some whose wait isn't as comfortable.  Children throughout the world who are living in poverty.  Living in huts without doors or windows.  Living in fear of a mudslide or not having anything to eat.  Those children pray for deliverance.  Pray for food and clothes and a stable shelter.  Maybe pray for their parents to find jobs or for themselves to find one so that they can help provide.

The work of Compassion is to go into those areas and provide the children with what they've been waiting for.  Education.  Food.  Health care.  They meet the physical needs of these children as their parents register them at their church to enter them into the Compassion program.  Immediately the children start getting their physical needs met.  There is no more waiting for help, it has arrived.

But there is an element of Compassion that some children still have to wait for.  They have been registered in the program.  Their picture has been taken.  They are receiving the physical benefits and are hearing the Word of God spoken into their lives.  But they haven't yet been chosen to have a sponsor relationship with someone.  They then enter into a season of waiting to be chosen.  And that season will be difficult as well.

It will be difficult as well because what better time for Satan to speak in their lives that they are worthless and won't amount to anything than a period when they are waiting for someone out there with the resources to say "I choose you."

There are 561 children (when I wrote this post) on Compassion's website who have been waiting for a sponsor for more than six months.  These children are getting their physical needs met, they're getting spiritual needs met, and are getting relational needs met by the workers in their community.  But they are waiting for a sponsor.  They are waiting amidst their friends who receive letters from sponsors and Christmas cards.  Waiting for someone to say "I choose you and I want to invest in your life and have a sponsor relationship with you."

In this economy it is not always possible to reach out and help those in need.  Sometimes we are in situations where we ourselves need help. If you are able and feel led, please sponsor one of these children and help increase the chances that they themselves will choose to believe in themselves.  If you can't make that commitment right now, I urge you to pray for these children and for others to be moved to sponsor these children who are waiting for someone to say that they believe in them and that they can rise out of poverty.

A dollar a day

As most of you probably know I have a heart for the work that Compassion International does.  They match children in poverty with sponsors around the world and for $38 a month, the sponsor provides a way out of poverty for their child.  The child has access to the gospel, education, food if needed, medical care and training, and love and guidance.  Compassion's thinking is that changing a child and giving them a chance will change the community.

I signed up to be a Compassion Blogger a while ago but recently someone new took over this program, Brianne, and we've already received a blogging assignment.  So you will hopefully be hearing about Compassion more frequently now.  While Compassion is providing me and other bloggers topics to blog about, please know that I only blog about it because I truly believe that this is a great way to be involved and live out the Great Commission.  And for every topic that I blog about, I do my own research about the topic to form my own opinions.

Brianne sent us an email yesterday about Missions in Action.  They are an organization that is traveling the world to highlight problems and how people can help solve the problem.  They will be producing webisodes about these situations to help spread the word.  Their first episode is from the Philippines.  In the video below they ride through the flooded slums in the outskirts of Manila and visit a Compassion center and homes of Compassion children and children waiting on a sponsor.  Please watch, you'll learn a lot about Compassion.



There were a lot of things that touched me in the video.
The little girl waiting on a sponsor.
The older sister who gets to go to school because her younger sister is sponsored and so her Mom can spend her money on her.
The little boy swimming in the polluted waters because he didn't have anywhere else to play.
And the fact that one of the only two jobs available to these adults is that of a bike rider ferrying people around and that they do that job for one dollar a day.

Did you hear that? One dollar a day. 

It made me think about all the little things that I spend my money on that cost more than one dollar a day.  To be honest, I just ran some errands and picked up a hamburger while I was out that cost four times what one person with two children makes in a day.

And while $38 a month seems like a large amount on the onset.  Especially for those just starting out or in college.  That's only 9 hamburgers like the one I just ate.  That I bought without even thinking about because I knew I had a couple dollars in the bottom of my purse and change to cover it.

I'm pretty sure that I am going to start looking at a single dollar and what it can buy a lot differently.  Compared with the reality that it is someone's daily wage, my hamburger doesn't sound so tempting.  And the Sonic drink that I pick up on the way to pick Charlotte up from school almost sounds bad.  There's no way to get those dollars to that particular woman but I can save those dollars instead of spending them and donate them in many ways to Compassion.  I could sponsor a child.  Or donate to the Unsposored child fund so that little girl can continue to receive help while she waits on a sponsor.  Or buy a chicken or a cow.  Or so many other ways that I could give in a one time way.

If you want to know more about my experience with Compassion just send me an email (talesofapeanut at gmail dot com).  I'd love to talk with you about it.  And if you can't donate or get involved, please pray.  These children need encouragement and love so much and your prayers will never return void.

Compassion Christmas Cards

At the beginning of the month I blogged about the project to send Christmas cards to unsponsored children.  Tonight I made a card on Shutterfly's website (I got a $20 off card in some software that I bought) and I like how they turned out.  I was able to modify the text how I wanted it and added a personal note encouraging the children on the back that will be translated.  I encourage you to send Christmas cards whether they are extra's from years past, ones you pick up at the dollar store, or ones that you order online like I did.  It will mean so much to children who are unsponsored to know that there are people praying for them!

(And in the effort of full disclosure, I was going to blog about this anyway because I wanted to get the picture in my blog archives but by embedding the following picture from Shutterfly I also get a $10 credit.  If you order from them and blog about it you can get one too!)

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

As you may know, we support Compassion International.  We feel like it is a solid organization who provides so much for so many underprivileged children around the world.  The connection that you can make with a sponsored child helps you and your children feel involved in a personal way as opposed to just giving money to a general organization.  And Compassion has consistently been ranked very well by organizations who audit non-profits for how they manage their money and how much of donations actually go to the children.

We sponsor a little girl in Rwanda that we sponsored after Charlotte was born.  We chose Ingabire because she and Charlotte share a birthday.  We recently sponsored a little boy in Belize who shares a birthday with James.  We hope that by sponsoring children with such a special connection to our children will help them identify with our sponsored children and learn so many lessons as they are growing up about giving back,  helping those in need, being Jesus to others, and how we have something in common even with someone with as different a background.

In the past I have blogged about ways to help the children of Compassion that don't involve sponsoring a child.  I have another way that you can do that today.  Compassion is ready to accept Christmas cards to be sent to unsponsored children.  Children could wait for months on the waiting list before being sponsored and these Christmas cards will help those children feel connected during such an important time.


You can Christmas cards for these children to:

Compassion International

Attn: Suzanne Hall

Colorado Springs, CO 80997

Compassion will translate any messages that you write in the cards and then get the cards to unsponsored children.  Because they need time to translate the messages and get them distributed, they must have all cards in hand by NOVEMBER 4th!  Something that takes so little time, effort, and money could make a child's Christmas.  If you are willing and able, God can use something so simple to make a big difference in a child's life.

Compassion International

In case you aren't following the Compassion Bloggers who are in the Philippines right now, you should be.    And if you have any questions about Compassion check out this post from Shaun Groves that spells it all out.

We have been sponsoring a little girl, Ingabire, in Rwanda since Charlotte was born (we chose her because she and Charlotte have the same birthday) and are looking forward to adding a little boy who shares a birthday with James in the fall.  Compassion is a great organization that is doing magnificent work for the kingdom of God around the Earth and they always need more support because there are always more children who need to be sponsored.

Check out the bloggers and their stories and check out some of the children waiting to be sponsored.  Your $37 a month could make a huge difference in a child's life.

The Ultimate Christmas Gift

I have blogged before about my passion for the Compassion International project.  Our family supports a little girl in Rwanda that shares a birthday with Charlotte and getting letters and pictures from her are by far the highlights of mail time. 

Many of you  joined with us and made Christmas cards to be sent to Compassion children in Ecuador.  442 cards were created by individuals just like yourself and were hand delivered to children in Ecuador who might not receive a card otherwise.

Another way that you can help these children this Christmas season is by giving a gift through the Gifts of Compassion catalog.  You have the opportunity to make a huge impact on the life of a child with as little as ten dollars!  Gifts in the catalog range from a mosquito net to a goat, cow, or major surgery.  Any gift would be appreciated and I know that I would be so happy to have someone buy one of these items for me this Christmas!

Sometimes Christmas gets so wrapped up in the commercial and the gifts and the parties that we lose sight of the real reason that we celebrate.  We celebrate because Jesus, God's only son, came to earth to live as a man.  He was born and lived a perfect life and then subjected himself to the most brutal of deaths for me.  For you.  For everyone on this earth so that, if his gift of salvation is accepted, everyone can live for all eternity with him in heaven.  By supporting Compassion with your prayers and your gifts you can help them spread the word of Christ's love to the impoverished children of the world.  Just think about maybe sacrificing a dinner out or one stocking stuffer and instead buy a soccer ball, a chicken, or a vaccination for a child that needs to know that someone cares for them. 

If you would like to make a more permanent commitment you can click on the Compassion button on my sidebar to sponsor a child for only $38 dollars a month.  Such a little gift but the reaches of that one sacrifice could be exponential with God's blessings.

I know that the economy is hard right now and some of you might be suffering in your own right.  But if you have extra this Christmas just think about giving a little bit of it back.  You will be thankful that you did.

I never thought I'd say this but I think I'm buying a chicken for Christmas! :)

Compassion Christmas Cards

After Charlotte was born last year, Jason and I sat down and searched the Compassion International databases for a child that we could sponsor who had the same birthday as Charlotte.  We wanted to sponsor a child that Charlotte could relate to if in no other reason that they shared the same birthday and we thought we could greatly help the life of a child somewhere else and teach Charlotte a lot of valuable lessons as she grew up.  So we adopted a little girl from Rwanda named Ingabire who was born on May 22, 2003.  And as we began writing her and hearing back from her our hearts were blessed in a multitude of ways.  Reading about how smart she is and how she excels in her studies and being able to encourage her to continue her efforts makes me think that she will be able to advance herself and possibly get out of poverty by the time that she is an adult.  Right now Jason and I are the ones who are blessed by this relationship.  But since we have agreed to sponsor Ingabire monthly until she reaches the age of 18, soon Charlotte will get involved and start feeling like she's making a small impact also. 

One of the things that Compassion asks sponsors to do is to write their child.  They have a way on their website for you to email your child and they also encourage you to handwrite letters and send your child pictures.  Compassion writes about how much these letters and words of love and encouragement mean to these children who have so very little.  We do what we can to encourage and love on Ingabire as do many others who sponsor a child.  However, there are children that are still waiting for a sponsor.  These children aren't getting sponsor letters and Christmas cards like the children that are sponsored are. 

Right now Compassion and Dayspring are teaming up on a Christmas Card campaign hoping to provide Christmas cards with words of love and encouragement for 100 unsponsored children in Ecuador.  A team will be traveling to Ecuador December 11-16th to hand deliver these cards to the children who desperately need words of hope.  And you can be involved.

You can read this post on the Incourage website to find out more about the project.  Or you can follow the steps below to make a huge impact in one child's (or many children's) life!

1. Click here to go to the Studio DaySpring Christmas Card Drive page.

2. Design a card for a super special kid in Ecuador just dying to hear from YOU (for as little as $1.99).
3. Tell them what makes them so worth celebrating this Christmas season.
4. Include a photo of you and your family and a little bit about you so they know who the card’s coming from – kids LOVE photos!
5. Bear in mind we’ll need some room on the card to translate your message into Spanish.
6. Add to Cart and Voila – you’ve just created a Christmas message that will be hand delivered from you to a child in Ecuador. Our team will be there December 11-16.

You can make a difference in a child's life!  This takes so little effort and so little money (really! $1.99 is all that it will cost you!) and the effects of this one action can be monumentous.  Please join us in reaching out to these children and helping spread the good news of Christ's birth and your love to those that need it most.  And if you want to do more and can take $38 a month and sponsor a child, the blessings you receive and the impact you can make will make every sacrifice worth it.

Compassion Trip to India

Check out the image on my sidebar about the Compassion Bloggers trip to India.   You can click on the image to go to their blog page where you can follow them on their trip.

Also, if you Twitter you can search for "compassionIndia" to get all tweets that people are writing about the trip.  If you want to join in just put #compassionIndia in your tweet and it will go into this grouping.  Some of the amazing people that you can follow all the time (or just while they're in India) are @angiec519 (Angie Smith - Bring the Rain), @pwilson (Pete Wilson - Without Wax), @theshaungroves (Shaun Groves), @spencesmith, @keelymarie, and @flowerdust.

Keep praying for them as they start their journey today!

Compassion Trip to the Dominican Republic

Some of the blogs that I read most often are heavily involved with Compassion International.  BooMama has been to Uganda with Compassion in the past.  And Melanie (Big Mama) and Marlboro Man and his two children are in the Dominican Republic right now with Compassion.  I've been reading their posts since they've been gone and let me tell you, they're amazing.  Go check out Compassion's Dominican Republic trip blog and then go and check out their individual blogs.  You'll be changed just by reading the posts.