Compassion by the Numbers

For the past four and a half years, I have been serving as the Volunteer Coordinator for Compassion events in Northern California. In this role, I do a lot of behind the scenes activities to make sure that there is volunteer coverage at all events in Northern California where the Compassion sponsorship opportunity is being presented. This could be any number of events: conferences, concerts, Compassion Experience events, etc.

Our region can be extremely busy!

Over the last six months, I learned that we had 19 events in our region.

For these 19 events, we had 449 volunteers.

At these 19 events with these 449 volunteers, 1293 Compassion children were sponsored!!

What? Say that again!

One thousand, two hundred, ninety three children!

That is basically FIVE Compassion centers of children!!

But the thing I love about Compassion, it is not about the big numbers.

When one child is sponsored, it changes that one child’s life.

That child will have their basic needs met.

That child will learn about how much Jesus loves them.

And when that one child decides to follow Jesus, it impacts them for eternity.

When we look at the overall issue of global poverty, we can feel stuck.

Compassion is helping each one of us tackle global poverty, one child at a time.

I would love for everyone who takes the time to read my blog to sponsor a Compassion child.

Will you sponsor a waiting Compassion child today?

The ABCs of Compassion - Individual

When I starting thinking about this series of posts about Compassion, I knew some letters would be a challenge to come up with an appropriate word for the letter. Take ‘I’ for instance…

International? Could work, but I just did a post on ‘Global’ which kind of means the same thing.

Invest? Sounds more like a financial term.

Integrity? Another one that could work.

Impact? Well…

Then, it hit me…Individual!

And why ‘individual’?

Each individual child registered into Compassion’s program is individually known, loved, and protected at their local Compassion center.

Each individual Compassion child at every center around the world has their own individual binder. Entries are made in these binders for the registered Compassion children in four key areas: Socio-emotional, physical, educational, and spiritual development.

Copies of birth certificates, immunization records, health check-ups, copies of letters from sponsors, receipts of purchases for financial gifts from sponsors, profession of faith certificates…these are just a few of the items in the binders for each individual child.

And best of all about the word ‘individual’?

When you sponsor a Compassion child, you are the only sponsor for that individual child!

If you are not a Compassion sponsor already, what is stopping you from becoming a sponsor today?

The ABCs of Compassion - Holistic

The next installment in my series on the ABCs of Compassion is the word ‘holistic’.

Why is it important that Compassion uses a holistic child development model?

Merriam-Webster defines ‘holistic’ as: “relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts”.

All of us have critical needs that need to be met every day.

We all need water.

We all need food.

We all need shelter.

We all need clothing.

We all need basic medical needs met.

We all need to know we are loved.

Imagine trying to survive without one of these basic needs and you will have a hard time. Period.

Compassion realizes that children growing up in extreme poverty need more than just clean water and food.

Compassion realizes that children growing up in extreme poverty need to have their physical, social, economic, and spiritual needs met.

Holistic.

The whole child.

When you sponsor a child through Compassion, you become a partner with the local church and that child’s family.

Your monthly sponsorship provides for the holistic needs of the child, their physical needs, their social needs, the economic needs, and the spiritual needs.

You are providing more than just clean water and food.

You are given the opportunity to pour into that child through letters and prayers to help them dream and have a bigger hope for their future.

Will you sponsor a Compassion child today?

Today...

Each and every day, we have a million choices to make...

What to eat? 

What to wear?

What to do?

Some of these choices are simple ones, others require a little more thought and planning.

But today, I want to offer you a choice that makes an eternal difference in the life of a child.

Sponsoring a child through Compassion International not only helps that child physically, socially, and emotionally...but it helps the child spiritually.

How does Compassion help a child spiritually?

Compassion works with over 6000 implementing church partners in 26 developing countries. These churches know which children are the neediest of the needy. And by working through the local church, each one of these child are taught about Jesus.

He is the eternal hope that will set these children free!

So today, I am giving you an opportunity to sponsor one of these four children: Alejandra, Nicolas, Eliab, and Diaile.

You can partner with their local church to teach these children about Jesus. You can tell them that Jesus loves them. You can encourage them to pursue their dreams.

Each of these children have been waiting over six months for a sponsor. Today, you can end their wait.

Comment below or e-mail me at kymk99@gmail.com to begin your sponsorship journey today!

Colombia Day Six: Our Final Day

Our final day in Colombia was spent at a church with the most energetic, passionate pastor I have ever met. Here is a video of his sharing with our group at the end of our day together:

So you know if he had this much energy at the end of our day together, you can just imagine how much energy he had at the beginning of our day!

Our day at this center started like many other center visits with presentations by the children. But I don't believe any of us were prepared for this (be sure to have kleenex handy...):

I know you may want to pass over the video, but don't...it is one of the most precious things I have ever watched.

Yes, God is in this city in Colombia.

And He is in many more cities just like this one.

In many more communities and countries around our world.

He is waiting for His people to do His work to share with His children just how much they are loved by Him.

I am not saying that you need to sponsor a Compassion child. 

But if you have ever felt that tug at your heart...

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.”

— https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+58%3A6-10&version=ESV