With Love, From Ghana

In just over a year, we have received 17 letters from our beloved Ato Sam in Ghana, west Africa. With each letter, especially ones like these, we are amazed at the way God has woven him into our lives, even leading us to a path of combating child slavery in Ghana.

With the number of letters we've received, as well as the length, we couldn't possibly share them all here, but we'd like to take the time to share bits and pieces of the 15 pages we received from him last week.

My friend and fellow Compassion Advocate Michelle (BloggingFromTheBoonies) has a Mail Call Monday feature on her blog. I will be adding this letter to it tomorrow, but thought I better start typing now...

Prayer Requests: Pray for some of the children in the project who have experienced sponsor cancellations.

Memory Verse: Joshua 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you just as I promised to Moses.

Ato says, he becomes happy whenever he is writing you a letter. Ato Sam says that there is no other way to talk to you except through letter. He says his dear mother, how are you and how is his father Terry, together with his siblings, Jillian, Joshua and Brandon too?

Sam says he was surprised to hear that "it is with great joy that we take part in this blessing" (I had written this about how I feel about writing and sponsoring him).

Sam says he wanted to tell you that you are also a blessing to him more than he himself can think of. Ato says he owes you a lot of gratitude and sometimes he does not know how to show it. He says he has received three letters from you and he says he is so excited! He says your letters make him feel your presence.

...

Ato says he was very amazed that the whole world is looking at him and his letters. He says he thanks God for letting people know him and also touching other's hearts to sponsor many children. (I had explained to him that I share his letters on this website.)

The experience that a dear friend of mine, Tanya, has with correspondence with her Compassion child was shared with Ato Sam, and he had this message for Tanya: He says he realized that some of the sponsors were not happy about the way their letters are responded (impersonal, no answers to questions asked, etc), and he says to tell them that they should not lose heart but as time goes on, God will let them be happy.

Ato says you said you are grateful that his mother and his family let you share him with them. Ato says that he and his family did nothing to God that let you come into their lives. He says he has more to talk about you and he together with his family owes you a lot. He says he always thanks God for letting you sponsor him. He says you are truly his mother and even wishes to see your face some days to come. He says your books that you sent him has helped him a lot. He says his brother helps him to read them every evening. he says you also sent him gift money to buy soccer ball and other items to help play the soccer well, so you are his mother and you care about his future.

...

He says he heard that Joshua was amazed to hear that he has not seen (American) football before. He says in Ghana, football is not played here, only the soccer ball is played. he says that he also heard that someday, Joshua will teach him how to play the football, and Ato says he is also ready to teach Joshua about the soccer too. He says he agrees to what you said, that Joshua and him will become best friends. He says he wishes that the friends should be brothers.

He says that [since] the letters came in late (postal strike), he would like to know if the adoption worker was able to meet with us?

...

He says the same Sam was given to him by his father and he says he has asked his father for the meaning but he says the name was given to him by his father (Sam's grandpa). He says his father said it is their surname and does not understand it since it is ancient name. (I have since written to him about the meaning of his name)

...

Ato says do you know that you are special? He says you are special because you are a blessing to him and his family.

...

He says for their studies, they are preparing for their promotion examinations so he says their studies are going on well as his elderly brother has been helping him. He says he is trying to study hard so that he can write the exams.

He says how is the weather now? He says says you wrote that you were experiencing the snow again. He says he knows that the snow will not allow anyone to do anything. (This made me laugh out loud! Love this boy!) He says he remembers from your letters that one time, the rain did not permit his siblings in Canada to go to school! Ato Sam says that over two weeks now, it has been raining often.

Ato says he was sad at first when he heard that (M) couldn't come to be his next sister (our adoption match fell through). He says he was hoping that all his dreams will come to pass. He says you encouraged him again that a new one has been found for you. He says what is her name? He says the scripture that you gave was powerful. Ato says he prays that God should not deny you this new one that has come into your and his life. He says he praises the Lord for this precious offer.

Ato says he has seen the good work that you are doing.

...

Ato says you asked him concerning his father's understanding of the English language and he says that his father is literate. He says his father attended school and completed form four in the olden days. He says his father learned the English language. He says his father continued his education in a technical school at Kukurantumi (Saint Paul Technical School). He says his father had opportunity to teach in one of the newly established second cycle institutions as a volunteer (casual) teacher. He says now, due to the changes in the country, his father lost his job as a volunteer teacher. He says now his father is a farmer, but at times, also used to support their church building as a voluntary (casual) worker. He says his father can read and write.

(This next part gets a little funny... I had told him I'd been studying the Akan culture and had learned that I should not use my left hand when in Ghana, as it is considered "unclean".)

Ato says according to his father, he says that to Akan elders, it was known that the left hand is used to clean their bodies after visiting the nature call (toilet). He says they also used their left hand to touch things that were unclean, so it is considered that the left is unclean. He says in Akan land one must not use his unclean hand (left hand) to greet or even to direct an elderly person. He says what you heard was true. He says one must not use his left hand to eat so that the person may not contract diseases or germs. (How many of you use their left hands after a nature call?)

Ato says it is also true that people take their words seriously. Please, Ato's father says he wants to assist him in giving more explanation to the issues being discussed. Ato's father says that there are some issues that someone will take seriously. The father says especially when someone is quarrelling with another person, whatever is said during that time will be taken seriously. The Akan (meaning anyone that speaks similar language like the Fante language is Akan) believes that, whatever is said during the quarrel shall come to pass. Ato's father says that, the Fantes tease themselves and also make more fun too. (Whew!!) His father says, do not be afraid because the Fantes love receiving visitors and do not harm any visitor. (Sweet!)

The father said, concerning the customs and cultures of Ghana, he has found you a piece of document that contains some of the customs and cultural practices of Ghana. The attached is the piece of that document. (It was quite interesting!)

Ato says concerning his life, he says he fetches water early in the morning and also assists his father at the farm. He says he does not like many friends but says he tries to keep the few friends for long. Ato also adds that he becomes happy when doing something like having fun with friends and also playing soccer. He says last two months, he was part of the singing competition team and he was not picking up the part he was given to sing. He says he tried his best to do it and his project center took third position of the nine projects that competed. he says, in his life, he tried to do something that he is not good at. He says he became happy that his center became third because he was part of the team.

Ato adds that he was much happy of having a wonderful and healthy family. He says God has done another wonderful thing in his family. He says that his parents always correct them whenever they go wrong. (Proverbs!) He says now his family has found another person who is supporting them both physically and spiritually. Ato says that that person goes the extra mile to encourage and advise Ato. He says his family is hospitable to everyone and that person too has that characteristic. He says that person has added value to his family and also to him personally. Ato says his family has developed when that person came into his family. Ato and his father say that God should bless that person and give her all the favor and the strength that she needs. Ato's father says that may God bless the family in terms of their studies and their business too. Ato says that he believes that you will shout a big AMEN because all the statement above refers to you. He says you have changed his world and says that is what he can say about his life, family and his world.

He says that, thanks to all the sponsors and also Compassion as a whole. He says thanks to God for meeting you. He says he loves you so much and always prays for you.

He says the attached is the photograph after the singing competition. (Names everyone in photo). (If anyone sponsors at GH316, let me know, as this photo may include your sponsor child).

He says that he loves you so much...

End of Message

Ato Sam

_____________________

His letter was so long, that I chose to respond to it over the course of four separate letters to him, each no more than 2 pages as to not overwhelm him or the Compassion workers. OK, the other reason for splitting up the response was so that I could send a book with each letter, increasing his collection of resources. Perhaps he can work as an unofficial librarian as he makes his way through school :D

River of Redemption

In the beginning, I ran ahead and skipped down the path, blissfully unaware of the impending weight of my vow. Seems ironic perhaps that the God who warns the world against this choice would have also protected me from His warning and of knowing the weight of the choice, lest I forgo the journey before it even began.

He knew.

Yet here I stand on this path, the years of this journey creeping painstakingly to the halfway mark of my life, the road behind me torn between the picture perfect redemption of God, and the ravaged rubble of human nature. All one needs to do is tilt the angle of perception to see the contrasting views.

You can glance back to gain wisdom, but you must keep walking forward in faith.

His provision is faithfully present at each morning milestone, the mystery of spiritual sustenance that brings with it the daily dawn of hope. It is there for the taking, always enough provided you greet it with gratitude and partake in it with praise.

The ground under my feet is parched and scorched by the heat of the fires that have tested the foundations of faith.

The further in time along the journey, the more the width of the gates narrow at each turn, filtering out a number of travelers in direct proportion to the size of the gates. The smaller the size, the less one can see past the gate. Blessed are they who see through the eyes of peace in Him, they won’t be held back by the difficult passage...

They shall enter further into the... desert?

Yes.

Consider it joy to be here.

The God who promised to lead me to still waters knows that I have watched the river alongside my path dwindle down to a trickle so faint. It is I who needs to be still in order for my ocean of faith to be heard above the roar of voices saying “flee from the drought, flee from the famine lest you perish right here alongside this dying stream, the life sucked out of you.”

The one who brought me here is the one who breathes life into me. Life cannot be sucked out of you but from the enemy.

God has brought me alongside this dying stream for a purpose. He knows that even though my body is resting wearily where He has placed me on the dry shore, my faith is quenched by Living Water, and I hunger only for Him.

He alone is sufficient for me.

No, He has not brought me here to die or to suffer, He has brought me here to refine my faith as in the days of Elijah the prophet.

He has brought me here not to be destroyed by the battle, but to provide for me a front row seat to witness His hand at work, just as He did for Jehosaphat.

In this world of rushing around obstacles with impatience, being content in the stillness and through the trials can seem so foreign and unsettling; uncomfortable, inconvenient. His ways are not our ways.

He has commanded me to be still and believe in what the world cannot see but through the filter of faith that puts God between itself and any circumstance.

The journey here has filtered my eyesight -- my focus is clear.

I am here to stay until He moves me, waiting patiently for God as He prepares the river of redemption He has promised me.

Isaiah 35 ** 1 Kings 17 ** Isaiah 40:28-31 ** James 1:12 ** 2 Chron 20:15-17 ** Joel 2:25

Treasure Found

As a family of five very different individuals, we have learned to embrace our differences, even celebrate them.

When it comes to common interests, we’re not doing as well.

As the children get older and grow into their own tastes and personalities, we’re finding it increasingly challenging to find activities/hobbies that we can all take part in and enjoy together. Perhaps you’ve experienced the same?

While we have been on the lookout for such an activity for longer than I care to admit, I never expected to find the answer on a Compassion trip to Honduras in 2010. In fact, I didn't think I had found it at all until this past week.

One of our trip leaders is really into geocaching with her family, who happened to travel with her. I found myself listening intently while they talked about this activity they all enjoyed doing together. I loved the concept, and the potential for variety and adventure. I was eager to talk to the kids about it when I returned home.

When I did explain it to the kids, they were curious but it didn’t seem to really strike a chord with them. I had thought for sure that at the least, our army-mission-trailblazin’ oldest son Brandon (15) would have been the most eager to try it, but I seemed to be the only enthusiastic one.

While it seemed like a dead end, my enthusiasm persisted. There was only one small issue: I didn’t want to do this alone. This was meant to be a family activity.

I put my desires on a shelf, and prayed for opened doors while the dust collected.

When the boys stumbled unexpectedly upon the geocache closest to our home a while later, the geocaching bug nibbled... and seemingly fizzled.

As our Brandon’s birthday approached this year, I thought of a recent conversation in which he, his brother Joshua (13) and I spoke about our growing need for a fun family activity. I decided to take a step of faith and buy him a used handheld GPS eTrex Vista C, hoping he would try geocaching and enjoy it. Even more so, I hoped we could all take part in this activity as a family. At the least, he’d use it for hiking and add it to his “army gear”. It, uhm, wouldn't hurt that I could borrow it and go geocaching while running! *grin*

When the GPS came, I explained to the rest of the family what I had bought Brandon as a birthday gift. The youngest two kids listened as I explained, and asked many questions. It was obvious that the more they heard, the more enthusiastic they became.

I asked Joshua to help me figure out how to use the GPS so that we could make sure it worked well. At least that was the story. We knew what we weren’t admitting out loud -- he and I were both too eager to wait until mid-September to try it.

And so one treasure hunter turned into two.

We created a family account at www.geocaching.com, (RichardsonZoo), learned the basics, and started uploading a handful of nearby geocaches to the GPS. Since Brandon wasn’t home, the youngest two and I decided to try our first geocaching adventure. Joshua had already seen the first geocache, so we decided to use the GPS to officially find it more as an opportunity to learn how to use the GPS than anything else. In no time, we were navigating the GPS features with ease and before we even reached the geocache area, we were already planning our next outings.

We found the first cache, and easily gained another enthusiast when our youngest, Jillian (10) saw the trinkets that could be found inside a cache. She has always been the first to jump in to any family activity, but add tiny treasures, and she's like a bloodhound chasing a rabbit.

Two turned into three... that makes majority! So far, so good.

Back home, we logged our find on the website and downloaded more local caches. The following day, we logged four more finds.

We're already brainstorming for ways that we can create our first geocache, perhaps making it a yearly tradition for Brandon's birthday. I wondered at first how he'd feel about his gift being something to share with the whole family, but those feelings were short lived. He loves the adventures we have together and craves more. He also treasures family time, so now that there are three of us involved, he's more likely to join in.

Reflecting back on the success of this new activity, I couldn’t help but feel as though the treasures weren’t in the caches we were pursuing like modern day treasure hunters. No, nothing we could ever find in the coming days, weeks, months or even years of geocaching adventures will ever compare to the priceless treasure of family time.

Three out of five so far... will this activity end up being a five out of five? So far, my husband has not expressed any interest at all, which has really disappointed the youngest two, but perhaps in time, he will see how it's knitting the family together, and he won't want to miss out.

It definitely has potential.

Update: It's a baby..........

In a recent post, I shared the exciting news about the new Child Survival Program sponsorship available for moms and babies from Rwanda, Bolivia and Bangladesh. This sponsorship program is unique in that it can begin before the birth, continue through infancy, and then transfer to the Child Sponsorship program once the child reaches the age of 3. It gives a whole new meaning to lifelong relationship!

In the profile I had been sent, the information on the baby hadn't been included because at the time the profile was created, the baby hadn't yet been born.

A quick call to Compassion today solved that issue...

It's a..... BOY!!!!

And he is Oh-So-PRECIOUS! Look at his sweet face!!

This sweet boy was born on April 29th, 2011, and his name is Nyibisubizo. I dare say his name probably translates to PRECIOUS in any language, really! Oh, those cheeks!

If you're interested in sponsoring this precious boy and his mom through this amazing sponsorship opportunity, or if you'd like more details on the new CSP Sponsorship Program, please let me know. (JD at BeyondMeasure dot me)

Sponsorship: Before & Beyond Birth

As a mom in the midst of the adoption process, I often see the parallel between adoption and sponsorship.

Obviously, sponsorship is quite different from adoption, but the similarities can't be ignored: it is still the grafting of a child and his or her family into your own, the commitment to nurture, love and lead a child, and it is the obedience of a commandment from God to care for His precious lambs.

So often, babies are adopted from birth. The older the child, the more difficult the adoption process, and often the longer the children wait for a family. Older children in Compassion's Sponsorship Program often wait longer than younger children too.


Through Compassion, a sponsor can choose a child from age 3 and up, or as is most often the case, the child will choose you...

But what if you could sponsor a child younger than three?

Younger than two?

What if you could sponsor a baby?


An infant?



What if... you could make a commitment to a child before he or she is born into this world?


Yes, Compassion International's ministries assist infants by helping their mothers learn to care for them through the Child Survival Program, one of Compassion's 4 Core programs.

Child Sponsorship (CS)
Complementary Interventions (CI)
Leadership Development Program (LDP)
Child Survival Program (CSP)


Until recently, though, all one could do was donate to the Child Survival Program in order to give the best start possible to babies and their moms. Some of the most amazing Compassion testimonies have stemmed from CSP -- have you seen this powerful story from Ethiopia?

Imagine if we could sponsor moms and babies together?


We can.

I have something quite rare in my hands.


It is a sponsorship profile from Rwanda unlike any other that I've ever had.




What's special about this profile isn't just that this is quite possibly the longest name I have ever seen... :)


It's special because this is an expectant mother's profile.


The sponsorship is for this beautiful mother and her unborn child.



This mother (Mukanzabarushimana Genenivieve) is from Rwanda, and was born April 11th, 1988. Her baby's due date was in April of 2011, so she has had her baby by now (a quick call to Compassion will obtain the baby's details such as gender, date of birth and name), and they are both available for a very special sponsorship. The sponsorship will cover the first three years of the baby's life, at which time it will transfer to the traditional Child Sponsorship Program.

Sponsorships like these are an amazing opportunity to sponsor a child from before birth to beyond birth.



The cost is slightly more than a typical sponsorship ($56 Canadian, possibly slightly less in the U.S.), but it will then revert to the regular cost at age 3. Correspondence is a crucial/vital part of the sponsorship just as it is with older children. You get to correspond with the mother and build the relationship with her and learn about the child as he/she grows until it becomes a regular child sponsorship, at which time you can continue under the regular program.



Have you ever considered co-sponsoring with your own mother? My mother and I co-sponsor Bessy and Justin in Honduras... imagine you and your mother co-sponsoring a mother and her child?


Launched as a pilot program in Canada, these sponsorships are available in very, very limited quantities -- I only have one of these sponsorship packs, and I only know of ten in the entire Atlantic region. Would you prayerfully consider taking part in this blessing?



If you are interested in sponsoring this beautiful mamma and her baby, or if you have any questions, please contact me (JD (at) beyondmeasure.me) or simply respond in the comment section. As an added bonus, I will offer a copy of the Compassion book "Hope Lives" to the person who steps forward to sponsor this duo!

King's Daughter, King's Ransom

It's rare for me to be at a loss for words... this is one of those times.


Please pray for Liliana's family to find her.

http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2011/08/because-it-is-our-problem.html

Bathroom BBQ Barter!

Oh, the places we'll go...

I knew God would have to be very creative to build this school through us, and one of the best parts of this journey so far has been watching to see how He'll show up.




Our bathroom faucets had been leaking a while, and our bathtub wall surround had cracked and was in need of replacement. We knew that we would face much bigger issues if we didn't address the situation, so 5 or 6 weeks ago, my husband began the demolition phase of the project.


When it came time to remove the faucets, he discovered that he wasn't able to remove it on his own. While he's quite handy with most things, plumbing isn't something he's completely comfortable with.


After several weeks of having the bathroom all torn up, I started putting some pressure on him to call someone to get the work completed, only to be stood up twice by the person he contacted.

My husband threw his hands in the air, discouraged.

I threw my hands up in the air, in prayer. I prayed for God to send us someone reliable and affordable, for God to use this as an opportunity for my husband to see God's provisions, and kept praying that the disruption of having a construction zone in the house wouldn't begin to grate on my patience.


Meanwhile, completely unrelated to this (ha!), my mom called to share the news that she had won a new BBQ at a church fundraiser. I was excited for her, but couldn't quite grasp why she was SO excited:


1. She's vegan. (Yes, I know people grill veggies and even fruits... but she's into raw vegan food. As in, spinach and peach shakes, or something. (I love you mom!)
2. She recently moved to an apartment and does not have a yard.
3. She's, uhm, not the outdoor grilling type. ;)


She then explained that even though no one in our family was in need of a BBQ either, she still wanted it to be a blessing to someone, so she decided to donate it to our Ghana travel expenses. All we had to do was pick it up at the church.

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

Except we don't have a truck.





Saturday evening, mom called to tell me that her friend Mike was bringing the BBQ to our house. PTL! I eagerly greeted them in the driveway as they pulled up. The BBQ was beautiful, and huge!

Then, the questions came to mind... Where exactly would I store this while waiting to sell it? Would people still be in the market for a BBQ so late in the season? With all the BBQs on clearance now, would I get good value for it?


As Mike and I were putting the BBQ away, we stopped and chatted a bit. He asked about the school in Africa and what we'd do with the BBQ. As I shared, you could tell he was very captivated and totally getting the heart of the mission. He mentioned his journey as a Christian and in passing, mentioned the Wesleyan church. I asked him where he attends... turns out he attends the same church I do! We had a great laugh about that!! We shared stories about the church and promised to look for each other on Sunday mornings.

He said he wished he could purchase the BBQ, he really liked it and wanted to help, but at 65, he was close to retirement and watching his finances carefully. I understood and told him that God would match us up with the person who was meant to have the BBQ, that it would all work out. (Ha!)

I asked him what his profession was, and he explained that he was a contractor. I listened as he told me about his latest project, his passion for quality work and attention to detail shining through-- and the more I listened, the more the wheels turned...


Contractor.

Construction.


Oh.my.word.



You can guess the way the conversation went!


"So, how are you with plumbing?"

Really?!


"Do you do private/residential work?"

Really....!!!!!


"Please, come inside the house for a moment, (and don't be alarmed to find 6 or 7 teenagers inside, they're mostly tame), I have something to show you..."


In the end, we made a deal, and I made a new friend. The value of the labor and work that needed to be done was similar to what we would have received for the BBQ. Mike gets to take home the BBQ, we get to have the bathroom work done by a wonderful and hardworking man who is reliable and has an amazing walk with Christ, and in return, we will donate the value of his work directly to the travel fund.


It's times like this, when I look at the 81 days left before our departure and the never ending list of fundraising tasks that I am reminded that God already has it all under control and that even when it seems that nothing is happening, He never rests.

The same applies to your life -- even when things don't seem to be happening, He never rests, and His perfect plan WILL unfold.

All He asks of us is to believe, have faith, and do this for His glory.

Ghoing, Ghoing, Ghana!!

Although things have been quiet on the blog, things behind the scenes of our Ghana Child Slavery Rescue Mission are anything but quiet.

With only 104 days to go (!!!!!!) until we head to Ghana, we're finding ourselves in a flurry of activity here in New Brunswick (Canada) as well as in Michigan and Illinois.

While the school construction fundraising has always been our priority (with 100% of the school funds going to the school construction) we had to take some time to focus some of our efforts on raising the necessary funds for the travel expenses so that we could book our flights.

At my youngest brother’s suggestion, I launched a photography auction on Facebook in June as well to help us reach our separate fundraising goal for the travel. We had such an encouraging and positive response to this that we may do another one in the fall.

Debra had an auction in June in which half the proceeds went to her travel costs, and half went to the school. This auction raised over $600 for the school construction fund, increasing the school fund by 2 percentage points! So many people and businesses contributed their time, energy and items to this great event, we’re so grateful for the tremendous support.

Thanks to the success of those specific fundraisers, along with countless lawn mowing jobs, bottle recycling refunds, car detailing and various other odd-jobs, we purchased our plane tickets. What a surreal feeling!! This is really happening!!!

We have since resumed 100% of our focus to the school fundraising by continuing with various jobs and event fundraisers.

We still have much to do in order to reach our goal,

and we need your help.

Much of our fundraising successes have come by word of mouth, simply from sharing about this project, what we’re doing, where the funds are going and what a difference it will make... people are inspired to help in any way that they can.

Share our button on your blog, place our project url in your email signature, post it on Facebook... every single contact is a seed planted, and we can not afford to underestimate how important each of those seeds are. www.tinyurl.com/Ghana2011 -- easy to remember!

If you are able to donate $5, $10, $20 or more, please do so and know that your contribution WILL make a difference. There is no amount too small. Every dollar will bring us closer to providing the school for these rescued children. Every dollar will greatly affect the future for generations to come. Every dollar counts.

Last but not least... your prayers. Your prayers for us as we walk this journey have made an impact beyond what can be seen. Your prayers have helped keep us energized, encouraged and uplifted when the road gets tough and our hearts are heavy from the reminders of the children we're doing this for. As well, your prayers for George and his ministry, as well as the children of Lake Volta, both those who are awaiting rescue and those who have gained freedom.... those prayers are life changing and crucial -- please continue to support them in prayer.

THANK YOU for your support!

Baker's Dozen

She once was lost, but now she's found...!

Back in April, I had asked Compassion to send me a handful of packs of children available in Ato Sam's Compassion project in Ghana. Hers was one of two that I received.

Her name was Tahameena.



I prayed over her week after week as I placed her photo profile in our church lobby, and when her profile disappeared in May, I hoped it meant she had found a sponsor. I kept praying that I'd connect with her or her sponsor, one way or another -- after all, she was a friend of Ato Sam's.

Then, in June, she resurfaced. Someone from church, assuming that someone had lost their Compassion Child info, tucked her away somewhere for safekeeping. When they saw me with Compassion child packs in the lobby week after week, they put two and two together, and gave her back to me.

Her child pack had expired, though, and her profile could have been in the hands of another Advocate, on the website, or elsewhere. She may have even found a sponsor by now.

Still, I kept praying.


When child packs expire, we are asked to destroy them because it means that someone else has been assigned to finding them a sponsor. I didn't have the heart to do that to her photo... I discarded the envelopes and the forms, and tucked her profile into my Bible, not knowing what it was that God had planned, but knowing I would be praying for her as I studied His Word each day.


I sat across from our Children's Pastor this week at church, talking about connecting Compassion, missions, and worldwide children's ministries with our church's children. I presented the idea of having a Compassion child for our K-5 KidzWorld group at church. We exchanged ideas of how it could work, what we could do, how it would help plant seeds of compassion and serving into the lives of the children and families.

While brainstorming, we also talked about where we could sponsor a child, which country, how great it would be to sponsor a child we could interact with in person to help our children understand that these kids are real, to help them build that relationship.

On the way home, I pulled out my Bible again, and that's when I saw her face and wondered...


I prayed about it all the way home, and called Compassion right away. I provided them with her child ID number, and learned that she hadn't been sponsored. The last Advocate that had her was me.


For such a time as this.

Tahameena is now our 13th sponsored child, in partnership with our children's ministry at church. We will support her in prayer and learn about sacrificial giving through this sponsorship. The children at church will be able to take part in sending her cards, drawing her pictures, and also learn about the work we're doing in Ghana. Her photos and letters will be posted on a special Compassion Station bulletin board where the children will learn about her country and about Compassion's ministry around the world and about the difference that their small change can make in the life of a child their age. The children will have her photo to take home to stick on their fridge as a reminder to pray... and perhaps their families will also be led to sponsor as a family.


I'm so eager to see God working in the hearts of these children through this experience, and to see Tahameena's life bloom as a result of the seeds that have been planted.

This has served as a reminder that He has a plan for each and every one of these children that we're entrusted with as Compassion Advocates; and a plan for each and every encounter we have in our life. Sometimes, the two connect, and it's the most incredible thing to witness!

Indelible Marks

Our daughter began coloring her world at the age of 2.

Walls, floors, cupboards – every surface was fair game every time she found a stray pencil or crayon. We did our best to hide the pencils, crayons and markers, but she had incredible talent for honing in on them like a bloodhound on a relentless pursuit.

Relentless. It should have been in the top contenders for her middle name.

As she taught herself to read and write, the incessant obsession to label the world around her seemed unstoppable. Unlike our sons who were older than her, redirection did not help, impulse control was non-existent, and consequence was of little importance to her. We were at a loss.

Years later, the writing on the wall began to make more sense as we were told that she was on the autism spectrum. The pervasive tendency to put a mark on her world was part of her own autistic traits, and the complexity of her issues were the reasons most of our parenting methods did not bear fruit. This knowledge helped us extend more patience and grace.

Our perspective had shifted.

She’s nine now, and unless you spent a significant amount of time with her, you might not realize that she still deals with the effects of the autism spectrum every day. The days of the intense, non-verbal child who found social interaction overwhelming and who spent every waking moment in sensory overload have slowly faded. She’s still intense, but less so now that she is capable of expressing herself verbally. In fact, the pendulum has over-compensated. She’s just like her mother, and never stops talking!

While she still has an insatiable need to doodle, draw, write and label every tangible surface, she now uses paper and other acceptable mediums more often than not. These days, the odd self-control mishaps have mostly become a source of entertainment, like the mysterious appearance of the world CHOCOLATE in big bold letters on the kitchen wall (it’s so hard to get angry when you want to yell AMEN, SISTER!!). Or her apparent fear that we'd get confused about the difference between the washer and the dryer even though we are a family of 5-going-on-6 and laundry is pretty much perpetual...

At least they were labelled and spelled correctly. Atta girl!

As she and I read the letters we received today from 3 of our Compassion kids, the topic came up of when Suwanna would be able to write her own letters. At the age of 8.5, Suwanna, our child from Thailand, is still struggling to write her name.

I explained to her that until April of 2011, just a few short months ago, Suwanna had never owned pencils or crayons. We had recently provided them to her through a child gift, along with papers, art supplies and a bag or backpack to put them in. Knowing how much she and Suwanna loves to draw and color, my daughter understood how the value of this gift and the difference it would make. The Compassion project worker expressed to us how grateful Suwanna had been for this gift and how she had even tithed from her birthday funds, something so encouraging to see.

A precious drawing from Suwanna

As I asked my daughter to imagine what her world would have been like if she had not had access to any writing or coloring materials at home until last year...

We both fell silent.

I couldn’t imagine our world without the marks of autism any more than she could imagine her world without the pencils and crayons that had helped give her world a voice.

Although the perspective had already shifted for me long ago... today brought it home even more. The fleeting frustrations of life are temporary, quickly erased, painted over or faded from memory. Well, except those made in permanent marker on a washer and dryer! The true blessings are in the indelible marks my children, both biological and sponsored, have made on my heart and how they have changed my life perspective.

How have your sponsored children helped change your perspective with your own life or your children's lives?