Compassion Mobile Experience!

Compassion International has come up with a wonderful and exciting way to share the story of children in poverty. There's no way that I could explain it any better than Compassion does, so I'll just copy and paste their words from the Compassion website.  ( www.compassion.com )

Change the Story...what is it?

It's a traveling, interactive exhibit that allows you to journey through the lives of three real-life children who are affected not only by extreme poverty, but also by the Compassion ministry.

The Experience
What if you could see poverty firsthand? What if, despite age, health or finances, others could experience God's heart for the poor?

Now you can.

Change the Story will bring you as close to another country and culture as you can get without a passport. This interactive, immersive display allows you to step into the life of a child who has suffered under the crippling weight of poverty.

But the journey does not end there.

In the span of less than 30 minutes, you will travel with that child from hardship to hope. And in the midst of hope, you will see that child's story transformed through the support of Compassion and the child's life-giving relationship with a sponsor.

Change the Story is an eye-opening experience that challenges your views of poverty, transforms your understanding of the world, and moves you to be the change for a child who lives in extreme poverty!

Go here to find out where the Compassion Mobile Experience will land near you!

In His grace,


Sharon

I welcome your comments!

Introducing...Armando

Meet my newest correspondent child, Armando from Guatemala! Isn't he just the most precious little boy?!?

Armando just turned 7 years old last month. He lives with his mother. He likes soccer and football, and hide-and-seek! And, he also likes cars (a typical little boy "like"). The information that I received indicates that the family is in extreme poverty, and they don't have money to send Armando to school. That just breaks my heart. I'm going to try to send him not just fun things in my letters, but educational as well.


Armando lives in the mountainous community of Totonicapan. Typical houses are constructed of cement floors, mud walls and tile roofs. The most common language is Quiche. (Note to self: research Quiche. I've never heard of it.)


His little face looks so sad. I hope that through my letters to him, I can bring a smile to that sweet face. Please pray for Armando today.


In His grace,


Sharon

Ker-plooey

Well, I'm not sure I spelled that right, but my printer went ker-plooey on me! I have one of those printer/scanner/copier things and I don't know what happened, but it's acting wonky. So, I can't scan my bookmarks, as I mentioned in my previous post. I guess I'll have to get another one. We do have a smaller color printer but it doesn't have a scanner. In the meantime, I can always take pictures of things and upload the pictures, so that's what I'll do with the bookmarks. Look for those sometime in the next few days (along with some other ideas, coming soon!).


In His grace,


Sharon

Bookmarks

So many of us sponsors have those standard items that we send to our Compassion children...things like stickers, lapbooks, pictures, coloring pages, and bookmarks. Today, I'd like to give you a few ideas on different kinds of bookmarks to send. (Note: I plan to add pictures to this post this weekend; right now, though, here are a few thoughts. Some new sponsors may find inspiration from this post!)


Bookmark how-to
You can either make your own bookmarks by taking scrapbook paper (my favorite, since I love to scrapbook!) or construction paper, and cutting it into the standard bookmark size (about 1-1/2" x 6-1/2"). Of course, you can make it smaller or larger, depending on your preferences.


A few ideas on what to put on your bookmarks...


Bible verses: Write out your favorite bible verse! Your sponsored child will love to receive this from you! If you have access to a labeling machine, or a computer, just type it and print it out. Another idea is to buy some stamps with bible verses. You can find these in the scrapbook section of your local stores, such as Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby (my favorite!), Michael's, and of course scrapbook stores if you're fortunate enough to have one in your town. We have several where I live, and they have a wonderful selection of stamps to choose from. Buy your favorite color inkpad and you're all set.


Your child's picture: When you make your bookmark, you can print out your child's picture and glue it on to the front. If you're creative enough, cut out a small square or oval at the top of the bookmark, glue the picture on the back so that the picture shows through and then glue another bookmark on the back of that. Remember that ribbon normally is not accepted, so you could "pretty it up" with stickers and colored markers.


Print out your child's name in big colorful letters, or use stickers, and glue it on to the front of the bookmark. I did this recently for my little Beatriz in Brazil and it turned out great! I'll post a picture of it later.


Laminate it! I did this on the bookmark I sent Beatriz with her name on it. It makes it a little nicer and will hold up longer than just a paper bookmark. Hobby Lobby has several small laminators you can choose from that are fairly inexpensive. I use my "purple cow" laminator for lots of different things!


Be creative...have fun!


In His grace,


Sharon




I would love to hear your comments and ideas!

Ideas coming...

One of my goals for this blog is to post about a few specific things on a regular basis. I'd like to start posting ideas for letter writing, have a mail call posting schedule, and to definitely post about children needing sponsors. All of these posts will be done on a regular schedule. I'm working on a few more ideas as well, so please check back often and share my blog with others. I'd love to build up a following because the more people who read my blog, the more people will be aware of Compassion and more children will be sponsored!


Thought for today: If you go by Starbuck's on the way to work every morning, could you possibly cut that back to once or twice a week and with the money you save, it may be enough to sponsor another child! I've been trying to think of ways to save enough so that I can add another child. Wouldn't that be a great way to do it?


Have a blessed day!


In His grace,


Sharon

What more?

Spring cleaning...it's something that I dread and know I really need to do, but put it off as long as possible. Those ceiling fans could really use a good cleaning because it's one of those things that I just don't think about wiping off each week. And, those dust bunnies everywhere! Our hardwood floor isn't quite as shiny as when it was put down. The bathrooms sure could use a good scrubdown, and don't even get me started on my closets! (Well, that sentence just popped my big happy balloon!) Don't we all feel this way sometimes? I know I do, more often than I want to admit. I'm quite blessed, but sometimes, I don't appreciate what I have quite as much as I should!


And, then I visit the Compassion website, and blogs of sponsors who have gone to visit their sponsored children. I look at their houses made of cardboard and mud and whatever materials they can get their hands on. I read about the people in those other countries who are joyful at the thought of being able to eat one small meal on any given day. I look through countless faces on the Compassion website, wondering if today might be the day that this precious little boy will become sponsored. Or, that beautiful little girl will have her heart broken once again on the next letter delivery day when her name isn't called.


I look at what I have, and I feel so blessed but I also feel so selfish. Who am I to deserve this house, this car, these clothes I'm wearing, the freedom to worship when and where I want, the money to go buy a new pair of shoes when my old ones wear out? So many blessings I have, but so many children who need sponors and who would be grateful for clean water.


My husband and I have sponsored a little girl (Beatriz) in Brazil for a little over a year now. I'm also correspondent sponsor to Hosea in Tanzania, and Andre in Indonesia. It's such a blessing to have this opportunity, and I'm grateful. But, I look around my house, and see all the things that just sit there, looking pretty but not really useful. I look at my house, which isn't a huge house, but it's brick, not made of mud and cardboard.


Sometimes, I stand with the pantry door open, or the freezer, and wonder..."what can I fix for dinner tonight? we have nothing in here; I need to go to the store, but I don't really want to get out...I really need to re-fill the freezer, and I will next time I go to the meat market...guess I'll fix the old standby of hamburgers or spaghetti..." All of these thoughts, whirling around in my head, and on the Compassion website are faces of hundreds of children who don't know where their next meal is coming from.


I feel so...I don't know...blessed, yes, but also so unworthy of what the Lord has blessed me with. Questions start popping into my mind...how can I share what I have? what else can I do? how can I shave off a few more dollars from our budget so that we can sponsor another child?


Two questions keep popping into my mind...what more can I do and how can I make it happen?


I'm on a journey to find out the answers.


In His grace,


Sharon

Keilyn needs a sponsor!

This beautiful little girl is Keilyn and she needs a sponsor today! Keilyn lives in El Salvador, on the plains of Cacaopera. Typical houses are constructed of tin and have dirt floors. With your sponsorship of Keilyn, she will receive bible teaching, medical checkups, and academic reinforcement.


I have her child packet and it expires today! Please prayerfully consider sponsoring this precious little girl. Contact me at firemom82(at)gmail(dot)com.

In His Grace,


Sharon

The New Our Compassion site!

Our Compassion, which is a social network designed by Compassion International for sponsors and advocates, has transitioned to a new forum-type network. They launched it yesterday, and I'm very excited about it! This is a place where sponsors can connect with each other, learning and growing and sharing, getting ideas for letter writing, posting prayer requests, and much more.


They're working through a few minor system bugs. As with any new system, there are those little kinks that will need to be ironed out, but just from what I can tell by glancing through it, this new site is awesome!

Check it out! 


In His grace,


Sharon

Survive 125

Imagine having to choose between eating moldy food or starving. Or, getting your child a vaccine which may prevent her from contracting a disease or buying enough food for one meal.

Now, you can find out what it’s like to make these very difficult decisions by playing “Survive125”, a game created by 58: and designed to allow you to get just a glimpse into the kind of world that many people live in daily.

Did you know that well over a billion people around the world are living in extreme poverty? The purpose of Survive 125 is to get through one month surviving on $1.25 per day.

I played this game and I was shocked at the choices that I had to make on a daily basis. I read the questions and tried my best to put myself in this woman’s place, to really know and understand, and try to make the best choice possible for each scenario. Sometimes, I felt like I made a good choice, only to find out later how that single choice would affect another area of my life.

58: is an unprecedented global alliance of Christians, churches and world-class poverty-fighting organizations working together to end extreme poverty in our lifetime by living the True Fast of Isaiah 58.

Give it a try yourself by going to this link. Then, I would love to know what you think about it. Come back here and leave a comment letting me know how you did.

Here’s the link again:  http://www.live58.org/survive125

In His grace,

Sharon

Changes to Letters

The other day, I received an email from Compassion about the upcoming changes to the letter-writing process. Of course, we've known that these changes were coming, and it's been a much-talked about topic for months! There are pro's and con's, those for and those against these upcoming changes. I haven't really given it a lot of thought. I'm just happy to get those letters any time I get them! And, of course, let's go back to the reason we sponsor to begin with. I certainly don't sponsor for what I might get out of it! I write letters to my sponsored children whether or not they write me back. So, with that said, here is the explanation about the new letter-writing process, quoted directly from Compassion.

Compassion is excited to announce that we are implementing a new letter-writing process starting July 1, 2012!

Compassion is committed to nurturing positive, healthy, developmental relationships between sponsors and children. We also are committed to the effective stewardship of program resources. We believe that these changes allow for the best use of resources while enabling the best correspondence experience for the greatest number of sponsors and children.

As such, beginning in July you will notice the following changes: 

New Letter from Someone Who Knows Your Child's Program To enhance the relationship between our sponsors and their Compassion-assisted children Compassion is introducing a new letter from someone who knows your child's program on a one-on-one basis and who can you give you better insight into your child's life. 

New Themed Letter Writing Templates In addition to this new letter, Compassion-assisted children under the age of eight will utilize specialized thematic templates to encourage them to share more about their family, favorite hobbies and sports, dreams, Christian education, and the Compassion center they attend. The new templates will also include sections for prayer requests, questions, drawing and coloring, and more. 

New Reciprocal Letter Process Besides these new and exciting changes we are also deploying a reciprocal letter process where each child will have the opportunity to write you their sponsor as soon as they receive a letter you. Therefore, if you enjoy writing letters to your child, you will receive a letter from your him or her every 60 days. Although responding to each of your letters is ultimately your Compassion-assisted child's decision, they are required to write you a letter twice per year.**Please note our country offices will have to process more letters that may require additional time.

So, there you have it. Happy writing!

In His grace,

Sharon