More Than a Picture

Our family recently made the decision to sponsor another child with Compassion.

Since our first sponsor child was chosen to be of a similar age to Brie, we wanted our second child to be close in age to Ella.

I think this just makes these kids more relatable and they become more than just a picture on the fridge. Afterall we send many pictures and letters to our sponsored kids in order to show them how much we care.

For several weeks now we have been waiting to get a picture of our new sponsor child, Mary, in the mail.

Ella has asked literally DOZENS of times when her picture was coming.

Finally yesterday, our new picture arrived. I promptly put it on the fridge beside the picture of Ashly, our first sponsor child.

When I was tucking Ella into bed last night, this is what I saw...

Mary has made her way not only into Ella's room, but into her heart as well.

How could you not love a sweet face like this?

Kenya has always held a special place in my heart. I'm not exactly what draws me towards that country, but I have specifically wanted to sponsor a child from there for quite some time now. This country is filled with amazing culture and animals, but I know God has placed this country in my heart for a deeper purpose.

Maybe it was for Mary.

Compassion Bloggers is sending another team of bloggers to Kenya this week. Their flight actually leaves today. You can be sure that I will be tuning in daily to read about their experiences.

If you want to welcome a sponsor child not only into your home, but into your hearts as well, you can do so today!

Come Together Now

What an emotional collaboration of talented artists!

Michael W Smith is actually coming to Saskatoon in May and I already have plans to volunteer at the Compassion booth that will be set up there.

He was recently in Haiti to witness the devastation firsthand, and he is already an advocate for Compassion, along with other wonderful charity organizations. I pray that God will help many more to see the need for child sponsorship through this event.

Compassion was in Haiti before the earthquake. They are still there now. They will continue to be there to help repair and restore broken souls, not just broken buildings.

There are 3 basic but essential points to understand about Compassion:

• Christ Centered
• Child Focused
• Church Based

There is also a great new website called OurCompassion, which is like facebook, in order to connect with other sponsors and to share about your own sponsored children. Check it out!

Compassion In Haiti

By now everyone has heard about the devastation because of the Haiti earthquake.

Have you considered using your resources to assist this country in desperate need?

Compassion's Haiti Disaster Relief and Recovery will provide urgent essential supplies and immediate care to Compassion-assisted children, families and projects affected by this major natural disaster, plus ongoing support to repair and rebuild damaged homes and centers.

Compassion sponsors and donors are serving approximately 65,000 children in Haiti. At least one third of those children live in or around Port au Prince.

That's roughly between 20,000 and 25,000 children in the worst nightmare of their lives.

How will your donations be used?

• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families' needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families' needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.

Many wonderful organizations are currently seeking donations for Haiti disaster relief. You can be confident that with Compassion, these children and their families are hearing about the love of Christ. We are not sure what the status of the 230 churches are right now, but God's love will be evident in the midst of this despair.

Would you please make a donation now?

The Gift Of Sponsorship

This season of "gimme gimme" is upon us.

Why not consider giving to someone who truly needs it?

You can begin to change a life today!

You can sponsor a child through Compassion.

Through your sponsorship you will be providing for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

Is there any better gift than that?

There are many children who have been waiting for over a year to be sponsored.

Would you please consider offering one of them a better life this Christmas?

Or if you aren't able to commit to $35 right now, maybe you could consider sending a one-time gift? You can send vegetable seeds, dental care, school supplies and so much more.

Please pray about it today!

Compassion El Salvador

Today marks the beginning of another Compassion Bloggers trip.

This week a group of bloggers will be in El Salvador.

I really know nothing about this country, so it will be interesting to hear more details as they are posted.

Today is also the 6th birthday of the girl we sponsor. Happy birthday sweet Ashly! We are thinking of and praying for you today.

I actually just sent her some tattoos in the mail last week, which she should get in time for the 2010 Olympics. Correspondence is slow, but oh so worthwhile! Not too long ago, she sent us a lovely drawing that is now permanently on our fridge.

My girls talk about Ashly ALL the time. They would love to meet her, so we have begun to pray that God would make this possible some day.

There are many kids who still need a sponsor and I have chosen to take a more active role with Compassion to share my experiences and look for more sponsors. Would you consider it today?

It's only $35 a month and will forever change a child's life.

It would also make a wonderful Christmas gift for someone.

Please pray about it.

Also, to help get your kids involved Compassion has created a fun website for them.

Compassion Columbia

Today my sister Kerrie leaves for a life-changing trip to Columbia.

She is travelling with Compassion Canada and will be able to meet both of the kids that she sponsors!

She has a long flight ahead of her today, and a very busy week full of visits to various Compassion projects and offices.

The group she is travelling with even has a blog so that we can stay updated.

Please pray for her as she begins this journey today.

Yard Sale Success

Saturday was the big day for our yard sale.

However we were even able to presell a bunch of big baby things (jumperoo, high chair, swing, etc) on Friday to a couple that is expecting twins.

We planned to start at 9 am on Saturday, but I am amazed (and a little disgusted...if I'm being completely honest) at the people who start driving by at 8am.  People, I haven't even taken the stuff out of my house yet because I am getting kids fed and washed, hair brushed, husband woken up (since he worked until 3 am)  Give me time to get those things done first before I start unloading everything outside!!

We forgot to take a picture first thing in the rush to get everything out quickly since people were already getting out of their cars at 8:30, but here's what was leftover later on in the morning.

The day certainly wasn't warm, but we were able to get a little bit of sunshine first thing in the morning.  

And the people just kept on coming!  It was a steady stream of people for the first hour and a half.  

After that the traffic was slow but we kept on selling stuff, which was great!

We still have some stuff left, including a couple of big items.  Anyone need a crib or a baby carseat/stroller combo?  We will be in search of someone who could use these things now!  Then we will be donating some stuff and my house will be much tidier!  It feels great to get all this stuff out of the way.  My basement cupboards have room in them now!

I think we will have to do the yard sale thing every 10 years to clean out our house of the things we no longer need or use.  It's amazing how the sales of those $0.50 and $2.00 things really add up if you sell enough of them too!

Along with the yard sale, my girls were selling freshly squeezed lemonade and cookies.  I picked up this awesome stand from Sunkist a few years ago and was excited to pull it out finally!  I mentioned the idea of donating the money to someone who could really use it and immediately Brie said "Let's give it to Ashly."  

Ashly is the girl we sponsor through Compassion.  

I love that we talk about her enough to make a long-lasting impact on my kids.  They are learning to share and think of others because of this precious girl in the Dominican Republic. And are my kids going to miss the money from the lemonade sales?  Of course not!

So now Ashly and her family will get to buy something that they DO actually need!  

It's a win-win for everyone!

Compassion Sends Bloggers To India

Yesterday Compassion sent a new group of bloggers on a journey to India.

As I've said before, the first Compassion Bloggers trip was to Uganda.  Reading about this trip, with the pictures and the videos, really inspired me to become more involved with this organization.  

This is the third blogger trip with Compassion.  It's the ame as previous trips, they are going to share their experiences with the rest of the world.  The good, the bad and the ugly.

If you have watched Slumdog Millionaire, then you will know the kind of ugly that these brave women and men will experience firsthand.  They are travelling to Kolkata (Calcutta) and will begin their blogging tomorrow.  

Please pray for these people as I'm sure their lives will be forever changed in the upcoming week.

Bloggers:
Pete Wilson - http://www.withoutwax.tv
Melissa Fitzpatrick - http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com
Angela Smith - http://www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com
Robin Dance - http://www.pensieve.typepad.com

Photography:
Keely Scott - http://www.keelymariescott.com

Videography:
Anne Jackson - http://www.flowerdust.net

Leaders:
Spence Smith - http://www.spencesmith.com
Patricia Jones - http://jonesbones5.com
Shaun Groves - http://www.shaungroves.com/shlog

Sharing Compassion

In April, Compassion International is sending more bloggers on a trip.  This time the destination is India.  5 more bloggers will get to share their life-changing experiences with the online world.  

I truly look forward to reading all about it from a different perspective than my own.  I would love to be able to experience this for myself someday.

One of my sisters is actually making a trip with Compassion Canada this summer to Columbia. The child she sponsors lives in Columbia and she will get to meet him face-to-face after 2 1/2 years of sending letters back and forth.  She will also get to see firsthand the amazing work that is done through this organization.    

Everything I hear about the sponsorship program is wonderful.  Compassion works through more than 4000 local churches in 25 of the world's poorest countries to deliver care to the children that are sponsored.  

Sponsoring a child only costs $35 a month.  I know that times are getting tougher with the financial crisis surrounding us, but think of the cost of your newspaper, your coffee, your TV.  

Currently there are over 12,000 children that have been waiting to be sponsored for over 6 months.

Is there someway that you can make it work?

Wess Stafford, the president of Compassion, made a great thank you video.  He says it more eloquently than I ever could.  Click here to watch the Compassion video on Facebook. 

I have a few links on my blog that will take you to either Compassion Canada or Compassion Bloggers.  Please consider making a positive change to someone's life today!

This Sunday, I am Sharing Compassion with my church.  I truly pray that more people will see the importance of child sponsorship!

Compassion Bloggers Are In The DR

Yesterday Compassion International sent several bloggers to the Dominican Republic.

Some of you may recall that Compassion sent their first set of bloggers to Uganda in February. Reading some of their stories, and watching their videos made me think of our own child that we sponsor.

Ashly actually is from the DR. So I'm curious to know if she will run into these bloggers while they are there this week.

She is turning 5 this week. What a special week for this precious child. We continue to send letters back and forth to her. Her last letter said that she would send us a picture of her birthday. She also asked me to teach her one of our songs. She asked "are they beautiful?"

How could you not love a girl like that?

So I need to pray for these bloggers this week, for whoever they meet, whoever they come into contact with. That God would be encouraging, healing and changing lives.

Make sure you check out the frequent updates from these bloggers too. Here's the list of them:

Jennifer Dovavan from 5MinutesForMom
Mary Ostyn from Owl Haven
Nick Challies from Challies Jr
Marlboro Man from Pioneer Woman
Melanie from The Big Mama
Tim Challies from Challies

and the leaders:

Brian Seay
Shaun Groves
Keely Scott (photographer)

Please keep these people in your prayers this week too.