Skip to main content

Compassion in Tanzania

The Compassion Bloggers just ended their time in Tanzania. As I followed along with their stories I gained an even better appreciation for what this organization does. More than it's about money to buy necessities, it's about relationships. Connecting these kids to sponsors around the world through letter writing is just as life changing for them as the $38 a month. It may even be more-so. 

As Shaun says "There is value in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, educating the illiterate, healing the sick…but the deepest poverty a child can know is hopelessness". 

"Poverty whispers to every child living in poverty… 
“You are worthless.” And we say “You were worth the life of God’s one and only Son.” 
“Things will never change for you.” And we say “God is making all things new.” 
“You are nothing.” And we say “God loves you and has a plan for your life…”

Becoming a sponsor is a tangible way for children to know they have worth and are loved. Sponsoring a child begins a relationship. And it is a relationship that is treasured by these kids. They know they are sponsored in Jesus' name. (As Shaun pointed out) That's actually Compassion's tag line. It's right there in their logo:



Some of these kids live in homes with real walls and floors, others in mud huts, but no matter where they lived or what they had, all the children that the bloggers connected with were grateful and happy. They seemed so happy to put faces to names or even if the kids weren't meeting sponsors they just knew they were meeting people who came in love.

Don't get me wrong though, the $38 is sorely needed and put to amazingly good use. It's hard for many of us to understand just how far those few dollars can stretch. Compassion does great things with your just-over-a dollar-a-day contribution...they provide schooling, supplemental food, health care and much more.

I sponsor 2 boys through compassion. My whole family loves seeing the letter from the kids in our mailbox. Both boys share how they are praying for us. They tell us about their schooling and their country. They share prayer requests and ask us questions. Our younger boy's mother started out doing the writing. I love that we had the chance to connect with her as well. My boys and I write back, separately and together. We're building relationships with these boys who live continents away. I am always awed and humbled by the spirits of these boys.

Go here and read their stories from this past week. Then sponsor a child (or 2). You'll transform lives, including your own.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

This Harsh World, The Butterfly Effect and The End of the Story

These last few weeks have been hard to process. I feel overwhelmed with the realities of this world. The reality that this is a hard and sad, broken place. The shootings in Aurora, the continued genocide in Zimbabwe , the attacks on men standing firm in what they believe , the selling of people and the list can go on and on. I strongly believe with all that I am that we serve a Good and Merciful God. And yet in times like this I can doubt and question where is His goodness when we need it most. I'll never cease to be amazed at how my God answers me. It was all over everywhere. As I questioned and shook my fists and asked "why?" and " how could you let this be?", He gently answered me over and over again .  As I asked these questions with tears in my eyes, He reminded me of the book I had finished on the beach a few weeks ago. This man full of God given wisdom wrote: There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and...

Expectations

Five minute Friday where we write for 5 minutes, link up and read (encourage and compliment) the person linked before us. We write for 5 minutes without editing. Visit The Gypsy Mama and join in. Expectations.. . Go Expectations kill relationships. I can't think of one relationship that doesn't suffer because of expectations. Sure, we have to have them to some degree. We expect safety and civility. We have higher expectations of respect and love. And even higher ones of knights in armor and happy endings. But really, what would happen if we let all the expectations go? If the ones we loved didn't have to live up to some story or image we built up in our heads? What if we took each interaction on it's own merit. What if we loved the best way we knew how and stopped letting ourselves be disappointed with how things turned out, or how they didn't. Or maybe we could adjust what we expect. Maybe we expect the pain and the struggle. No one said there wasn't...