Let the children come...

 This was shared with me and I wanted to take the time to share it with you.

Matthew 19:14. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA


This hit me so close to home, being a first grade teacher myself. I just can't imagine what the families of those who were lost feel. I believe and trust in God's authority over all things - including anything that the enemy tries to throw at us. The children were ready now to go to what will be our heavenly home. Though I do not believe in the hype about 12/21/12, I also have no doubt that the end times are coming.

As the day of our Savior's birth draws near, you can help save a young life and get some last minutes gifts taken care of now! Please join me in prayer for all those lost and left behind in Newtown, CT. Consider donating to Compassion International in honor of the 26 lives lost there and the countless other children living in poverty that are lost daily to preventable diseases. I encourage each of you to pray on what and how God wants you to answer His call to bring others the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Compassion International Gift Catalog 2012 

Rescue Babies and Mothers - Child Survival Program 

Sponsor a Child Today - Child Sponsorship Program 

Develop a Future Leader - Leadership Development Program 

Meet Critical Needs - Health & Medical Needs, Educational Needs, and Disaster Reliever & Stability 

The Isaiah Challenge: Release. Relieve. Revive

Compassion came out with a brand new initiative for advocates called, The Isaiah Challenge: Release. Relieve. Revive. In Isaiah 58:6, God instructs us to loose the chains of injustice, untie the cords of the yoke and set the oppressed free. Compassion International is an organization that is living Isaiah 58!

Each word represents three different causes through Compassion.


Release: Child Sponsorship Program - "Grace Finds Hope"

Relieve: Bite Back!

Revive: Water of Life

If you are a child advocate for Compassion International, I encourage you to participate in one or all of these causes. Check it out and choose the cause that you are most passionate about! Can't decide, take on the challenge of all three causes and see what God will do! If you are not an advocate, I ask that you pray as to how God wants you to respond to Isaiah 58. Check out all the links and info here!

New Letter-Writing Tool Online

Compassion has done a fabulous job with the launch of the Letter Writing Tool on the Compassion website. I was fortunate to pilot this new tool before it went live on the web. I absolutely love how we can choose from several templates and upload pictures for our sponsor children! What an upgrade from the generic stationary!

If you haven't had the chance to write your sponsor child yet, I highly encourage you to write before October 31st so that you child will receive it in time for Christmas. Also, if you haven't given a Christmas gift to your child, please also do that before the deadline. Happy Letter Writing!

Sponsor a child and win lots of cool Compassion gear!!!

Jill, over at Compassion Family, has an AMAZING give-away on her blog. She is in need of sponsors for two beautiful little boys:

Please head over to her blog to check out the details here. She is also has an incredible Sponsor Pack for anyone who steps up to sponsor these boys. Here is a preview of what she is including in her give away.

ALSO, I have decided to join Jill in this give away. If you DO decide to step up and sponsor and you are a follower of BOTH Jill and my blogs, I will throw in a Welcome Kit that I have for new sponsorships. Check out the details here and check out the picture below to see what is included.

Please e-mail me at angel_55425(at)yahoo(dot)com to let me know that you stepped up to sponsor. Please also let Jill know that you either saw it on my blog or that you are also a follower of my blog so that I can get the kit sent out to you.


Thank you in advance for whoever decides to sponsor these dear ones. I encourage you to pray that God will put them on someone's heart. Also, thank you Jill for all you do for Compassion and God's children! Take care and God Bless!

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!

How to be involved with child sponsorship on a tight budget

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.


When God puts a child on our hearts, it is easy to answer His call … at least initially. However, it can be difficult to remain invested in the commitment over time. And current economic circumstances aren’t making this any easier. Sponsors at my church have been experiencing financial hardships with gas prices, unemployment, and the overall cost of living. We were just squeezing by, paying what is necessary, but mostly going about things without passion.

I’m not sure if you’re experiencing this same tension, but I suspect that with finances being tighter, some of us are investing less time or financial support in Compassion’s ministry to children in poverty. We’re having to reassess the decisions we’ve made about our time, talent and treasures.

I held a Compassion Sunday at my church, but given the tough financial times my pastor and I felt it would be best to not participate in next year’s Compassion Sunday campaign. We wanted to give full attention to the needs among our congregation.

Taking our church’s situation into account, my pastor suggested that I continue to encourage existing sponsors within our church and community. That way, when we do give another presentation, we will have more families who can testify to what a wonderful organization Compassion is and encourage others to sponsor children.

So after meeting with my pastor and my advocate coach, we began to implement activities to help keep sponsors engaged and keep Compassion’s ministry present at our church. I also came up with some strategies to welcome new sponsors and acted as their contact person should they have any general questions about the ministry. Here are some of the ideas we have started or are in the process getting off the ground:

• Welcome Kit for New Sponsors I purchased pocket folders in bulk. They were inexpensive and served as a nice addition to the child packets sponsors receive upon beginning their sponsorship.Inside each folder, I included quick facts about poverty, information about Compassion’s financial integrity and its holistic child development model, and a few other pamphlets affirming the new sponsor’s decision to get involved.
  
  
  One new sponsor told me she was impressed to see how Compassion is committed to serving Christ and serving His children. She mentioned that she keeps the letters from her sponsored child in the welcome-kit folder I had given her.
  
  Inside each folder, I included the CI Fact Sheet (IN017), Financial Summary (IN255), CI’s Child Development model (BR041), and the brochure “God’s Mandate, Our Challenge” (BR007). I also hand-made the Sponsorship Collection Bank (PM401) so that it was ready for use.
  For those of you who are advocates, you can access the order form on Compassion's advocate website to receive these supplies to help support you in your advocacy.

• Compassion Board I purchased a world map from Barnes & Noble to create a Compassion board in our church gathering area. I then called Compassion with the names and numbers of the children who are sponsored from our church. Compassion sent us pictures of the children and we posted them on the map near each child’s location.
  
  
  The Compassion Board encouraged others to be in prayer for the children. We also placed a brochure display in the gathering area should someone wish to start a sponsorship.

• Compassion Sponsors’ Letter-writing Potluck Any time you can involve food, you can get people to come and fellowship! The idea is to get sponsors together once a quarter for a letter-writing potluck.
  
  In addition to bringing their favorite dishes to share, participants also “potluck” letter-writing supplies. For example, one person brings envelopes and another brings a variety of stationery. Others bring small items we can include with our letters, such as stickers, paper frames to put pictures in (construction paper cut into the shape of a frame with contact paper around it), paper dolls, small children’s magazines, etc.
  
  The potluck creates a place for everyone to give updates about their children and to encourage one another as we continue our relationships with our sponsored children through Compassion.

• Bible Studies/Book Groups About Compassion  I was doing a Compassion-related Bible study on my own when a friend asked about it. As I described Compassion’s commitment to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name, she mentioned that she wasn’t in a place where she could financially support a child sponsorship, but that she would like to do so in the future.
  
   
  I told her she could pray for children in poverty and that God’s hand would be upon the Compassion ministry. She asked if she could borrow the study after me so that she could learn more about God's direction to us about serving the poor. We also plan to do a study together in the future.  
  
  
  I recommend “Hope Lives: A Journey of Restoration” by Amber Van Schooneveld and “Passport to Prayer: A Journey of Compassion” by Amber & Michael Van Schooneveld. They can be found in the Compassion store online and are also available on group.com. Other great books for a book group are “Unshaken” by Dan Woolley and “Too Small to Ignore” by Wess Stafford. Both are available on christianbooks.com.  

 

I know that God has pressed it upon the hearts of others to explore ways to keep the Church involved and to encourage existing sponsors while looking for new ones. It would be great to get fresh ideas to use. What are some ideas you can share with us?

Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/how-to-be-involved-with-child-sponsorship-on-a-tight-budget/#ixzz1VLcWREzS

The Importance of Letter Writing

This past Friday was the monthly Virtual Letter Writing Night, which takes place the second Friday of every month. Just in time for the letter writing night, I received letters from two out of my three sponsor children. It is always a joy for me to receive their letters. Admittingly, I do feel a little disappointed when I check my mail and do not find an envelope from Compassion in the mix with all the others. I can only imagine how our sponsor children feel.

Last December, I participated in a Christmas card basket for un-sponsored Compassion children in Ecuador through Day Spring. I read about how these children are eagerly waiting to get sponsor and look sadly at the children who receive warm letters of their own. I also learned about the little ones who are sponsored, but hardly ever receive anything from their sponsors.

Philippians 2:5 says, "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus." What kind of sponsor relationship would Jesus have with these kids? Many of us would love the opportunity to visit our children or go on a missions trip, but not all of us will get the opportunity to go. Letter-writing is our way to access another child in a poverty-stricken area to give them the good news of Jesus Christ. This is the relationship that God put on our hearts to build. The only way these children will know that there is truly a God out there who loves them, is if we show them Christ's love through the letters we write.

If you haven't already written a letter to your sponsor child, please do. You can access the stationary for a written letter here. Or you can send your child an e-mail here. Please refer to this link for general questions about letter writing. There are also letter writing tips available to you as a sponsor.

You can read more about the importance of writing to your child at the following Compassion Blog.

http://blog.compassion.com/importance-of-letters/

If you currently do not sponsor a child and would like to, please click here to look at pictures of children in need of sponsorship.

Write now and brighten your child's day! God Bless you in your letter writing!!

How the children of Compassion International have changed my life....

I'm 1st grade teacher in MN. Our school district has been housing many Karen/Burmese refugees from Thailand ... many of which are in my classroom. We are receiving newcomers every month! This has been an exciting experience for our school as well as my own personal and professional development as teacher.  One of my boys, Kyarke, passed away on June 24, 2009... right before re-committing myself to the Lord. Since working with the Karen/Burmese community at our school, I have learned how much they love the Lord and are grateful to the Christian Missionaries they have met in the refugee camps. When Kyarke died, at the age of 6, I was welcomed into the Karen/Burmese refugee community with open arms. When I would go to visit them to offer my support as Kyarke's teacher, I found that many would come to me to see how I was doing. Such faith that they knew this wonderful little boy was in heaven with the Almighty!  They put it so simply, "because you love him, and you are his teacher, you are family." Seeing how little these people have - yet are so rich at the same time because they see what truly makes life rich - has changed my life in a way I cannot explain!

After being brought into this community, and following the passing of Kyarke, I was inspired to sponsor a child from Thailand in his memory. I came across a Compassion banner while I was browsing C28.com - one of my favorite websites for Christian apparel. The first sponsor child's name is Chatchai. I have been his sponsor since October of 2009 and look forward to receiving his letters. It has been an exciting and blessing experience ever since I joined as a sponsor. In August of 2010, I received my packet for my second sponsor-child named Nury in Mexico! In December of 2010, God put it on my heart to sponsor a third child. My third sponsor-child's name is Yamairy from Dominican republic. These three little ones have changed my life. It amazes me how at such a young age, they are praying for me on a daily basis and committing their lives to Jesus.

If I could, I would sponsor so many more children.... I wish I had the funds to do so! I still wanted to do more to help release these children from poverty in Jesus' name. In September of 2010, I became Compassion Child Advocate. I have been setting up displays and brochures around my community about child sponsorship, gave a Compassion Sunday presentation to my church, and even got my 1st grade classroom to raise money towards the Bite Back! campaign for Compassion.

It is exciting and scary at the same time. My wish is to for God to use me in a way that will help advance his kingdom. I just hope that I am up for the test! I encourage you to visit the link below. I am not asking for donations or for you to sponsor. That is not my place... I am simply here to share my story. If you are called to respond for these little ones, I have faith that God will put it on your heart. I only ask that you simply pray for the children and workers of Compassion. They are constantly in prayer for their families and future sponsors.

Jesus said in Mark 10:14, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them." Pray that poverty won't stand in the way of these children knowing Jesus and what He has done for the world.

www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=114337