Monthly Archives: April 2013

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Sponsor a Child

As an advocate for Compassion International, I have two children for whom I am currently looking for sponsors. Sponsorship costs $38/month, but the relationship you will build with your child will change your life.

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Jose, 6, Nicaragua

Jose, 6, of Nicaragua, lives with his mother, who is employed as a laborer. His home duties are caring for children, making beds and running errands. There are three children in Jose’s family.

Jose is performing above average in Kindergarten, and his favorite activities are playing a musical instrument, basketball and playing with cars. His birthday is September 10.

He lives in an area in Nicaragua where the average monthly income is $97. Jose’s community has electricity and water, but needs vocational training centers and employment opportunities.

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Jade, 7, Nicaragua

Jade, 7, also lives in Nicaragua. She lives with both parents, who both are sometimes employed as laborers. There are two children in the family. Her home duty is running errands.

Jade attends primary school, where her performance is average, and she enjoys playing with dolls and running.

She lives in an area where the average monthly income is $120. Like Jose’s community, Jade’s also has electricity and water, but needs vocational training centers and employment opportunities.

Your sponsorship would provide these children with Bibles, Bible classes, medical checkups, de-worming, vaccinations, nutritious food, tutoring, sports and special celebrations.

I personally sponsor two boys from Nicaragua, who in the same age range as Jose and Jade, and they are incredibly sweet and loving. I always look forward to their letters!

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A Boy and his Dog

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Humberto: “I want you to know my dog.”

Nine-year-old boys the world over tend to share similar tidbits in their letters.

Almost three years into sponsoring, I’ve found most boys around that age write about games, friends and pets, which are the same themes my own sons would choose.

Humberto is a 9-year-old boy in Bolivia, and he and I have been sending letters back and forth for two-and-a-half years now. He was almost 7 years old when we started writing to each other, and being so young, he generally shares one or two details in each letter, often repeating those details several times over many letters. Over the years I’ve been able to create a picture of this faraway boy in my mind.

Humberto is one of the younger siblings in a family with eight children. He most recently became a big brother again last year, and asked me to pray for his baby brother just before the baby’s birth.

He tells me he loves to draw. Actually, he tells me that in almost every letter. He also loves to play with his friends.

His most recent letter held an unexpected gem, though. Humberto wrote, “I want you to know my dog.” And tucked into the letter was a photo of Humberto and his dog!

His adorable way of writing that made me laugh, but to see that photo of Humberto and his dog was quite a treat. I’ve never received an extra photo of Humberto, so I’ve only seen his growth progress through Compassion’s usual photo updates, which occur every 18-24 months.

Now that I know Humberto’s dog, we’ll have plenty to cover in our letters for years to come.

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Malaria and Compassion’s Bite Back Program

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Today is World Malaria Day – a day meant to bring attention to this deadly disease.

There have been many accomplishments in fighting malaria over the last decade. In that time, malaria deaths have been cut by one-third in Africa and one-half outside of Africa, according to the web site, http://www.worldmalariaday.org. However, 3.3 billion people are still at risk of being affected by this mosquito-born disease, and most often, those affected are people living in poverty.

Symptoms include fever, chills and flu-like illness, which, left untreated, can result in death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 660,000 people died in 2010 alone.

Fortunately, malaria is preventable and treatable. A donation of $20 to Compassion International’s “Bite Back” campaign provides two mosquito bed nets to those in need. You can donate here: http://www.compassion.com/malaria-intervention.htm. Compassion provides nets and education to at-risk families as well as treatment to those already suffering from malaria.

Please watch the following video and consider making a donation today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LftEavUydNk&feature=player_embedded.

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Compassion’s Impact

A recent study of Compassion’s child sponsorship program carried out by independent researchers shows a significant impact on sponsored children’s education, employment and leadership .

The peer-reviewed research will be published in the April issue of the Journal of Political Economy.

Some of the encouraging findings show that sponsored children stayed in school longer and were more likely to finish secondary education than their non-sponsored peers. They were 50-80 percent more likely to complete a university education.

Check out the link below to see more of the study’s findings.

http://www.compassion.com/poverty-facts.htm?referer=128018

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Kisses from Katie

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“Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption” by Katie J. Davis

It’s not often that you run across someone who has determinedly decided to forgo the “American Dream,” but that’s just what a young woman from Nashville did.

At 18 years old, Katie Davis traveled on a short mission trip to Uganda over Christmas break during her senior year of high school. It was a trip that changed the course of her life, causing her to make decisions that surprised her family, boyfriend and friends.

Upon returning home after the trip, Davis continued to feel the Lord calling her back to Uganda. She decided to answer that call by giving up college and returning to the country that had captured her heart.

It was a shocking decision made by a young woman who seemed to have everything going for her. Her book, “Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption” tells that story.

Davis wrote, “I hadn’t realized what a transformation had taken place while I had been in Uganda, the spiritual richness I had experienced in material poverty and the spiritual poverty I felt now in a land of material wealth.”

Hers is an amazing story of faith and determination, and I can’t help but be in awe of how the years have played out for Davis. Facing extreme poverty, hopelessness, disease and sometimes death of those she cared for, it is incomprehensible that this young woman was able to hold up under such pressure.

But hold up she did, and years later, Davis remains in Uganda, making a difference every day.

Davis established a ministry called Amazima in 2008, which sends 600 orphaned and vulnerable children to school through an education sponsorship program. It also feeds lunch to more than 1,200 children in the slum community of Masese every week day. Amazima hosts Bible studies and worship services and implements vocational training programs in the area.

And as if all this weren’t a huge accomplishment, by the end of her book, Davis is in the process of adopting fourteen girls, who live with her in her home in Uganda. She cares for these children daily, as their mother, all the while, caring for members of her community as well.

Davis’ inspiring story is well worth reading, and for more stories after the book ends, visit her blog at http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com.

“I have learned that I will not change the world, Jesus will do that,” Davis wrote. “I can, however, change the world for one person. I can change the world for fourteen little girls and for four hundred schoolchildren and for a sick and dying grandmother and for a malnourished, neglected, abused five-year-old. And if one person sees the love of Christ in me, it is worth every minute. In fact, it is worth spending my life for.”

To donate to Davis’ ministry, Amazima, visit http://www.amazima.org.