Read and learn!

My friend Jill has been a Compassion sponsor for almost 20 years!  We met through Bible Study and learned we had a lot in common - we both went to ECU, have been long time Compassion sponsors (I've sponsored for 17 years! - yes, I was 13 when I sponsored my first child - her name was Brenda from Guatemala.), enjoy the outdoors, have read the Bible together... Jill is awesome.  (Like me.)  Kidding.  She's really is amazing - she's an awesome mom and a wonderful role model to her sponsored children (and me!).  She started this blog, Compassion Family, to share Compassion with others.

Most everyone has seen the commercials for poor, starving children.  Compassion is different - they have a holistic approach that really works.  Of all the major child sponsorship organizations, Compassion graduates are truly lifted out of poverty.  They go on to college/university/trade school; they become leaders in their families; they become sponsors themselves.  Compassion works.  Jill is passionate about sharing Compassion with others and I hope you will take a few minutes to read her blog.

Baby Boy's Indian Brothers and Sisters

Of the world's malnourished children, nearly one in three lives in India, and about half of all childhood deaths are attributable to malnutrition.  In India, 1.5 MILLION children die before their fifth birthday because of unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, or poor hygiene.  Of every 1,000 babies born there alive, 52 will die before age one.  Nearly HALF of all children younger than five are malnourished.  - Compassion.com Fall 2010

Before I was pregnant, I didn't really 'get' it.  Women get pregnant, have babies, some struggle due to lack of care, some babies live, others don't, it's all in location and access to care.  Actually BEING pregnant has completely changed my view on this.  The facts remain - but it's a little scary being pregnant.  There is someone living inside of you.  Often when baby boy is really wiggly and I can look down and SEE him moving, I can't help but think, "omg it's alive!"  I WANT him to be alive, but there are just no words to really describe and express the feeling, both physically and emotionally. 

Once you're pregnant, you go to the doctor, confirm that there is a baby growing and then set up your next monthly appointment. If you have insurance, you likely won't pay again, but you'll know how much it would have cost because your insurance company will send a statement showing the total charged and how much was paid.  At each of our visits so far, the total charged has been about $300, add another $200 for sonograms - we've had four of those (we've actually had five, but one was elective because I'm impatient like that!).  The math on that brings us to just under $3,000 and we're only half way into the appointments.  When I say you likely won't pay again, I mean that we have not even had a co-pay for any of the visits. I know insurance companies work differently so this is just ours - but the point is that prenatal care is readily available and accessible if you have insurance.

For people without insurance, there are programs through most health departments that will provide routine prevention and care to a mother and her baby. 

After our first monthly prenatal appointment it really hit us how fortunate we were to not even have a co-pay ($30) for each visit.  Even when we're at the hospital and it's time for baby to debut in the flesh, we'll only pay $150 - total, all things included - yes even anesthesia if it's desired/required.  Insurance really rocks.

I promise I'm about to tie all of this together... We have several sponsored children through Compassion International and the plan is, when he's old enough (3), to request information on a little boy with Paxton's birthday.  Until then, and with all of the above thoughts in mind, we decided that we wanted to do something NOW.  Compassion has this thing called Child Survival Program that provides prenatal care, education, supplements, vaccines, and even income generating projects to pregnant women and women of young babies.  It's not a sponsorship program - but a very essential program to the women involved.  How could we not support this?  It's actually LESS than what we'd pay if we even had to cough up a co-pay each month.  It was a no-brainer.

We decided to be surprised rather than choosing a country and we have been assigned to a CSP in India called Upkar.  Right now there are about 30 women that receive benefits.  We're really excited to learn more about how we are helping them receive better care for their babies!  I LOVE that we can do this and am so thankful there are programs that provide such help to women in need.  I have WAY more to say about this, but I fear I've lost most everyone by now... if you're still here, I should totally send you a treat!  :)

Watch this video!

Or see it here if unable to view.

Oh the years...

I hate packing. I hate unpacking even more. But it's been fun going through files and hat boxes (my storage method in the office) to find really old stuff! Below is one of my first packets from Compassion. Aside from the obvious age of the materials, check out that country profile - Zaire! Zaire lost existance at least 13 years ago! (Now Democratic Republic of Congo, cus that's better, right?!)
I took some time to read through some letters from children I've sponsored over the years. In doing so, I pulled out the first picture I ever received of Princy. She's from India.

The picture on the left is the first one, the one on the right is four years later, and below is the most recent photo that I received last month. It has been 8 years! She's 16 now and simply amazing.

I have over 60 letters from Princy and it was fun to sit down and read them all! Do you sponsor?

Half the Sky LIVE - March 4th

A reader emailed me after my last post about Compassion. Check out the following for more information. Angelique Kidjo is one of my favorite singers! India.Arie makes an appearance as well. If you haven't heard her song 'Strength, Courage, & Wisdom,' you're missing out. And now that I've shared that, you should also listen to Angelique's version of 'Malaika' - my all time favorite song! Malaika is Kiswahili for 'angel.'

Do you sponsor?

I've been a child sponsor since 1993 (you do the math). It's something that I will always do. In 1997 I visited two of the girls I sponsored at the time, Monica and Mavis. That's another post, but it was an amazing experience. Right now, the children I sponsor are with Compassion International, but over the years I've had experience with a good number of organizations both large and small. Christian Children's Fund is probably my next favorite.

I love, love, love Compassion though and I love that they have a blog. A seemingly very transparent blog at that. Today's post featured a guest writer from India, Pastor Sam, of Immanuel Child Development Center. I wanted to share some of the words he wrote that basically jumped off the screen and screamed to my face:

"You play a major role in the development of children. You are instruments in the hands of God to demonstrate His care to children who don’t know what love is all about. When children receive no love at home, it’s common for them to seek from you the love they miss from their parents."

This is certainly NOT a new concept for me - not in the least. Between my travels, my experience with HAI, and the world as a whole, it is simply old news. What is different is that I can actually put a NAME and a FACE with what he said. It's not just "children." It's quite possibly MY CHILD. I use the term "my" loosely, but it's the way I think of the children I sponsor. I love them. I have learned what they like, what they are afraid of, what they pray for - intimate thoughts they choose to share with me about their daily life.

"When children receive no love at home..." WOW. I can't even imagine what that would feel like. I grew up in such a loving home... to have none, no love at all. What emptiness that would leave.

"...it's common for them to seek from you the love they miss from their parents." As a long-time sponsor, I sometimes take for granted what this whole business of 'child sponsorship' is really about. I send my monthly donation, I pray, I write letters - but I often forget what life is really like for my children. I forget that life is really hard and that is why I even know who they are. I forget that it is because of me that they are able to live better. Because of Compassion, my children are fed, cared for, loved. I don't know what their home life is like. I know what they tell me and what Compassion tells me in their updates, but I am not living it. I would like to think that my children are all deeply loved, but I am not there. Princy, my child in India, lives part of the year at a hostel so she can attend school. Her brother does the same. What is life like for her at home? Clara's mother used to write letters to me - I know she loves her daughter so much. Hilda always writes her letters from the student center. I don't know much about her mother or father other than that they live with her and her brothers.

"You are instruments in the hands of God to demonstrate His care to children who don’t know what love is all about." That's a big role. Sure, I know that I should be a role model for my sponsored children; I should always present myself as godly and as a good person, but to know that I am an instrument in God's hands. Um, did I sign up for that?! It's a pretty big role. And not a role to be taken lightly. These children -my children- are counting on me to not only help them continue to receive assistance from the student center, but to guide them spiritually - to teach them love. Exemplify love.

When Wess Stafford, president of Compassion, wrote Too Small To Ignore, I immediately bought and savored every bit of it. It basically says the same thing Pastor Sam said above, in many more words. For whatever reason though, I didn't get as much out of it as I did from Pastor Sam's blog today. I would encourage anyone who has children or works with children in the church to pick up a copy of Too Small To Ignore. It's a great book.

If you have any interest at all in sponsoring a child, but don't think you can afford the $38/month, I leave you with this from Pastor Sam:

"Even today, the Lord cries out with the same words that Isaiah heard, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

You are the ones who have responded to this call with the words “Here am I.” You are the ones who have responded to God’s commission."

Please read Pastor Sam's full blog post. It's pretty powerful. Maybe it will speak to you, maybe it won't, but sponsoring is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Until today, it never occurred to me that I might love my sponsored children more than their parents love them. I just cannot imagine. That sentence redefines child sponsorship for me.

Sponsor Challenge!

Friends -- while surfing around Facebook tonight, I had a chance to chat with Kees, a fellow Compassion sponsor. He told me that he's looking for a sponsor for the above little girl, Celina. She's from Bolivia - which is awesome because Kees sponsors several children there and visits frequently. Here is a message from Kees:

---------
It was nice to chat with you today on Facebook. This little girl lives on the side of a mountain about 14,000 feet high between El Alto and La Paz. She lives with just her mother and there are 3 children in the family. I have a child in that same student center. Her name is Mishel. She is on my facebook too.

Sponsoring Celina involves:
1. Praying for her.
2. Writing her a letter of encouragement from time to time.
3. $38/month.

The order that I wrote this in is the right order. The prayers and the letters are far more important than the $38. The reason being is that the children really love their sponsors and they really look for the letters from the sponsors.

I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone may have. This is an interview, that I did with the President of Compassion. It also provides a lot of information. Thank you so much for looking into helping this little girl!

Prov. 31:8,9
Blessings, Kees

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I've been a Compassion sponsor since 1993 and if I wasn't maxed out I would love to sponsor Celina. If you've always wondered about financial integrity of some of these organizations, I challenge you to try Compassion. They have both external AND internal audits. My friend Ceri has visited a number of her children and I love her stories about how the project staff maintains folders on each child with copies of letters, school reports, etc... It may sound like a lot of money each month to some but I like to look at it as an investment. Growing up, my grandmother paid for most everything for me... I am forever grateful for that investment as it made me who I am today. I see it the same way for these children.

What better investment is there than investing in the life of someone else?

If you're interested in sponsoring Celina, leave me a message and I'll hook you up with Kees!

I'm missing Africa today...

I was just reading Compassion's blog. At the bottom of the post is a link to a video. While watching it, I remembered when I was in Africa, how much I loved listening to children sing.

I can recall many, many times at church as a child hearing our Sunday School teacher tell us to use our "singing voice" to sing. Thinking back, I can also remember hearing our choir director in elementary school tell us the same thing. We had these little rhymes we sang to get our singing voices warmed up.

African singing is different. There is no such thing as a "singing voice." Singing is just that, song. It is a story. It is innocent. It is joy. I miss it tremendously. It was something I heard on a daily basis. Children sing walking to school, doing chores, playing with friends... nothing is more beautiful.

Hmm...

I've had some thoughts on things to write about... but I'm unmotivated. That's not really a word, but I like it. It makes sense.


A few random things...


-Compassion recently added its 1,000,000th sponsored child! Wow. I'm honored to be part of such an organization. I've been sponsoring children through Compassion since 1994. Watch this video, One Child.


-The Future Hope Project is really catching on! We've gotten quite a few packages from wonderfully kind people from all over the US! When we told David, HAI's country director, he asked if we could also include mosquito nets, so we're going to start a separate campaign for that. The ever amazing Abbie has designed some killer tshirts that I simply cannot wait to add to the blog side bar! I LOVE the shirts and can't wait to sport one! You need one too!


-Lots of people at work are having babies. Or just had babies. There's a lot of baby talk. That's fine. I like babies. Almost everyone who knows me, knows I want to adopt. Recently, my boss asked me why I wanted to do that. This really deserves its own blog post, but I'm not ready to write it. I am ready, but I don't feel like it's my place, more honestly. I feel like a lot of people who ARE adopting would judge the fact that I'm writing it when I'm not "in process" of adopting. Anyway... the short answer to my boss' question though, is why not adopt. It's a no brainer for me. And to be completely honest, I often wonder why more people don't adopt. But again, another post.

-My sister came over on Saturday to help me go through my closet, to say it was a disaster is an understatement. I could have NEVER gotten it done without her. Seriously. (Thanks girl!!!) We had SO much fun! She even surprised me with a really cool birthday scrapbook (I LOVE my birthday!) and cake at mom's later that afternoon. The closet was tabled time and time again during the course of the day... how did I NOT mention yet that she was attacked by a dog?! She was going to evaluate a great dane for his chances of getting into rescue and he bit her hand pretty bad. She went to the Dr and is on antibiotics, pain meds, etc... Oh... been there, done that. I felt really bad for her. That was a traumatic thing for us... Anyway, so she ended up spending the night and we had a BLAST! We all camped in the front bedroom b/c the bed is really big and we ALL fit... us + Titan, Roxy and Nola!

-D is coming back to town for July 4th. I wish he could just stay :( Maybe next time!!! I'll take what I can get until then. Any guesses on when he'll get a job down here? We could make a betting pool, that could get interesting...

-I think that's it for random bits of information. Maybe later I'll get around to posting some pictures of the summer so far....

Incredibly sweet letter

I don't typically share letters from my sponsored children here because I want to preserve integrity, but this one was too sweet not to share in its entirety.

Clara's mom typically writes but late last year Clara (age 10) started writing on her own! In her first letter she said "can you believe it's really me, Clara, writing to you?!" How precious is that?!

This letter was written just four days before her birthday (November '08).

"First I would like to greet you a pleasant day and Hi! through the guidance of our Lord, I am very fine with my family and I hope you are also in good health at this moment. I'm so happy and surprised today. Now, I am so excited to say thank you very much. I am so lucky because God hear my prayers and there's always the answer in advance. I realized that God is always with us. I must say that I am the most lucky girl in our home because I have a sponsor like you. You're so blessed and have a big warm heart to me always.

That's why in behalf of my family we thank you so much for sharing me your blessings. I bought a part of sandal, blouse, and pants and I will wear it in going to school and in the church. Some of it I will buy things that I need in school. again, thank you always for being there. For all those sacrifices, I do not know how I pay you back. I pray that you have more blessings, have a good health always and may you find the right man who cares and loves you for the rest of your life. I love you so much! 'Tsup! Tsup!' [No earthly idea what this is, appears to be a sound, kisses maybe??? Any insight, let me know!]

Kindly pray for me to finished my schooling with high grades. And my younger brother celebrate his birthday today but he suffered from cough and fever. Please also pray for him. How's your weather? How's your family bonding? Wishing you more blessings to come. Till next time. May God bless you always. Love and pray, Clara Mae"

You can sponsor a child too! Visit Compassion's website -- there are hundreds (dare I say thousands?!) of children whose photos are depicted on the website. I've had the best correspondence with children from Philippines, Tanzania, El Salvador, Guatemala, Thailand and India. I think India and Philippines are a tie. I have a child I write to in India and I typically receive at least one letter/month from her. Clara replies to all of my letters. Other friends I have who sponsor in the Philippines have similar correspondence. For a first sponsored child, I'd recommend Philippines! And I'd also recommend a child older than eight, because they often have waited the longest.

*Photo from Compassion's website.

Got Water?

The scarcity at the heart of the global water crisis is rooted in power,
poverty and inequality... (UNDP)

Did you know that, according to people who study human development, a person needs a little more than 5 gallons of water each day to survive? Given the extreme drought in many parts of Africa, millions of people are having to live on less than a gallon per day. Even if water is available, access to clean water is not. Therefore, people are consuming dirty water leading to many horrific health ailments. Where are the doctors? Wait - no food, no water, I'm sure education is high up on the list of concern for these folks.

There are SO many organizations that are trying to do good and many are working very hard at accomplishing their goals. But with the economy strapped all over the world, it's difficult for anyone to accomplish much of anything. Or is it? I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Compassion International actually reported an increase in child sponsorships despite the economy's current state.

As the world seems to fall apart, what are you doing to make it better? I skipped Do Something Monday this week. Next week I'll pick back up with it and report on our situation in Goma.

Are you stretched?

It's Christmastime, a time of year that most people associate with giving. I'll be posting some alternative giving ideas all month to keep you on your toes and to stretch that dollar as far as possible!

I've mentioned Compassion International a few times but I don't think I've really discussed my involvement with them. Over the past fourteen years (yep, it's really been THAT long!) I've been sponsoring children. I've sponsored with various organizations (World Vision, Christian Children's Fund, Children, Inc., Children International, and some other small ones) but, Compassion is the one I've stuck with all of these years (my friend Elizabeth introduced me to them). I currently sponsor several children with Compassion and one with World Vision (because I've sponsored her since they were only $15/month!). I can tell you all sorts of positive things about each org and I can tell you some things that I like best about each. When it comes down to it though, Compassion is the organization that wins in all levels. Their commitment to the children and families with whom they work, their donors, and their integrity is far and beyond other organizations.

While I love each of "my" children, I'm closest to Hilda and Clara Mae. Hilda is from Guatemala and Clara Mae is from the Philippines. I've sponsored them about four years. I also write to a child named Princy from India. She has another sponsor but they are unable to write to her so I do that part. I've been writing to her since 2003 and have received over 50 letters from her! Hilda, Clara Mae, and Princy are my best writers and always ask lots of questions. Clara Mae recently wrote to me by herself for the first time. It was really funny because she said something about how she imagined my face when I read that it was her writing the letter. I thought it was so sweet!

I'll write a post about each child later... If you've ever thought about sponsoring a child, do it! (Want to read about other people's experience with Compassion?) Don't wait until you have more money, it will never be the "right" time. Do it when you feel you're lead to do so (like, now!). :) And spare yourself the homework, I've already done it! Although, do be sure to research whatever organization you choose as there are a lot of things to consider. Email me if you wish! (By the way, most organizations have photos of children waiting for a sponsor and you can search for a child by age, country, gender, birth date, orphan status, HIV/AIDS affected status, and more!)

So if you think you're stretched on money, think about others in our world. As I'm completing day 1 of the challenge (I'll post about that separately), I've been reminded of how stretched I think I feel sometimes, when in reality, I know nothing of what it is really like to be stretched financially.

Moms forced to pick which kids eat, which die

Did you know this week is World Hunger Relief Week? I know I've gone on and on about the global food crisis for the last week but the headline in the subject line caught my attention on CNN today. I remember a song I heard years ago (it was a song on a tape [yeah, that long ago!] from Compassion) called Ti Chape. In parts of Haiti children are not named until they are several months old because malnutrition is that bad. So bad that mothers may not even produce enough breastmilk to sustain their infant children. These babies are called "ti chape" until they are named. The article on CNN highlights Haiti and discusses the Wall Street bail out in comparison. Sigh. Check it out.

A letter

Clara Mae, my child from the Philippines, wrote a letter in September that I received earlier this week. This is the second letter she wrote all by herself and it's adorable! This letter was in response to an email I'd sent her while I was working. A few parts that made me smile:

"I'm so blessed for you share your precious time to me while you're on duty. Thank you very much for your comments. I was glad about it! Imagining your facial expressions , it really makes me laugh."

(I think I told her that I smiled a lot when I read her letters.)

"I request you to pray for my family. Be my prayer partners all the time. For I always include you in my prayers. I will pray to God for your safety where ever you go. Happy trip. May God be with you on your journey to Boston."

"I will end here for now. I am looking forward to your real handwritten letter as well as the photos you've told on the letter you sent to me."

She makes me laugh and is so sweet! She will be 10 years old on the 24th of this month.

Follow up

I feel like I should follow up on that last post. I'm obviously pretty passionate about the situation with the global food crisis and since the media doesn't fill you in... here's the down and dirty:

What is the crisis all about?
Families in every nation on every continent are affected. Food prices for popular menu items like rice, wheat and beans have doubled in the last year. While increases in food prices have hit all budgets, it's the poor who bear the brunt of this inflation. The higher prices are forcing people who survive on just $1 a day to spend upwards of 80 percent of their budgets just on food. As a result, many people, including millions of children, are going hungry. The longer food prices rise, the more people will be plunged into hunger and poverty.

Why is it happening?
Food shortages have affected developing countries for generations. It's a cyclical problem. But this global food crisis is more rapid, urgent and devastating. Since 2005, food prices have risen a whopping 80 percent...mostly due to rising fuel costs (although my sister just called and said she saw it for $1.89 where she lives, wow!), rising food demand from populous nations like India and China, natural disasters destroying crop yields all over the world (US included), and growth of biofuels.

What can we do?
If you have a charity of choice, call them -- ask what they are doing to help, then donate. If you don't have a charity of choice, you can donate to Hope Aid or one of these other reputable organizations: Oxfam America, UNICEF, Compassion, Mercy Corps.

Then tonight, when you say your prayers and you get to the part about being thankful for your daily bread, remember to pray for all of the people who may struggle to find their daily bread.

And of course, you can join me in sponsoring a child. :) There are lots of organizations out there... Compassion is my favorite. Speaking of, I should write about them. Stay tuned, they're cute!

Read this...

Maybe one day someone will read the back logs to this blog because I doubt many folks are reading now, but no one should miss this post and this post from one of the blogs I follow. I'm sure I'll talk about Compassion more at some point, but for now you should know that it's an organization I've been donating to since 1993 and I whole heartedly am committed to them because of the work they do around the world. I sponsor four children (Hilda, Clara Mae, Zainabu, and Marcela) and am very proud to be part of their mission.