Day 14: Mail Call Monday

One of my correspondent children, Saithan, is just so cute and precious. I received a letter from her, one of the form letters, but it's still so good to hear from her!

Saithan is learning lots of things at her project! She has learned how to respect her elders and friends. She is also learning about how "God is all powerful and the father of living and non-living things".

Under "message for my sponsor", she writes:

Dear Roland and Sharon Landers, Thank you for your letter and sweet family photo. I'm fine due to God's grace. I'm proud to be your sponsoring child. Please pray for me and my family."

She drew a picture of a very colorful house...purple and blue and orange and yellow, with flowers in a pot. She wrote "bai bai" on top of the house.

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 13: Beatriz...changes

We received our new pictures and information in the mail about Beatriz, our sponsored child in Brazil. When we first started sponsoring her, she looked so young. She was 8 years old, and now she is almost 11. We hope to someday visit her on a sponsor tour. She is so precious to us!

Look at how much she is growing!

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 12: Child Survival Program

In our most recent issue of our advocate newsletter, there is an article by Karen Spencer, Advocate Ministry Manager for the Southeast Region. The article is call "Spotlight on CSP...the Child Survival Program".

I'll admit that I don't know all that much about this program, but I do know that it's yet one other way that Compassion serves poverty-stricken children and their mothers.

A few take-away points that I learned from this article are...

1. CPS (Child Survival Program) will expand to Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Togo in the fiscal year 2013-2014. Once they expand, CSP will be operational in all 26 countries in which Compassion ministers.
2. CPS provides a home-based and center-based approach to ministry
3. Survival specialists go on home visits to give their support, encouragement and benefits of this program.
4. These specialists make sure that babies and toddlers receive nutritious food and supplements to help them grow strong and healthy. They share spiritual guidance and teaching to the mothers.
5. On a practical basis, they train the mothers to prepare nutritious meals, how to interact with their children, how to recognize when their child needs a doctor, and other great information.

You can start a sponsorship for this program for just $20 monthly. This sponsorship helps to provide food, supplements, health care, and many other development training and tools for the mothers and their children.

I learned a great deal from this article, and I encourage everyone who is an advocate to read it and pray about how each of us can help raise awareness for this program.

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 11: How you can help

Did you know that, as a sponsor, you can affect the life of a child living in a developing country and help that child grow in confidence and faith?

To become a sponsor, the small cost of $38 each month provides a wealth of opportunities and service to these children and their families. It helps to provide:

• educational opportunities
• basic health services
• encouragement, love and guidance through a local church

You also have the very great blessing of writing your child and receiving letters from your child. You get to know them through this personal correspondence. You can give them encouragement and hope. YOU can play a vital role in your child's life!

Being a sponsor is one of the greatest blessings I've received in my life. I love being a sponsor, and you will, too. Take a look at the many children listed on Compassion's website. One of those sweet faces could be the face of the child that is just waiting for you to take the step of sponsorship!

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 10: Compassion International

Who is Compassion International? This is taken directly from one of their brochures...

Compassion International is a Christian child development ministry founded in 1952. They assist more than 1 million children in 26 developing countries. Their goal is to develop children in poverty so they will become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.

Compassion is:

~Christ Centered
"We ensure that every child hears the gospel in a culturally relevant way, and has the opportunity to trust Jesus. We hope to lead children into a lifestyle of faith and commitment to God."

~Child Focused
"Compassion engages children as complete individuals, addressing their spiritual, economic, social and physical needs."

~Church Based
"All of our programs are carried out by the local church in the communities where the children we serve live. We minister to children, regardless of religious affiliation."

~Committed to Integrity
Compassion consistently receives high ratings from independent auditing firms and watchdog organizations. Every year, more than 80 percent of total expenditures are spent directly on children's programs."

In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults.

Become a sponsor and change the world for one child!

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 9: Christmas letters

Compassion has said that if we want to send Christmas packages and letters to our sponsored children,we should send them by no later than October 31st. I'm working on my letters and cards. Just need to shop for some goodies to send!

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 8: Focus on Burkina Faso

This is the first of a series of posts on Compassion-sponsored countries. Let's look at Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso is a country located in West Africa. It's surrounded by Mali, Niger, Benin, togo and Ghana, and the Ivory Coast. It's slightly larger than Colorado.

The population is a little over 15 million, with 57% being below the poverty line. About 77% of the population is unemployed.

The life expectancy for males is about 51 years, and for females it's 54 years. Now, that makes an impact! Infant mortality is 86/1,000 live births.

Provided by Compassion International
www.compassion.com


In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 7: Bible verses

Compassion has compiled a list of bible verses on children and the poor. Let's get our bibles out, look up these verses, and then pray for the Lord to guide you on how you can help.

Galatians 2:10 -- "All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."

Luke 14:13 -- "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind."

1 Corinthians 13:3 -- "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."

Proverbs 19:17 -- "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done."

Jeremiah 22:16 -- "He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know Me?' declares the Lord."

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 6: Helping on a tight budget

To start this post, I'm going to copy a statement from another Compassion blogger. (I'm sorry that I don't remember which one. If I find it again, I'll post the link to her blog!)

"With today's economy and political debate going haywire, it's more important than ever to address our commitment to the children we sponsor. This is just as vital as connecting other un-sponsored children with sponsors."

Those two sentences really spoke to me. When my husband and I decided to sponsor our little Beatriz in Brazil, we weren't really "deciding" to do that. We just answered God's call and obeyed. We were excited, and still are, but over time, we've found that our commitment, while still strong, doesn't have that "spark". Quite often, sponsors experience financial struggles and find it hard to maintain that initial excitement and commitment. Many times, sponsors lose that passion that they first had towards their sponsored child, and without engagement by their church, or a local Compassion advocate, or even other sponsors, it sort of can get lost in the shuffle.

There are many ways to become and stay involved even if the budget is tight. Listed below are a few ideas to get us started. I have a great opportunity to become "the Compassion person" at my church, and I plan to start engaging sponsors and potential sponsors as much as possible. Some of these ideas were adapted from other blogs, and some are things that I just thought of as I'm writing this post.

~Buy a world map from Barnes & Noble and put it on a bulletin board at your church. If you have a gym or a hallway or room where information about missions is placed, those would be good locations for the map. If you know some sponsors in your church, ask them where their sponsored children live, and then put a thumbtack or push pin in their country. You can even put the children's pictures on the map and ask people to pray specifically for them.

~Sponsor get-togethers: This can be not only a great way to keep sponsors engaged and excited, but it's also a good way for the ladies of your church to stay connected. Make it a potluck or pizza night. Food is always a draw. Ask each person to bring any extra supplies they may have on hand, such as stationery, stickers, envelopes, blank cards...anything that you would normally send your sponsored child. Create an exchange table, where sponsors can exchange, give-and-take supplies. Write letters to your sponsored children at these gatherings. It's a good way to stay accountable for writing those letters!

~Several sponsors can go in together to sponsor a child. I know of several people who do this. You can take turns writing the letters and sending the little "goodies".

~Start a blog! My blog isn't really off and running yet, mainly because I haven't promoted it, but that's going to change very soon. Even if you have only your friends and family reading it, who knows if one of your posts will prompt someone to think about sponsorship?

~Add a tag line to your email signatures. I've had a tag line on all my emails for some time now, and recently, I found out that someone (don't know who) sponsored a child under my advocate number. Hoping to plant many more seeds along the way!

~Carry a picture of your sponsored child in your bible, and every time you come across the picture, pray for your child. Show the picture to others at church. Makes a great ice-breaker for that conversation about sponsorship!

Just one final thought...You don't have to be an official Compassion advocate to do these things. Sponsors can schedule get-togethers with other sponsors, add an email tag line, carry your child's picture in your bible...and the list goes on. If you feel called to be an advocate, great! If that isn't something that the Lord has called you to do, you can still make a huge impact as a sponsor.

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon

Day 5: Potential

As I look through the faces of the children featured on the Compassion website, those who need sponsors, I wonder how many of them would like to grow up to be doctors or nurses, teachers, farmers, missionaries....how many have dreams of one day going to college...one day attending seminary...one day being able to visit another country, such as the USA or Ireland or France...and making their dreams come true.

What potential in those sweet faces! This little girl wants to be a teacher but she doesn't even attend school now because her family can't afford it. That little boy would love to one day become a doctor, but he's very sick and his family can't afford the medicine to make him well.  Those two little ones would love to one day have their own farm, with cows and horses and chickens and sheep, and garden after garden of vegetables, but they have no food to eat of their own.

You can help by sponsoring one sweet precious child. That's all it takes. One at a time. Sponsor a child and provide hope for them to reach their potential, make their dreams come true.

Look through the faces at Compassion's website, www.compassion.com, and search your heart, find the one that God has chosen just for you. Help them reach their potential and change the world, one child at a time, in the name of Jesus!

In His peaceful presence,

Sharon