With Love, From Ghana

("Letters To Africa" Photo credit: Teri-Adele Roberts)

Our precious Compassion son from Ghana has poured his heart out once again in another wonderful letter. Pages upon pages revealing his heart and his personality, each page drawing us closer to he and his family.

I can't imagine what we'd be missing out on if we didn't communicate with him on a regular basis. It really does build relationships and leads to such a beautiful experience.


Some of the highlights from his letter:

Friday Favorites

What an incredible week for blog posts...

Here were a few of my favorites:

What really happens when you give to the poor? Ann Voskamp answers this ever so beautifully. If you have not taken a moment to read it, will you take a moment now?

Does living as a Christian in a world saturated with the secular leave you feeling as though you're straddling a fence? Tracie is journaling her way through the Bible. Her posts always make me pause in reflection and leave me hungry for more of His word. I am blessed to spend every Sunday evening under her leadership in our Bible Study group -- will you spend a moment with her too?

This post on time management is a powerful reminder to put life on "pause" and reflect on who directs our days, our time, our tasks... Us, others, or God? Has being "busy" become another idol?

This one will break your heart... are you willing to brave it and join Jesus on the mountaintop and pray for those living in conditions we may never be able to understand?

This one touched a tender place in my heart... for those of us who have felt like sparrows, or tenderly held one.


I'd love to hear what spoke to you this week, would you be willing to share?

Celebrating The Unseen

Six years ago, I was preparing for a job interview with a company I had worked with for 8 years in the past. It should have been simple; it was basically the same position I had when I was employed with them years ago. I was very familiar with the company and the particulars of this job.

I went in, did the best I could given their very irrelevant interview style, and hoped for the best.



A few weeks later, I received a letter in the mail stating that while they appreciated my interest in my old job, they had chosen an applicant with more experience.


More experience than someone who had already done this job? How is that possible?


I had been out of work for several years, and we knew that we couldn’t keep living on one income much longer. This job would have been such an answer to prayer, such an immense blessing. And yet, that door had clearly closed for reasons we struggled to understand.


The kids were young; 3, 6 and 8. I stood at the door, rejection letter in hand, and called out for the kids to get ready to go for a drive.

I had a pocket full of change, and given how much we were struggling financially at the time, it may as well have been $1000. The thought briefly crossed my mind to put it toward something of longer lasting value, but I knew that although this outing would cost me a few precious dollars, the opportunity to teach the kids about faith and God would be priceless.


“Where are we going, Mommy?”

The Master's Symphony

The master holds an instrument in His hands... He has a song to play, a perfect song. He chooses just the instrument for this song he has written, an instrument he will use to play the song through.

If the instrument he chooses is not in tune to His song, the quality of the song will be greatly affected. Consider a guitar missing a string, or a violin with strings that have not been tuned... consider a piano with broken hammers, or a clarinet without a reed... consider how different the song will sound from what’s intended!

Overwhelmed By Love

Do you ever wonder what God meant by "new creation"?

It's something I keep coming back to, but I just can't help it. Change is a chain reaction. When something changes, everything within it's immediate reach is deeply impacted, and that impact leads to more changes.



Looking back at the landscape of my life and witnessing the renewal of my marriage after many years of hardship... I am in awe. I am overwhelmed. It would have been enough for God to simply bring peace to replace the anger, bitterness, judgment and resentment... but God wanted so much more, and deep down, so did I. My life and my marriage needed to bear fruit. Much fruit.


That required change. Much change.

African Awakening

Spring of 2005...

The seed was initially dormant, much like a bulb planted in the autumn of life, buried deeply and needing the cold of winter to force life to the surface. As winter’s harshness eased and spring’s thaw approached, the seed’s heart stirred, faintly aware of the growing longing to be the Shepherd’s hands and feet in far away places.

Although it felt the growing missionary beat in its heart, it knew it wasn’t time.

Some bulbs spring to life in the first season, some need a longer winter of death to self before giving rise to the awakening of life.

For years, I knew my heart was being called to the mission fields in developing countries, even though I had my own mission field here at home. I also knew that I simply hadn’t been ready – not emotionally, spiritually, financially, physically, or even from a marriage or maturity standpoint. I had a lot to work through so that He could use me as His servant this way.

Sometimes, it was hard to wait, much like dreaming for something you’re not sure will be yours to have. It's a risk to open your heart to that dream, but unless your heart is open, your heart can never fully receive the opportunity. Deep down, I knew that the process of working through the challenges was still worth it, even if the fruits of my labor weren’t what I had envisioned. God is faithful.

I knew by the end of the spring of 2009 that the seed was awakening from deep slumber, and that the season of winter growth would produce much fruit. In little time, I felt the first unmistakable calling to Africa when my best friend Tia shared her experiences from her mission trip to Africa. This was more than vicariously living through a friend, or simply having an interest in her experiences. My heart knew.

Kids In Doorways

A few months ago, our 9 year old daughter began to express her desire to become a Compassion Advocate. It began as she asked for my help in doing some research for a school project on the work Compassion does.

She was well versed in Sponsorships. We started out with 3 in January of 2010, and within a year, our Compassion Family had grown to 10. She has one of her own to correspond with and support.

What she was seeking was more... how did it begin? Who started it? What are the Compassion countries? How can she become involved and advocate for the lives of these precious children? What would she need to become a Compassion Advocate?

Naturally, she knew I could help her find the answers.

2011: One Word

Until last year, the buzz words as the old year elapsed and the new year began were “New Year Resolutions”. That seems to have been replaced with the “One Word” concept.

One word? Just in case you have been on vacation somewhere outside the planet over the last month, the point of it is to pick one word that will act as a positive goal or theme for the coming year, a word to inspire your life by.

Since I no longer make resolutions for the reasons stated in this post, the one word challenge appeals to me. OK, it may appeal to me simply because my challenge isn’t the word for the year, it’s picking just one without ending up in a straight-jacket.

The House That Love Built.

A long, long time ago, a little boy brought his lunch to a crowd gathering to hear Jesus. Some bread, some fish, just enough for him. Someone had loved him enough to provide him lunch that day, only to have Jesus ask him to give all he had, to give wholeheartedly, with joy, and with love... and because he loved Jesus, he gave all he had.

When a gift is given in such a way, God loves to stretch it and make it grow in order to bless others beyond measure.




Last summer, a friend of mine was preparing for her mother to move in with her. She needed help to clean the downstairs apartment in her home.

She considered hiring a cleaning service -- $200 for 3 hours.


What she chose instead changed the life of three families in Africa.

1st Post-Honduras Letter

If you've ever had questions about Compassion's ministry, one of the best ways to see the answers come to life is to visit a Compassion country in person. You'll even find answers to questions you didn't realize you had!

There is, however, a question that can't be answered during such a trip.