Giving & Serving: With Compassion

When Jessica asked me to write for the Blog about what Compassion means to me, I was excited to share the joy it has brought our family. For years, I was one of those that "changed the channel" when those poor children commercials came on TV. It was just too upsetting to me.

In 2004, my husband and I attended a Michael W. Smith concert and he was promoting sponsoring children through Compassion International. Ushers went through the aisles of the Ford Amphitheater and passed out stacks of photos and bios of children waiting to be sponsored. My husband and I were not really sure what it was all about, but we trusted Michael W. Smith and we just took the child that was on the top of the pile. We signed up to support the child monthly through a direct deposit. Later, we found there were other opportunities to support our child with birthday and Christmas gifts, as well as direct support for her family. These additional opportunities are not required but have given us great joy. Being a "bit skeptical," I researched the organization through Charity Navigator and found them to be above reproach in how they spend their money.

We found great joy in writing our little girl and telling her about our lives. She writes us, draws pictures for us, and is always so thankful for what we give her. She always writes that she is also praying for us. The biggest shock came the first time we gave her birthday money. She wrote us and told us about the chicken she bought. At first, my heart was sad because I wanted her to buy a doll or some new books or something fun for herself. But, the poverty that she lives in does not allow them the privilege of buying toys. With the purchase of a chicken, they were able to have eggs for food for the family. Since then, we are accustomed to her thank you notes being about the chickens, cows or other animals that her family buys with the money. Her name is Marie Denise and she lives in Haiti. The day after the earthquake, I spent hours online trying to make sure that her area was safe. I love how we have become emotionally connected to her family.

A year later, we decided we wanted another child. This time, we put more thought to it. We did not have children at that time and we decided to sponsor a child that had the same birthday I do and that was the same age as our nephew. We chose Levi who lives in Bolivia. Levi writes us very often. His family's circumstances are somewhat better than Marie Denise's and he actually sends us photos of the things he buys with the money that we send them. It is so exciting to get a photo with his smiling face and big bags of food and other necessities, a used bed or dresser and maybe a small toy that his family has been able to purchase with just the small amount of money that we send to them. When I think that I had two choices of what to do with $38.00 a month....get a pedicure or help this child and his family, the letters always reinforce that helping this family was the right choice.

We now have our own children and they are 3 years and 6 months. We look forward to teaching them about Compassion as they get older. Our plan is to have each of them pick a child that shares their birthday so that they will feel a connection to that child. Other ways of picking a child are Mom and Dad's anniversary or any special family date for the sponsored child's birthday. A shared or common special day really tightens the bond with the child. There are so many things that can be taught to young children through the Compassion program. They can learn to pray for the child that their family supports. Putting photos in their room of their "friend" can help them remember the child in their prayers. We feel our children can learn about the culture of the children we sponsor. They can see that we are so blessed in America and that other countries do not have all of the material things that we have. As they get older, we will encourage them to give part of their money to help these children. There are so many lessons that can be taught through Compassion that we feel like it is the perfect organization for us to use with our children.

Compassion is an official MOPS sponsor and I urge you to get involved. You can do a one time donation to help in Haiti or other poverty stricken areas of the world or you can select a child to sponsor. Sponsorships are $38.00 a month. The web site is http://www.compassion.com/. Sponsor a child and from the time your first letter comes from them....your life will never be the same.

~Submitted by Lanie Sandridge of Harborside MOPS