Write to your Compassion Child: Share the Gospel

When I was on my last Compassion sponsor trip in March of 2019, I noticed that one of the translators with us had on a bracelet with four symbols. The four symbols were a heart, a division sign, a cross, and a question mark. I asked him to share with me what the symbols meant. He told me he got the bracelet from a ministry called Cru. The bracelet is one thing they use to give people an easy way to talk about Jesus.

Basically, the heart means that God loves us, the division sign means that we live apart from God, the cross means that Jesus gave everything for us, and the question mark asks ‘will I choose to follow Jesus?’.

Have you ever shared the Gospel in a letter to your Compassion sponsored child?

This might be the best time to share the Gospel with your sponsored child, especially if you know they have not decided to follow Jesus yet.

I love that Compassion’s mission is to ‘release children from poverty in Jesus’ name’.

There is no guarantee that this life is going to be easy and without struggles and challenges. Our Compassion children and their families have to overcome struggles and challenges that we may never experience living here in the United States.

When they realize the eternal hope that Jesus provides, they are filled with so much joy like I have never seen on the faces of Christians living here in the United States.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior this Christmas, consider taking the opportunity to share the Gospel with your Compassion sponsored child in your next letter.

Have you discovered 'A Year With My Camera'?

Today, I did a quick search for a photography challenge and found out that A Year With My Camera was starting a new yearlong workshop today!

This course is a free, yearlong beginner’s photography workshop with weekly homework.

I really don’t consider myself a beginner photographer, but I have been lacking inspiration of what to take pictures of with my DSLR.

The first thing I discovered on the website is this Make 30 Photos list.

I loved that this list did not start with a self-portrait!

After reading the list, I picked up my camera and took a few pictures that matched the first prompt: fill the frame with color.

It felt good to pick up my camera and take some creative shots with things I already have around my home. Maybe this will be the encouragement I need to pick up my camera every day, instead of letting it collect dust.

Have you discovered something new to do this year?

Write to your Compassion Child: Bible Verse Image

Back in January, I shared a Compassion letter writing idea about creating a fun birthday photo collage to add to a letter for your sponsored child. In that post, I wrote about how I know our sponsored children love receiving photos in their letters.

In fact, on the Compassion blog, their latest post mentions that for little Kenenisa, “photos are his favorite thing to receive, and every time he gets one he makes sure to share it with the other children at the center.”

Over the years of writing to our sponsored children, I have sent many photos of our family.

But I also love to take photos on our days trips from some of the beautiful places we have here in California, then I add Bible verses using Canva, and add those photos to the letters I send to our sponsored children.

Here are a few I have sent over the years:

Your photos do not have to be taken with any super special camera. Some of the ones I have used for these Bible verse images are ones I have taken with my iPhone.

In the text of your letter, you can explain why that particular Bible verse is important to you and maybe explain a bit about the photograph. The more Truth we can share with our sponsored children, the more hope they can have and know that they have a loving Father who is watching out for them.

What Bible verses have you shared with your Compassion sponsored children?

Write to your Compassion Child: Sermon Notes

Back at the beginning of March, I wrote out the Bible verses from Matthew 6:25-34. It was reminder for me to not be anxious with all the incoming new’s reports that were coming in about COVID-19. We were getting ready for our son’s wedding, and I really needed a good dose of God’s Word to keep me grounded during that crazy week.

The online sermon I watched before we flew to Illinois for the wedding was from McLean Bible Church and David Platt, the pastor, preached a sermon on those same verses from Matthew 6:25-34. The definition he shared for the word ‘anxiety’ was this: “carrying concerns in this world in such a way that we lose perspective on life and/or lack of trust in God.”

Since March 15, I have watched almost all of the sermons from McLean Bible Church, have learned a lot, and have been encouraged by the sermons they are sharing each week.

This summer, they are doing a series through Philippians 4. The sermon from July 26th addressed the issue of anxiety again.

In this crazy time that we are living through, I know it has been a challenge for me to think about what to write to our Compassion sponsored children. So I thought, sharing some notes from the sermons I have been listening to might be the best thing for them to hear right now.

It is heartbreaking to read the updates from the countries where Compassion works through the local churches. We are living through a time that none of us has ever experienced before.

When I write letters to my Compassion sponsored children, I want to remind them of God’s love for them and encourage them as much as possible. I do not know when our letters will be delivered, but Compassion is encouraging us to continue writing to our sponsored children.

What has been an encouragement for you from the sermons you have listened to over the past few months?

California Day Trips!

Anyone who knows me really well, knows how much I love a good adventure!

Over the past three months, I have spent a lot of time outside, exploring the beautiful state where I live.

Living in the Central Valley of California, I have access to the coast and the mountains, all within a couple of hours drive in each direction.

One of my dream jobs would be to take people on day trips and take candid and portrait photos while we explore some amazing parts of California.

Since this is not really the best time to be starting some sort of travel-related business, I decided to start a new Instagram account highlighting some of my favorite places close to where I live.

One of my most favorite day trip destinations is Yosemite National Park. Even with all the times I have been here, I still have not explored and discovered all that this park has to offer.

As I mentioned in my Instagram post, the current reservation system prevents us from making a spontaneous trip to Yosemite, but now is the time to head up to the mountains and explore this park, especially if you have never been here.

Normally, Yosemite Valley is very crowded during the summer months with thousands of international visitors. As much as I miss chatting with international visitors, I am enjoying the less crowded park.

Have you been to Yosemite? What is your favorite part of the park?

What is your favorite California day trip location?