It's the giving season! Give the gift of hope.

'Tis the season of giving! And when I say giving, I mean the life-altering  kind of gift you can give when you sponsor a child through Compassion International. The cost to sponsor a child is $38 per month. That's just over $1 a day. Let's face it, the cost of two lattes a week would more than provide the funds to sponsor one of these precious children. The lasting effects of your sponsorship is phenomenal because your sponsorship not only has life-long affects on a child and his or her family, but also their community, and potentially their nation!
Compassion provides food - sometimes the only meals these children get in a day - and they offer education to children in some of the poorest areas in the world. More importantly, they teach these children the love of our awesome God. Each Compassion center works in conjunction with the local church. They teach parenting and marriage classes for the families in addition to the food, education, and Bible classes for the children. This is so important in many countries where families need this type of support to build a family unit based on biblical principles.
Compassion asks that you write to your sponsored child three to four times each year. Your child will write letters back to you. These letters will become precious to you as you follow your sponsored child's growth, both in life and in their walk with the Lord. Compassion also offers opportunities to travel to your sponsored child's center to meet them and tour the center.
The younger children write letters as part of their writing skills education. As the children grow, their letters become more personal and they share more about their life. You can send photos and small items with your letters. You can also send letters with attached photos electronically via www.compassion.com . This site is also where you can find information about Compassion, learn more about sponsorship, and choose a child with whom you can share your life and your heart.
I have been fortunate to have visited two Compassion centers. The first one is located just outside Managua, Nicaragua in an area called Los Brasilles. The memories of that visit still bring a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. To see such beautiful and happy children in an impoverished barrio in the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere left me with many mixed emotions.
My second visit was to a Compassion center in the city of Managua. I went there with a friend who had the wonderful opportunity to meet one of her sponsored children. Seeing her there with Lazaro made me realize that I wanted to become even more involved with Compassion than I had been in the past.
So here I am. I spent my evening yesterday volunteering at a Compassion event, helping others choose a child whom they would support, pray for and love. Does my family sponsor children via Compassion? The answer is yes. We currently sponsor six children - five girls and a boy, ranging in age from eight to eighteen. Our sponsored children live in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and the Philippines. I hope you will join us in this season of giving by giving the gifts of love, hope and sponsorship to a child.

2 Timothy 3:14-15

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁴ But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. ¹⁵ You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.