My Compassion Kiddoes

In case you didn't know I sponsor two sweet little girls from India through Compassion International. I love Compassion and all that they seek to do to save the worlds children from poverty. Of course they do SO much more than that. If you don't know about them click here and go and check them out.

I love getting letters from "my" girls. One of them has written me once a month since I started sponsoring in May. I love to hear that they are doing fine and are healthy. But there has been a change in Mariom's letters since I started sponsoring them. There is hope in her statements about she and her families future and she always ask me about my future plans,which I think is so very cute and grown up since she is only 5 years old. But I love that she is filled with hope.

One of "my" girls is so FUN, her translator and writer of the letters does such a GREAT job communicating her little personality. I can just see her bouncing around and dictating her letter to her translator all while trying to draw pictures and write out her alphabets for me. I feel like such a mom looking at the things she has sent me. Yes I have them on my refrigerator. Isn't that where all great children's' art should go? :-) I have sent both of the girls pictures of me and my family but this silly girl says I am very creative so she wants me to draw a picture of myself and wished we could draw it together, as she said, "wouldn't that be fun?" Now if you know anything about me, then you know this one is plowing her way into my heart one letter at a time.

My other little girl lives in a more remote section of India. I have only had my initial letter from her. But I pray for her and hope that I will hear more from her in the future. We are told when we sponsor that they are only required to write us twice a year. So I feel really "lucky" that I have heard what i have from them. I can't wait to continue to learn about their lives and "watch" them grow. Most of all I am excited about all they are going to teach ME about giving and loving even when you are thousands of miles apart.

So my challenge to you is this....pray about how you and your family can help with the worlds poverty problem. What are you teaching your children about giving to others less fortunate? If you have the least little bit of curiosity about the ministry of Compassion check out what Bart Millard (writer of song "I can only imagine") and the rest of Mercy Me have to say about their part in Compassion's ministry here

2 New Additions to My Family

This last month I was following a trip that Compassion International Bloggers took to India. I can't tell you how overwhelmed I was by what they were sharing. It was breaking my heart. Since I work with little guys' it was very painful to see the living conditions as well as their day to day lives. We are so overwhelmingly blessed here in the states. Anyway, I started praying about what I could do. I made the "mistake" of pressing the sponsor a child link on Compasson's website one night and was greeted by hundreds of little faces from all over the world who live in circumstances that no child ever should. I just kept hearing all the commands that Jesus gave and also saw the faces of my niece and nephew and other little children that I love in the faces of these on the website. And couldn't help but ask myself, what if they were in my family, what if they were my friends children? I couldn't allow them to continue to live in those circumstances. I waste $32 a month usually on frivolous things for myself each month. Usually its a Sonic drink or two and that adds up to more than $32 month. And that is all that they were asking me to give to help fund education, nutrition, making sure they hear the good news of Jesus and have the opportunity to have a better life and as one blogger put it, "have dreams" of thier own for thier future.

So....as you can probably guess I had to sponsor a child. But I actually sponsored 2. If you go and look at these faces you can't just pick one...its impossible. Unless you can't afford it. And I KNOW some can't. (But you can pray for these little lives to gain sponsorship if you can't sponsor.) So, after searching faces and birthdays and agonizing in prayer over who to pick, I chose Hafeza and Mariom. They are 2 sweet little Preschool girls that live in the Kolkata region of East India. I am so excited to be able to learn about them and share their journeys of discovery in the future. Have you ever considered doing this as a project for your family. Many people sponsor children who are their children's ages and then the whole family gets in on the fun of corresponding and sharing their life and faith with their sponsor child. Something to consider. http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm

Some have asked me does this mean that I don't think there are needs right here in the US. Of course I do! All I have to do is drive 5 miles to the east and see it up close and personal. It doesn't mean that I won't continue to help "my neighbor". But my neighbor is more than just next door to me or in the town I am living in.