Serving Those In Need

Today we received a new blog prompt to write about the following topic.  "How did you start serving those in need and what works best?"

This is such a broad topic that I'd like to throw a few random ideas out there of ways to serve those in need in small ways, as well as our main way of helping those in need:   Sponsoring kids with Compassion International!

Some random ways we help those in need are by giving money to our church, to other local/national charities, helping donate food to a food drive, donate items to women's shelters, etc.  We went on a mission trip to Costa Rica a few years ago with church and helped out at an orphanage for a week.  We try to help our neighbors, friends/family, etc. when we can and just be helpful people (since those in need might not always be in poverty....they might just be someone without the same skills as you).  What works best is doing what you financially and physically are able to do at the time.  No one can be expected to give millions or work full time volunteering (although it would be awesome if we had those capabilities!) so any good deed is appreciated by the recipient.  Even kind words of encouragement can go a long way to brighten someone's day (which is free).

Our main way of helping those in need is by sponsoring children with Compassion International.  Over the past 3.5 years, being sponsors has been so rewarding for us.  By sponsoring, we see the good it does in their lives to have a sponsor who cares for them, writes to them, and helps them with their basic needs (through the Compassion project they belong to).  We've also had the opportunity to visit 5 of our 14 kids so far and those are life changing experiences and memories.  Being able to see their homes, the poverty they live in, meet their families and see the joy they have in their lives (despite their poverty), etc. was amazing.  Even being a correspondence sponsor has been a really rewarding thing to bring encouragement and support into the children's lives through the letters we write, stickers we send, and birthday gift money we send too.  

I strongly encourage you to sponsor a child today.  It is $38 a month (for us, its eating out one or two less times a month) and you are helping one child help break the cycle of poverty through sponsorship and encouraging words in the letters you write them (and they write back wonderful letters too!).  Click on the links on this blog to sponsor a child today.  Thanks for reading.

Happy Fathers Day!

I know I'm a day late, but its never too late to celebrate our fathers!  I want to thank my own dad for being such a wonderful guy.  He has always been there for me, he's a silly and fun guy, and a great role model.  My father-in-law is also an awesome dad.

Our heavenly father is also a great dad.  He blesses & loves us each and every day even when we probably don't deserve it.  I want to thank God for always being there for me too :)

I know this is a short post, but sometimes life gets crazy so back to work for me.

Happy belated fathers day everyone.

Anyone want to sponsor Lebron James?

Last week I went to a meeting with other advocates to learn some new ways to tell people about Compassion and the different programs (Bite Back, Water of Life, etc.).  It was a fun meeting but we also got to look through some child packets to take to advocate for.

I was immediately drawn towards little Lebron James.

Isn't he a cutie!  He's from the Philippines, which holds a special place in my heart (since our two correspondence kids are such great writers from the Philippines and we were able to visit them last November and see where they live).

When we were in the Philippines we saw just how much they LOVE basketball so I thought it was cute that this little guys parents may have named him after a basketball player from the USA that they like.

His birthday is the day before Christmas (December 24, 2011).  He's 3.5 years old now.  He lives with both his parents and there are two kids in the family.  He likes art.

If you, or someone you know would like to sponsor little Lebron James (any basketball fans out there?), just let me know.  I have this packet for the next month.  Thanks!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all mothers out there for the work they do every day!  I've had one of the best mom's ever growing up and I am lucky that she is still healthy and a big part of my life.  She has shaped me into the woman I am today with strong morals, good budget/saving skills, a kind heart, etc. (not to brag).  Without her good example, I wouldn't be who I am today. 

I was blessed with other positive female role models too such as coaches, grandmothers, aunts, family friends, etc.

While I am not an actual mother myself yet, I do consider myself a "mom" to my 14 Compassion sponsored and correspondence kids.  While in the Philippines, 14 (almost 15) year old Zymvra asked if he could call us mom and dad which was a special moment.  Now every few sentences he calls us mom and dad in the letters he writes to us.  Some of the other kids call us parents too and a few call us auntie & uncle.  I care about each of them as I would my own child. 

I'd like to thank all mothers out there and encourage you to sponsor a child today in honor of your mother :)  Or even just write to your sponsored children and tell them to give a special message of thanks to their mothers. 

Older Kids Needing Sponsors

On Monday I mentioned how I had found several kids from the projects where our Compassion kids are located that still need sponsors.  I had posted about "Alone" from India, and today it looks like he was sponsored!  I am so happy for him to get a sponsor (and glad I won't be tempted to sponsor him myself now).

Since he's off my list now, I figured I'd post a few more kids still in need of sponsors.  Today I figured I'd concentrate on the older kids since they hold a special place in my heart.  These kids (young adults really) are 18 years or older so they have less than 4 years left in the program (some are older yet, so they have even less time).  If you want to sponsor someone for only a couple years, these kids would be perfect since the time frame is shorter than sponsoring a 4 year old.  Older kids are awesome too because they can write their own letters, write longer letters, and you can be a great friend/mentor to them for the last few years of the program.

So without further ado, I present the young adults.....

Tanzania:

Rose

 

Rose's birthday is November 28, 1995 (so she's 19 years old...will be 20 in November).  She only has 2 years and 9 months left in the program so it would be awesome if she had a stable sponsor for the remainder of her time in the program to give her advice and encouragement.  She's only in middle school currently so your support would mean so much to her and could help her finish off school hopefully!  We've received report cards for some of our Tanzania kids so you might even get to see how she's doing in school too!  She's in the same project that our oldest (Selemani) was from (he left the program when he moved out of the area a little before he turned 21). 
 
Click here to learn more about Rose or to sponsor her.

India:

Chandralega

Chandralega is from India and her birthday is November 13, 1996 (so she's 18 currently...will be 19 in November).  She's from the same project that our Priyanga is from (our girl is 15 now).  Our girl from this project writes to us in English so it makes it easy to send her things in English as well.  She did write to us once in her other language (but also translated her own letter) so it was pretty seeing the other language too.  Chandralega lives with her parents and there are 4 kids in the family.  I'm assuming that she's probably getting close to graduating HS but would then go on to skills training or even college hopefully depending on the situation.  She likes singing and art.

Click here to learn more about Chandralega or to sponsor her.

Rwanda:

We have an 18 year old girl from the same project as the next 3 kids.  She writes nice letters when she's able to (since she's at boarding school for her high school....so these kids might be as well, in which case they would write when they go to the project during breaks and such).  Our girl Diane might even know some of these kids since they are all similar aged (which is why I'm trying not to sponsor them myself since my letters would be the same and I'd hate for them to compare...lol).

Furaha

This young lady- Furaha has a birthday on July 26, 1996 (so she's 18 currently but 19 in July).  She lives with both parents and there are 3 kids in the family.  She's in High School currently. 

Click here to learn more about Furaha or to sponsor her.

Jean Paul

This young man has been waiting 211 days for a sponsor!  Jean Paul's birthday is October 16, 1996 (so he's 18 years old now, 19 in October).  He lives with his parents and there are 7 kids in the family so I'm sure he and his family could really use the support of a loving sponsor.  He likes volleyball, soccer, and he's in High School.  Consider sponsoring Jean Paul to end his long wait!

Click here to learn more about Jean Paul or to sponsor him.

Ruvuta

Ruvuta has been waiting for 230 days for a sponsor.  His birthday is May 25, 1996 (so he's 18, but soon to be 19).  He lives with his parents and there are 5 kids in his family.  He likes soccer, basketball, marbles, and singing in the choir.  He's in High School as well.  Help end his wait for a sponsor!

Click here to learn more about Ruvuta or to sponsor him.



Please let me know if you end up sponsoring any of these kids since I'd love to find out how they do.  Thanks again for praying for these kids and feel free to pass on their information if you have a friend that might be interested in sponsoring them as well.  Thanks!