My passion for Compassion

Tomorrow morning (Sunday, Sept. 26th) I am going to speak at both services at my home church about Compassion International.  I am not nervous about it.  In fact, I enjoy public speaking.  (I know, that's kind of odd!)  However, as I was thinking about sharing my passion for Compassion I realized that in this little corner of the blogosphere I have a pretty good-sized audience to reach out to as well.  (I just checked my stats and saw that I have between 2000-3000 page views a day!)  So I've decided to open up a little more about my personal life and share with you about my experience with Compassion.

My family has sponsored a little boy in Honduras named Fernando for about a year now.  It all started when my husband and I saw a Natalie Grant and Jeremy Camp concert last fall.  I distinctly remember not feeling well during the concert........I was starting to come down with something.  In fact, I think I may have been feverish.  Anyway, during the break I snuck downstairs and headed straight for the Compassion table.  I had been toying with the idea of sponsoring a child for several years and decided that I would just do it.  We had gone to a MercyMe concert a few years before and thought about sponsoring a child through Compassion but felt we couldn't afford to do it at the time.  I knew that our finances were not a whole lot better in terms of having more resources, but I just felt compelled to take the plunge.  The cost is $38 per month.  In no way are we affluent people.  I am a preschool teacher in a private setting and my husband is a college professor.  We drive used vehicles.  My van has rust on the bottom of it and over 108,000 miles.  I buy a lot of my clothes at Goodwill.  Still, I can assure you that we do not miss the $38 per month.  AT.  ALL.

I chose Fernando's packet from the table because he is roughly the same age as my oldest son.  We received a photo of him with some information about his living situation.  To date we have received four letters from Fernando and just today I opened the mailbox to find an updated photo of him.  We pray for him and his family and write letters to him.  We will sponsor him until he reaches adulthood.  And maybe someday we'll get to meet him.  For now, we think of him as a part of our family.  We feel blessed to have a "son" and "brother" somewhere else in the world.  We are making a personal connection with him through our correspondence and his life and that of his family is better because of our sponsorship.

If you have any interest whatsoever in sponsoring a child through Compassion, I encourage you to click through the link in this post or to click on the link I've added to the right sidebar of the blog.  You CAN make the difference in a child's life.  And in return, your life will be changed. 

Comments

[Laura]

Hi, Diane. Thanks for writing. I also love Operation Christmas Child. My sons and Ihave done boxes together for several years now. Thats a good idea to invite your families to participate. Ill have to think about that.
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[Diane]

Thanks for letting us in on this part of your life. I agree with you in sharing this type of info. I too have a sponser child. He comes from the Philippines. I post a picture of him where my students can see, which sparks interesting conversations at times.
I also take part in a project this time of the year. It's with Samaritans Purse: Operation Christmas Child. We collect all sorts of items for underpriviledged children that can fit in a shoe box. I was a bit hesitant the first year bringing up this type of project, unsure of the response from parents, only to be extremely surprised by their generosity. They loved the idea. Every year we create more and more boxes. I even have previous parents contacting me to see if they can contribute again. It's wonderful!!

[Laura]

I will check it out. Thanks for stopping by!
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[Michelle Wright]

I am overjoyed to see so many blog posts coming up on my Google Alerts about Compassion! Thank you for spreading the word and be sure to stop by my blog for sponsorship ideas as well as letter-writing inspiration!

[Laura]

Its different how you would do it with Typepad and Blogger. If you are talking Add a Gadget that would be Blogger and, yes, you would do Add aGadget, and then I think there is a choice of adding HTML. Then youll get a box where you can paste the code. I THINK. I havent done it on Blogger for a while. Speaking of that, Ishould go add it on my Bloggerblog too. Thanks for knocking me upside the head so I would think of that!
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[Laura]

Ive just added the Compassion link tomy blog. If you go to www.compassionbloggers.com you can get the code needed to embed in your blog. Also, you can sign up to be aCompassion blogger and they will send you something each month that you can blog about. I did that too. Take care,
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[Laura]

Thats so true, isnt it! Thanks for writing!
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[Laura]

Thanks! The talks went well and there are several people who are considering sponsorship. Its good to hear from another sponsor. Thanks for writing!
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[min]

I've copied the html from their site but I'm not able to add it to my blog. Did you use the add gadget function?

[min]

I'm going to add it to my blog. We've been sponsoring a child from the Philippines and it's amazing what $38 can buy you there! I feel bad that I have not kept up with the letter writing but this is one of the must to-do's now on my list! Thanks for the reminder!

Oh, I hate public speaking. It's great that someone else loves it! :)

[cjo]

Thank you for posting this. It is truly a reminder of how much we need to push ourselves to continually touch others lives, through Jesus' lasting love. Even though we may be going through what seems to be the roughest time of our life, it is nothing in comparison. Thank you.

[Gina :]

May He bless you and your message this morning as you share about Compassion. That ministry is near and dear to us as well. Every work of art we receive from our Compassion child in Bolivia brings smiles. And you're right. You don't miss the $38!