Charity

After last week’s Dear Me post and, with prompting from Compassion, I’m writing a letter to God today.  When we got this assignment last week I started thinking about it and all week I’ve been trying to figure out what I was going to say.  Brianne told us that as of last Monday we had already had 837 new sponsorships!  That’s 837 children who got the news that they have been chosen by someone and now have a specific family that will be praying for them and that they can pray for.  Can you imagine the joy on those children’s faces?  There are still 2,271 children to go to meet the goal for Compassion’s Blog Month in September.  If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor check out Compassion’s page.  And pray with me for God to move in a big way this month in the lives of these children and the lives of those who are sponsoring and praying for them.

Dear Lord,
We are taught from a young age that you love the little children.  I’ve been singing “Jesus Loves You” to my children since they were born and putting their names in the song.

Jesus loves Charlotte, this I know.  

Jesus loves James, this I know.

For the Bible tell me so.  Little one’s to Him belong.  They are weak but He is strong.  Yes, Jesus loves Charlotte.  Yes, Jesus loves James.  Yes, Jesus loves Charlotte and James.  The Bible tells me so.

It amazes me to sit here and think that you love my children more than I do.  That your love encompasses them and me and that you loved them before time began and gave your only Son for them.  And I think about how thankful I am that I can teach them that even though Jason and I love them forever and ever and so very, very much, that you somehow love them even more than we do.  

Lord, I don’t know a lot, but I know that you love the little children.  Those who are just learning about you and those who are walking in darkness.  You love my children, who have never known what it’s like to be hungry or not have a solid roof over their heads.  And you love the children that are sitting in a hut in Rwanda right now with rain pouring in through the cracks and wondering whether they’re going to have anything to eat this week.

Thank you for loving every child in the world.  And thank you for organizations who take care of the children.  These that are so young that they can’t make a way for themselves yet.  Those that are so downtrodden that they can’t even see that there might be a way for themselves.  Thank you for providing for them through organizations like Compassion to draw them to you and teach them that you have a purpose and a plan for their life.

Lord, please move this month in the hearts of those across the world.  Please touch all of our hearts and give us a passion to help these children that so desperately need our help.  Please bring about a revolution that makes those who don’t believe stop and stare and wonder why all these people are doing so much for those who can’t give them anything tangible in return.

Please use this movement to bring glory to your name.  Please bless those that are praying for your will in their lives and their finances.  Please bless those who can’t help financially but who can cover these children with prayer.  Please bless those who work day to day helping these children learn about you.  And please Lord, please, bless the children.  Every single one of them on this Earth.  So that they might grow into a population who seeks You first and others second and themselves last.

Thank you for the opportunity to change the world through your power.  Please help me believe that you can change the world through us.

I love you,
Jennifer

Sometimes the pain in the world seems overwhelming.  Wars.  Famine.  Hatred.  Pain.  Selfishness.  I could go on and on.  It so overwhelms me that I’ve actually removed all news apps from my phone and hardly ever check the news online.  When I’m surrounded by the news of the sin in our world it can sometimes seem like that there’s nothing I can do to make a difference.

When I get into a place where I’m overwhelmed with the nature of the world around us, it’s often easy to turn inward and stuff those feelings down to think about them “later”.  But then when later comes they’re just concerns piled on concerns and not only are my feelings not eased but they’re compounded.

One thing that I wish I did more instinctively, but am still trying to put into practice, is turning upward when I’m feeling so overwhelmed.  Looking for little things that I can do to make a difference in this world.  Satan wants us to feel like there is nothing that we can do to make a difference but God tells us that that is not true.

As you might know I am associated with the group Compassion Bloggers.  There are lots of big names in the blog-world associated with this group (BigMama, BooMama, Angie Smith, The Pioneer Woman, Ann Voskamp…just to name a few) but all my being associated with it really means is that I feel like the ministry that Compassion does is important and I want to share their ministry with others.

During the month of September, Compassion is having a “blog month.”  They are working hard to get 3,108 children sponsored between the dates of September 1st and September 30th.  And they’re going to use their bloggers to help achieve that goal.  Every week during the month they will provide us with a topic to blog on (they provide us with most of the topics and information that we blog on throughout the year) and then sometime during that week I will blog about the topic and share the information with you.

There are a lot of reasons why I want to share this with you.  I know that some of you read my blog because you’re family and you like to keep up with the kids.  Or we’re friends or acquaintances and you want to see what our family is up to.  Or you’re someone that I know online or don’t know at all but, for some reason, you’ve connected with me and us and are keeping up with us.  I want anyone to be welcome here and don’t want to exclude anyone [except crazies…if you’re crazy please don’t read my blog (: ].  I know that some of you share my beliefs that Christ is my personal Savior and some don’t.  Some have money left over at the end of the month and some don’t.  Some feel called to use their extra money to support local ministries or some other organization.  And all of that is fine.  There is nothing saying that because you read at Tales of a Peanut that you have to support, believe in, or give money to Compassion.

Some of you might skip these posts.  Some might be frustrated because of all the Jesus talk.  Some might think that there are better places to spend your money.  But for some of you it might be different.  You might be looking for a place to get involved.  You might be looking for an area where your money can reach children and literally impact the world.  You might be wondering what being a Christ-follower means and how you can put that into practice in your busy life where you have extra resources but not extra time.  You might love going on mission trips to help those in need but find that your family…little one’s, spouse, aging parents…need you more at home right now.  For those of you looking for something new to be involved in, please follow along with me during this month.  Let’s learn how we can change the life of a child with $38 a month.  Let’s pray about whether this is an opportunity that would fit in with our lives and our families.  Let’s see if you want to get involved by becoming a Compassion Blogger yourself (check out their post for the run down on September blog month) or by sponsoring one child or ten children.

I will be blogging about the topics that we’re given because no one other than Compassion headquarters knows more about the program and they can provide me with more resources and information than I have on my own.  But if you have any questions or want more information about something, please email me (talesofapeanut at gmail dot com) or leave me a comment and I’ll try my hardest to find out that information and share it with you and everyone else.

I believe that God calls us to be missionaries to the world and to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I believe that includes being a missionary in our own family/church/town/state/country but I also believe that there are lots of people who haven’t heard the Good News throughout the world.  Compassion allows me to reach some of those people without leaving my home.  And if the most number of people sponsor children from my posts this month, I would be so honored and excited to travel with Compassion on a blog trip next year to meet those people in person.

Please be thinking and praying about how you could possibly be involved with Compassion and be on the lookout for the first blog month post next week!

In life there are seasons of fulfillment and seasons of waiting.  Times when I’ve asked God for something that I feel is something that he has called me to and there is no immediate answer.  I don’t feel like I’ve been told no, I’ve just been told to wait.  And while those seasons are difficult to live through, some more so than others, the things that I’m waiting for aren’t essential to my survival.  I still have a home and food and clothes.  These are just desires.  Some that God has placed on my heart and some that the world has.  And so I wait, but I wait in comfort.

There are some whose wait isn’t as comfortable.  Children throughout the world who are living in poverty.  Living in huts without doors or windows.  Living in fear of a mudslide or not having anything to eat.  Those children pray for deliverance.  Pray for food and clothes and a stable shelter.  Maybe pray for their parents to find jobs or for themselves to find one so that they can help provide.

The work of Compassion is to go into those areas and provide the children with what they’ve been waiting for.  Education.  Food.  Health care.  They meet the physical needs of these children as their parents register them at their church to enter them into the Compassion program.  Immediately the children start getting their physical needs met.  There is no more waiting for help, it has arrived.

But there is an element of Compassion that some children still have to wait for.  They have been registered in the program.  Their picture has been taken.  They are receiving the physical benefits and are hearing the Word of God spoken into their lives.  But they haven’t yet been chosen to have a sponsor relationship with someone.  They then enter into a season of waiting to be chosen.  And that season will be difficult as well.

It will be difficult as well because what better time for Satan to speak in their lives that they are worthless and won’t amount to anything than a period when they are waiting for someone out there with the resources to say “I choose you.”

There are 561 children (when I wrote this post) on Compassion’s website who have been waiting for a sponsor for more than six months.  These children are getting their physical needs met, they’re getting spiritual needs met, and are getting relational needs met by the workers in their community.  But they are waiting for a sponsor.  They are waiting amidst their friends who receive letters from sponsors and Christmas cards.  Waiting for someone to say “I choose you and I want to invest in your life and have a sponsor relationship with you.”

In this economy it is not always possible to reach out and help those in need.  Sometimes we are in situations where we ourselves need help. If you are able and feel led, please sponsor one of these children and help increase the chances that they themselves will choose to believe in themselves.  If you can’t make that commitment right now, I urge you to pray for these children and for others to be moved to sponsor these children who are waiting for someone to say that they believe in them and that they can rise out of poverty.

As most of you probably know I have a heart for the work that Compassion International does.  They match children in poverty with sponsors around the world and for $38 a month, the sponsor provides a way out of poverty for their child.  The child has access to the gospel, education, food if needed, medical care and training, and love and guidance.  Compassion’s thinking is that changing a child and giving them a chance will change the community.

I signed up to be a Compassion Blogger a while ago but recently someone new took over this program, Brianne, and we’ve already received a blogging assignment.  So you will hopefully be hearing about Compassion more frequently now.  While Compassion is providing me and other bloggers topics to blog about, please know that I only blog about it because I truly believe that this is a great way to be involved and live out the Great Commission.  And for every topic that I blog about, I do my own research about the topic to form my own opinions.

Brianne sent us an email yesterday about Missions in Action.  They are an organization that is traveling the world to highlight problems and how people can help solve the problem.  They will be producing webisodes about these situations to help spread the word.  Their first episode is from the Philippines.  In the video below they ride through the flooded slums in the outskirts of Manila and visit a Compassion center and homes of Compassion children and children waiting on a sponsor.  Please watch, you’ll learn a lot about Compassion.

There were a lot of things that touched me in the video.
The little girl waiting on a sponsor.
The older sister who gets to go to school because her younger sister is sponsored and so her Mom can spend her money on her.
The little boy swimming in the polluted waters because he didn’t have anywhere else to play.
And the fact that one of the only two jobs available to these adults is that of a bike rider ferrying people around and that they do that job for one dollar a day.

Did you hear that? One dollar a day. 

It made me think about all the little things that I spend my money on that cost more than one dollar a day.  To be honest, I just ran some errands and picked up a hamburger while I was out that cost four times what one person with two children makes in a day.

And while $38 a month seems like a large amount on the onset.  Especially for those just starting out or in college.  That’s only 9 hamburgers like the one I just ate.  That I bought without even thinking about because I knew I had a couple dollars in the bottom of my purse and change to cover it.

I’m pretty sure that I am going to start looking at a single dollar and what it can buy a lot differently.  Compared with the reality that it is someone’s daily wage, my hamburger doesn’t sound so tempting.  And the Sonic drink that I pick up on the way to pick Charlotte up from school almost sounds bad.  There’s no way to get those dollars to that particular woman but I can save those dollars instead of spending them and donate them in many ways to Compassion.  I could sponsor a child.  Or donate to the Unsposored child fund so that little girl can continue to receive help while she waits on a sponsor.  Or buy a chicken or a cow.  Or so many other ways that I could give in a one time way.

If you want to know more about my experience with Compassion just send me an email (talesofapeanut at gmail dot com).  I’d love to talk with you about it.  And if you can’t donate or get involved, please pray.  These children need encouragement and love so much and your prayers will never return void.