Humbled by sponsoring...

Hello everyone, I am just humbled today when I think of how much my sponsor children teach me. They are praying for me and my health! They are praying for my happiness and that I continue to have all I need. WOW! I know I pray for my kids every day for their families, health, schooling, spiritual journal, for their finances.... the list goes on. For me to have more than they do, and worry about my own problems... let's just say that my little ones taught me the value of putting all confidence in God and surrendering all my troubles to Him. He always comes through and will always provide me with what I need to survive each day. Thank you Jesus for always being there for me and for my sponsor children. I love you and I praise you in Jesus name, Amen and Amen!

Please take a moment and review some of these videos of sponsor children sending messages to their sponsors. Though they are very short, I get a tear every time I see them. Enjoy and please feel free to share them with others!


Sponsors really do make a difference!

Thank you for sponsoring me....

Thank you Sponsors! We love you!

Thank You Message from Dr. Wess Stafford

Thank you from Compassion International - East India

Parents celebrating upon hearing their child has been sponsored - Ghana

OurCompassion

OurCompassion is a cause-driven social network dedicated to connecting those committed to releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name. This has been an amazing resource to me as a sponsor and as a child advocate with Compassion. 

In addition to the social networking piece with other sponsors and advocates, OurCompassion allows you to:

• Ask any questions regarding letter writing, sponsor tours, or things to send to sponsor children. Within such a sort time, other sponsors reply with comments, suggestions, advice, and prayers in regards to your questions;
•  Post journals about your ideas or experiences as a child sponsor; 
• Share in joys and sorrows as a follower of Christ;  
• Join interest groups surrounding topics you are passionate about;
•   Learn more about your sponsor child's Compassion project; 
• Network with other sponsors within the same project as your child. 

The list goes on! Please considering joining OurCompassion today and share in the joys of others who are working to release children from poverty in Jesus' name!

Water of Life

Its amazing how we can access clean water in so many ways, we can bring this opportunity to others! Compassion's Water of Life, a safe water system goes to the heart of one of the greatest and most urgent needs in developing countries today – providing safe drinking water to children and their families.

When you give to Compassion's Water of Life, you are not only giving safe drinking water, you are protecting a child from life-threatening diseases and allowing that child to go to school, to dream and reach their full potential.

Here are some action steps to get involved.

- Donate to Water of Life: $55 provides:

• Compassion's Water of Life system – safe water for life (over 1 million gallons) for a child and their family in developing countries. 
• Education on improving hygiene and sanitation
• Support for improving community water and sanitation sources where needed.

- Vote for Compassion International in the water.org contest to take over their Twitter account to raise awareness about the problem of unsafe drinking water and inadequate water supplies in the developing world. There are only 2 days left so vote now!

- Get involved by either giving a Water of Life presentation with your church and or raising money towards the cause. 

Mail Call from Mexico.... AGAIN!!

Last week was such a great week posting updates from the letters I have received from my sponsor children. I was totally not expecting to receive ANOTHER letter in the mail. This letter came from my dear Nury in Mexico. It was dated June 10, 2011 and was received August 22, 2011.

Hello Sponsor,


I hope you and your family are in good health. I hope you can come here someday too. I'm going to finish 3rd grade and start 4th grade. I'm praying for you and your family. Thank you for all the letters you have sent me. Thank you for the sticker and the letter; they are so pretty. May God bless you and your family. Thank you for the magazines. How are your students? Tell them I send greetings to them. May God bless all your students and you. My school year starts August 22nd and finishes on July 1st. I have a dog named Ritch. Please pray for my family and for me. I would like to ask you how long you have been working? I want to thank you for all the letters you have sent me.

Nury 

I was incredibly touched that Nury was praying for my family and I, but to also pray for my first grade students was the tear-jerker! I was also very happy to receive the beautiful new stationary that Michelle had mentioned in her blog. 

Here is a picture that I received this month of Nury and her birthday present of choice from the money I sent. So great to see a smile on her face. Looks great on her!

Growing Up in Compassion

I love photo updates of my sponsor children! I wanted to take a chance to share some of them here with you. I have updates for 2 out of my 3 children. Please also check back for for when I receive my correspondent children packets!

First is Chatchai from Thailand. I began sponsoring him when he was only 4. He is now 6 years old. Such a sweetheart and so glad to have received an updated picture!

Here is my Nury from Mexico. She is 10 years old now. I began sponsoring her when she was 9. Very soon after I received her child packet in the mail, an updated picture showed up online. She is growing up beautifully and looks so cute in green.

Last, but not least, is my dear Yamairy from Dominican Republic. I do not have an updated picture from her yet, but I look forward to seeing a big smile on her face when it does come.

Life is too short and we never know when our Savior will bring us home. I am just so blessed that for the time being He has brought these children into my life. I laugh and cry with what they share with me in my letters. I have all of the pictures they have drawn for me in a special folder that I pull out to look at from time to time. They soon will receive pictures from my of my new class and pictures of my family.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words... but I know for a fact that these kids mean so much more than that to our Lord. I encourage everyone to send pictures to your sponsored children as often as you can... even if you do not receive anything in return. Let them know that you are really there and that you love them and pray for them.

Blogging for Compassion

Prior to my time on OurCompassion, I wasn't exactly one to follow a lot of blogs. The Compassion Blogs, however, have been more than just blogs. It has been a great resource for sponsors and potential sponsors alike. The Compassion Blog was actually the inspiration for creating this blog. I wanted to take the time to give credit to this wonderful resource that this incredible organization has provided us with. Here are some of my favorite and most helpful blogs in no particular order. I encourage you to check them out when you get the chance.

Top Ten Compassion Blogs (Not in any particular order)

1.      Funny Things Kids Say: As a first grade teacher, one of my favorite benefits aside from seeing all those “a-ha” moments are the funny things that kids say. This has reigned true with the things my sponsor children say. It can range from touching my heart that I want to cry, to just being so-darn cute! http://blog.compassion.com/funny-things-kids-say/

2.      Sponsorship in Six Words: This one was a thinker – how to explain the impact of sponsorship into only six words was challenging – but I loved all the creative responses. Mine – “A child changed my life forever.” http://blog.compassion.com/sponsorship-in-six-words/

3.      Write Your Child the Second Friday of Every Month: I never realized the importance of letter writing until hearing the stories of the children waiting for “mail day” and finding out that they did not receive a letter from their sponsor. This just broke my heart. Before, I would just write when I received a response from my sponsor child. Now, I just write whenever God puts them on my heart… regardless if I have received a response back or not. To them, it means more knowing that someone out there loves them and is thinking of them. http://blog.compassion.com/letter-writing-club/

4.      This Is Where You Come In: This one hit close to home for two reasons. One, I love Compassion and support it 100%. Two, I have a brother with Autism who participates in Special Olympics. This was an amazing story of a young girl with special needs who went through Compassion International and Special Olympics! http://blog.compassion.com/this-is-where-you-come-in-special-olympics-2011/

5.      Delivering Hope: I participated in this! This was such great idea and opportunity to write letters to Compassion’s children who are still waiting for a sponsor. God does not let their prayers go un-heard! http://blog.compassion.com/deliver-hope/

6.      A Mission to Further Your Mission: Join Our Street Team: I love how Compassion is mission forward in this day in age to evangelize through social media. This is a great idea and I love completing orders to save up for a future sponsor tour!If you are interested in joining, please go to Helpful Links and click on "Compassion: The Official Street Team"  http://blog.compassion.com/street-team-fancorps-compassion-international/

7.      The Real Problem is the Malaria: This video was the same clip I shared with my first grade class. We have been raising money for bite-back as a class community service project. It was only supposed to be for one month, but the students have been so excited about sharing about how malaria affects children their age, they chose to continue raising money for it! http://blog.compassion.com/malaria-begins-with-a-bite-bite-back/

8.      Haiti Earthquake Update: It was so devastating to hear that the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere had lost so much. This blog was a great resource to hear about what Compassion was doing in response to this traumatic situation. http://blog.compassion.com/haiti-earthquake-update/

9.      Should I Visit My Sponsored Child?: Like many other sponsors, I hope to visit my sponsor children someday. This blog was a great resource to evaluate my finances and the worth of taking a sponsor tour to visit my children. http://blog.compassion.com/sponsor/

10   Letter Writing Ideas: Though I know that sending money gifts are always an option, it is still something to know that I put time and thought into something I send to my sponsor children. This blog was a great resource to bounce off ideas with other sponsors. http://blog.compassion.com/letter-writing-ideas/

Mail Call from Mexico!

My third and final letter that I received this month was from my dear Nury. It was dated May 19, 2011 and was received August 15, 2011.

Dear Maria,

I hope you are in very good health along with all your family. I'm very happy for my birthday gift that was a very nice skirt with flounces (I picture a skirt either with tiers or with ruffles). May God Bless you and I hope you send me a picture and more letters soon. Thank you for all the letters you have sent me. I'm going to dance at school in July and I'm going to pass to grade 4 and I hope to have new partners (classmates?) and also my new teacher. Thanks for the magazine. My parents send regards and I do too. I want to tell you that I also love you very much.

Thank you because I received my birthday gift for my birthday.

Nury


Nothing warms my heart more than to know that these children experiencing the love of Christ through Compassion's ministry and in turn are sharing it with their families. I truly hope that one day I might meet Nury, Yamairy, and Chatchai.... Until then, I will treasure the letters I receive from them and continue to develop our relationship with each other and the Lord.

Have a blessed week and write to your sponsor child if you haven't already!