Another Prayer Vigil

Enock

"Wherever two or more of you are gathered, so shall I be also."

Back in October, I asked us all to pray for my Enock (one of my Compassion Kids)'s sister. I just got an update on her condition, and Enock and his mother are again asking for prayer, specifically from the team that prayed last time, but will welcome more too. I told them I would ask.  I'm looking to put together another vigil on Saturday, June 9.

The girl is currently living in a hospital facility, which is putting a lot of financial strain on the family. In fact, there are now many times when Enock cannot go to school, because he needs to work to help pay the bills. This breaks my heart, and I'm going to try to supplement his income so that he can go back to school. Let me quote the letter to you:

"Enock says his sister is doing better, but she does a lot of talking abnormally. He says continuing praying for his sister with your prayer team, because she suffering and she wants to be astray... Enock says there has been some improvement but she still in the hospital to receive further treatment. 

"Enock and his mother say the sickness had cost a lot to them both financially and spiritually. Enock sometimes finds it difficult to go to school because of money been spent on his sister's sickness. The family is somehow okay, Enock says so."

There is a lot of room for interpretation, I know... but this is my latest information.  And, just as a refresher, this is what was written last time:

"She says her daughter went for a greener pasture, but when she was returning, the daughter returned with the mental problem. The child had been sent to hospitals and prayer camps, but it still doesn't go. Their mother therefore is pleading on your behalf to pray for her daughter. The situation is now: The sick child is at home safely. According to her mother, she doesn't sleep at home at night."

I myself am going to attempt to be praying on this as much as Enock's mom is asking. What I am asking of you is a prayer vigil. I would like to get 24 hours of solid prayer going for this girl. I hear from Enock 1 to 2 times a month, so this information is very recent (as of 3/17, actually).

If you are willing to pray, please respond with the time that you are taking... I'm suggesting half hour blocks, but hit me with more or less as you see able. This is a really bold healing prayer that I would recommend including in your prayer time. (Also, I realize that time zones are drastically different, but I'm going to do this vigil on G-d time, so just sign up in your own time zone.) I'd like to be able to send a copy of this list to Enock's mom, so please respond ASAP (and be sure to designate AM or PM!).

Please feel free (and encouraged) to share this with anyone and everyone.

THANK YOU.

12:00am - Anne Nicole Royster
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9:30am - Sarah Cooke
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12:00pm - Cora Meyers
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6:00pm - Will Houck
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9:00pm - Mandy Sayers
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It's Compassion Sunday.

I'm still in South Korea, so I can't be there today to share with you about Compassion, but if I could, it would go a little something like this:

Your tax-deductible contribution to Compassion International of just $38 a month connects your child with a loving, church-based Child Sponsorship Program that provides:

• Food and clean water
• Medical care
• Educational opportunities
• Important life-skills training
• Most important of all, your sponsored child will hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.

When you sponsor a child, you'll receive your child's photo, personal story and a child sponsorship packet by mail in approximately 15 days.

When children find out they've been sponsored, the joy they feel is indescribable. Just knowing that someone across the globe cares means more than you can imagine. Sponsoring a child will profoundly change the future for your child, and will change your own life as well.

Got questions?  I'd be happy to answer them below.  Or you can go HERE for some more information.
Please share this post with everyone you know.

 
Sponsor a child today!

Lent: The 6 Girls

***Don't forget to sign the petition to save refugees from North Korea!***

Blessing #38 - Youth on a Mission (YOAM)
I know this one is long.  Bear with me - there's a lot of pictures, so it's not really as long as you think.

Do you remember Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?  I know, I know - "That was seven years ago, Anne.  How am I supposed to remember that?"  We are trained to have incredibly short term memories.  But, let me tell you, this is one time that I step out of that mould.

As soon as minors were allowed into New Orleans (roughly ten months after the levies broke), I traveled to the area with a team of young people and adults, sponsored by Glen Mar United Methodist Church.  What I saw there was paralyzing, to the point that it still haunts my nightmares.  I only needed the tour once.  The details have been etched in my mind such that even years later, I can still give an accurate guided tour, as I will do for you now.

On our tour of the Ninth Ward, we started in the areas that had brick houses, so the damage was minimal.  My camera got left on a plane, but I'd like to share with you some of G. Winter's photos from that day:

The crosshairs denote (starting on the far left) the team the checked the house, the date it was checked, the number of people missing from the house, and the number of bodies found in the house.

From the brick houses, we moved on to the pre-fabs, and the difference was horrific.  My words aren't going to be able to convey what I mean.  Just look at the pictures.

The houses floated across a nearby creek, landing on cars, trees, and even other houses.

But the worst, the absolute worst, was what was waiting for us at the levies.

We got to the levies, and there was nothing - only foundations.  The rest had been swept away.

So why am I showing you all this?  Because I want you to understand.  You can't understand why I'm thankful without first understanding what happened in New Orleans.

After our tour, I couldn't continue my repair work.  It seemed pointless.  There was so much to be done.  What difference would one dry-walled house make?  I sat down in the bathtub and cried.  I cried until Hannah and Katie came to find me.  And we began to plan.  Soon, we widened the circle to include Caroline, Jessica, and Brittany, and, together, we began planning the first even Youth on a Mission trip to return to New Orleans in the Spring of 2007.

The entire, YOUTH-LED group

The destruction was still horrific,

and devastating,

But we moved through it, knowing that we were making a legitimate difference, and were not just one-timers.  We knew we were in it for the long haul.

Just after the New Year of 2011, YOAM launched it's first ever collegiate trip, while continuing the high-school-run trips (yes, the leadership is comprised of high-schoolers) over Spring Break.  I got the privilege of making a return trip with that group.  (We didn't bother getting a guide for our Ninth Ward tour.  There were enough of us with it fully engrained in us that all we had to do was distribute Walkie-Talkies.  This kind of thing doesn't leave you.)

The collegiate group

My crew

So why today?  Why am I so thankful for YOAM today?  Because they just had their first day of work on the EIGHTH YOAM TRIP since its founding.  Eight.  I never dreamed that this would become what it has, but here we are.  There's still work to be done, and so YOAM still packs up and heads down to New Orleans, now twice a year.

Unfortunately, since the Red Cross and UMCOR have now both left New Orleans, funding has become a bit of an issue.  Each participant in a trip averages in around $650 in un-pre-paid expenses (certain donations handle a lot of other expenses).  If you are interested in helping to defray some of these costs, please let me know, and I will be happy to put you in contact with the right people.  All comments on my blog must be moderated before they are posted, so privacy can be maintained.

Either way, I hope you will join with me this week in prayer for my friends in New Orleans.

What have you done that the world said was impossible?

Lent: The Family I Chose

***Don't forget to sign the petition (and this one too!) to save refugees from North Korea!***

I know.  I missed a day.  I, however, have been sick, and it was all I could do to exercise my rabbit before falling asleep after work yesterday.  Perhaps I will do a double post in the coming days to make up for it.

Blessing #22 - The children I sponsor through Compassion International.  (You knew it had to happen at some point.)

I just finished up writing letters to my Compassion kids.  My cousin Becky always gets so excited about doing this.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, to be honest.  Tonight, I'm so tired, that I wasn't thrilled about the aspect of all the work that was going to go into it, but I love the results.  I love forming relationships with these kids, and I love learning from their hearts for people and G-d.  Trust me, I'm pretty sure that I get more from them than they do from me.

I've debated for a long time whether I should show you my kids or not.  On one hand, I'm thrilled to know them, and I want everyone to know them too.  On the other, I'm afraid that people will be focused on the number of them, and that's not the point.  Yes, it's a semi-shocking number.  But, since I've decided to show you their precious faces, I want you to know that I sponsor the number of kids that G-d tells me to sponsor: no more, no less.  That is how I believe all people should operate.  I also think you should know that not all of these are financial sponsorships.  Some of them are only "correspondent sponsorships," which means that someone else is paying the money, but, for whatever reason, they were not sending letters.  I believe that the letters are crucial, because it is through the letters that the children actually feel loved, and that may be even more important than the financial sponsorship in breaking the cycle of poverty.  So, I volunteered to fill that gap.

Now, without any further adue, I'd like to introduce you to my sponsor kids, the family I got to choose:

This is Abel.  He is 8 years old.  He is the latest addition to my family.

This is Enock.  He just turned 13.  Please pray for his sister; she returned from the fields one day, having lost her ability to talk.  No one can figure out why.

This is Estefany.  She is 8 years old, although you'd never be able to guess it from that sassy picture.  Her father passed away before I started sponsoring her; I can't imagine how hard that must be for her family.

This is Juan.  He will be 14 soon.  He isn't incredibly verbose, but he sends me wonderful drawings, usually of Bible characters.

This is Moumita.  She is 8 years old.  It's incredibly hard to get a visa to go to her country.

This is Natthida (Taeng).  She will be 12 soon.  She is the only one of my current Compassion Kids that I've gotten to meet.

This is Raquel.   She should be 17 or 18 now, if my memory is correct.  She left Compassion's program shortly after I met her in 2009 so that she could pursue a job.  I was able to write her a couple of letters at an address she provided before they started bouncing back to me.  It's so frustrating not knowing how she's doing.  But I work hard to entrust her to G-d, and I know I will see her again one day.

So, yes, that is my family.  Are you ready to add to yours?

Do you sponsor any kids (through any program)?  You should tell me about them.

Lent: Joseph Kony

***Don't forget to sign the petition (and this one too!) to save refugees from North Korea!***

Blessing #14: Shared Dreams

Warning:  This post is not rated G or PG, as it discusses incredibly graphic violence.  The video at the end has a much more user-friendly rating.

Joseph Kony.

Joseph Kony.

I keep writing his name, hoping it will get easier, but it doesn't.

I try to not hate anyone, but I can't guarantee that I don't hate this man.  I've spent so much time debating with Nate Kerr what I should do if I ever met this man face-to-face.  I firmly believe that you cannot bring peace through violence, but it is Joseph Kony who is the question to my logic.  Joseph Kony tests every single thing that I claim as a conviction of morality.  I try to censor myself when I talk about him, as I don't like upsetting people, but I will not be doing that today.  The information I will share with you today is the result of years of research on my own part.

In the 1980's, a rebel force rose up against the Ugandan government.  After near defeat, a voice rose up among the rebels: that of Alice Lakwena, the cousin to the then unknown Joseph Kony.  In many ways, she was equated to Joan of Arc for her people.  But in 2007, after fleeing from more technologically advanced forces, she died while hiding in a refugee camp.

Enter Joseph Kony.

Joseph Kony pulled back together his cousin's troops, and promised to instate a government based on the 10 Commandments, but his own people were scared, and turned on him.  He was furious, and began kidnapping their children to brainwash and enlist in his military actions.  He believed (rightly) that it was a lot easier to teach values, rather than reteach values.

His methods are brutal, but effective.

When a child is captured, his or her first act as a member of The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is to perform a public murder of a prominent member of their community, usually their own parents.  Should their mother be pregnant, it is not unheard of for the child to be forced to slice open his or her mother's belly (while she is alive) and have to eat the unborn child him/herself.  This paves the way for a series of psychological traumas that break down the structures of a healthy human mind.  This way, the LRA can mold this mind to accept unnatural actions as normal.  Secondarily, the child is warned that, even if they could escape, they would have nothing to go back to; their community would not want them after they performed a crime so heinous.  This is, sadly, not untrue.

The child is treated well, briefly, but will soon be beaten within an inch or his or her life (assuming he or she is not deemed dispensable).  If they survive, they are expected to keep quiet and follow the orders of their higher ups, or else they will be beaten again, or, worse, forced to beat and/or kill someone they care about within the LRA.

Girls are treated the same as the boys, until they hit puberty, when they are assigned a husband.  Men are assigned wives, based on their rank.  The highest ranked men get the most beautiful and useful wives.  They also are allowed the most wives.  Wives are also valued by their ranking within the LRA.  They are expected to feed their husbands' sexual appetites on demand, doing anything and everything that he wants.  Wives are expected to have sons and lots of them.  The punishment of wives who fail to meet these expectations is left to the discretion of their husbands.

Children who escape require years of rehabilitation, and, even then, they are rarely welcomed by their communities.  Many of them are so indoctrinated by Joseph Kony (especially those who are born into the LRA) that there is no way to restore them to a healthy mindset.  Joseph Kony has permanently addled them.

But there is a solution.

This is a moment I have craved and yearned after for years.  The time is now.  Watch this video and take action.  It's thirty minutes, but you don't even notice them ticking by.  This may be the most important thing you watch this year.  The end of this horrific plague is drawing near.

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Make a difference HERE.

March Prayers

March 2012 Prayer Calendar

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”— Isaiah 43:19, NIV

Thursday 1

This month, please pray that all the children we serve will discover the freedom to dream — and that God will use Compassion to help move their dreams from imagination to reality.

Friday 2
Please pray for our Leadership Development Program (LDP) leaders in Asia as they make significant organizational adjustments for the Asia region.

Saturday 3
Pray for the health of our LDP students in Ecuador, some of whom are dealing with back pain, arthritis, and kidney and urinary tract infections.

Sunday 4
Pray for André in Brazil, whose brother died in a car accident. André survived the crash and was in intensive care for 53 days. He is home now but needs physical and neurological therapy.

Monday 5
Pray for 14-year-old Beatrice in Rwanda, who suffers from psychological problems. Pray for God’s intervention in her mental and emotional health.

Tuesday 6
Pray for Christi and her family in eastern India. Christi’s father recently passed away.

Wednesday 7
Praise and thank God with us that between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011, 163,527 children and mothers in Compassion’s programs invited Jesus to be their Savior!

Thursday 8
The workers of Ebenezer Child Development Center in Ghana are praising God for the peace and harmony that exists among them. Pray that God will continue to help them, and all Compassion workers around the globe, to truly be one in spirit.

Friday 9
Pray for the health of Marcela in Colombia, who has been diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia secondary to chronic blood loss.

Saturday 10
Please continue to pray for God’s protection of our children in Tanzania, whose families sustained serious losses from the heavy rainfall late last year.

Sunday 11
Pray for our Philippine field staffers who are ill: Nonoy, Pons, David, and the mother of Keith; and for the recovery of Pastor Pabalate from a recent stroke.

Monday 12
Pray for 12-year-old Manuel and 14-year-old Juan, brothers in Peru, whose father died in a recent automobile accident.

Tuesday 13
Pray that during the coming year, the Holy Spirit will move many thousands of Compassion-assisted children and caregivers to trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Wednesday 14
Pray for preparations for the opening of five Child Survival Programs (CSPs) on Sumba Island, Indonesia, in April 2012. These will be the first CSPs on one of the region’s poorest islands.

Thursday 15
Pray for our LDP students in the Dominican Republic and worldwide to make wise college and career choices and that God will guide them in their studies and leadership training.

Friday 16
Praise the Lord for 50 new LDP students in Colombia!

Saturday 17
Pray for families in the area of Mindanao, Philippines, whose children have died or are missing after the devastation caused by Typhoon Washi.

Sunday 18
Pray for God’s comfort of the families and sponsors of four children in India who recently died: Delipkumar (injured while playing); Vignesh (drowned while helping a small child); Ajith (hit by a tractor); and Sagar

Monday 19
Pray for 15-year-old Console in Rwanda, whose mother has stage-four ovarian cancer. Console is the only one left to take care of her mother.

Tuesday 20
Pray for Compassion-assisted child Yusnelis in Colombia, who suffers from lupus.

Wednesday 21
Pray for the Lord’s protection and care of our children in Tamako, eastern Indonesia, as the region continues to recover from recent severe flooding.

Thursday 22
Pray for children in Bolivia who have been abandoned by their parents. May our loving God meet their needs and enable us to help relieve the suffering.

Friday 23
Please pray for Compassion Sunday on April 22 — that thousands of churches will participate and that tens of thousands of children in need will receive loving, faithful sponsorship.

Saturday 24
Pray for the youth in our centers worldwide as they prepare to graduate the Child Sponsorship Program and face the challenges of young adulthood.

Sunday 25
Pray for sponsored child Vignesh in India, whose father passed away in January. Vignesh had already lost his mother; he is now under the care of his grandmother.

Monday 26
Strong winds recently damaged or destroyed homes of nine sponsored children in Indonesia. Pray for our children and their families and for Compassion staff who are providing relief and support.

Tuesday 27
Pray for 15-year-old Edgar and his family in Peru. Edgar’s brother recently died from tuberculosis.

Wednesday 28
Pray for David and Caleb in eastern India, who are both suffering from malaria.

Thursday 29
Pray for the families in the area of Veracruz, Mexico, whose homes were damaged or destroyed by recent heavy rains.

Friday 30
Pray for good health and long life for Madam Oyaremo, a caregiver in Ghana who is 80-plus years old and the only relative to care for her grandchild.

Saturday 31
Praise God that during the past fiscal year, more than 50,000 babies and their caregivers received lifesaving assistance through the Child Survival Program. Pray that, by God’s grace, more and more programs will be established worldwide.

Lent: The love-hate relationship

***Don't forget to sign the petition (and this one too!) to save refugees from North Korea!***

Blessing #7 - Food

We all have a love-hate relationship with food, don't we?  I like cooking, and I often like eating, but I really don't like what happens when I over-indulge in those things.  Who does?

This morning I got a reminder email for an event that I forgot I'd ever signed up for: the Isaiah 58 Challenge end of the month fast, and, wouldn't you know it, this month it was a fast from food.  Being unprepared, I opted to not participate today, but I haven't had dinner yet, and it's bugging me.

I'm hungry.

I have a headache.

I'm getting irritable.

I'm ever so slightly dizzy.

People are posting pictures of food on Facebook.

And I'm trying to do taxes.

I wonder how people feel who are lucky to get one meal a day.  Does the aching stomach wear off?  Does the headache eventually go away?  Do they learn to squelch the irritability?  Is there a trick to walking a straight line while dizzy?

I realized how blessed I am to have those questions (although, I'm not totally sure that being born to wealth is a blessing and not a curse).  But, as someone (I honestly can't remember who, right now) has drilled into me,

I am blessed to be a blessing.

Who can you bless today?

Lent: Heartsick

***Don't forget to sign the petition to save refugees from North Korea!***

Blessing #5 - A roof over my head

Today was my last teaching practice for TESOL.  All I had to do was prepare and act out a story, equipped with props and strong characterizations.  I picked a story I drilled into myself (and everyone around me) when I was little: The Three Little Pigs.  This is a story I could tell in my sleep, if I wanted.  For props, I collected a bundle of sticks, some hay - straw - from my rabbit's stash, and a bag of rocks that I wedged out of the frozen earth this morning.  Except, I never meant to have rocks at all.

Yesterday, on the way to church, I found some broken bricks at the construction site across the street from my apartment.  I grabbed them, but realized that I was making a trip to Seoul right after church, and I didn't want to be lugging around bricks all day - although I finally could have answered "yes" when someone asked me if I had bricks in my purse, which may have been extremely gratifying.  But I digress.  My solution was to leave my broken bricks with a whole one that I found a few meters later.  I figured that no one would mess with a couple stray bricks.  I was wrong.

When I went to retrieve the bricks this morning, there was no sign of them.  Confused, I panned out and began to radiate from the spot I thought I'd left them, figuring I'd just remembered wrong.  Something about a bottle to my left caught my eye, and I went to get a better look.  Upon closer examination, I realized that the juice bottle was tucked neatly under a black plastic bag, almost as if it was a doll, snuggled into a made up bed.  Then I noticed an interesting layering of rocks nearby.  But black seemed like such an odd color for rocks.  Then my eyes landed on the distinctly circular hole in one of the rocks, and I registered it as a fragment of broken brick.  Finally, I began to put it all together.

The juice bottle was, in fact, marking a bed, the train bridge overhead serving as a decent roof.  The black rocks were not rocks at all, but rather the remains of a fire from last night, serving as a substitute for walls.  My bricks had gone to protect the bed's occupant from being burned to death.  I shivered.  My bricks had certainly been put to a better use than some silly story telling.

Today's Lenten Calendar entry (click on the title) suggests that today we give away something that is adding to the clutter in our lives.  I think I just found a good home for some blankets that have been slowly overtaking my couch.


When was a time that G-d reminded you that everything here belongs to Him, and we are simply stewards, waiting for Him to claim it back?

Crazy Love: Brother

"Dare to imagine what it would mean for you to take the words of Jesus seriously.  Dare to think about your own children living in poverty, without enough to eat.  Dare to believe that those really are your brothers and sisters in need."

                                      From Francis Chan's Crazy Love 

"Sell your possessions and give to the poor."  -Luke 12:33

"Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." -Mark 3:35

If I truly thought of these people as my brother, my precious brother, my mind would be made up before I even knew the extent of the situation.  I wouldn't look at my bank balance.  I wouldn't check the calendar against my next payday.  

I would empty my entire bank account and sell everything I owned to get him what he needed.

Without thinking.

Without debating.

Without hesitation.

"But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'..." -Luke 10:29

I'd like to introduce you to

Abel.

Abel is the latest addition to my "family."  I wrote in my last post about how my mindset is changing.  I want to elaborate more on that.  I was doing some prayer, prompted by my reading of Francis Chan's Crazy Love, asking G-d to help me vote for the man He thinks is the best leader of America.  That particular prayer actually has very little to do with anything Chan has to say, but bear with me.  But that's okay, because G-d's answer has very little to do with my prayer.  The immediate response I got back was:

"I think abortion should be stopped."

This definitely caught me off guard, because, until 3.5 hours ago, that was not my opinion.  So, I started praying some more, and fell asleep, but, when I woke up, I was overcome with the notion of how a sacrifice isn't really a sacrifice if you're not sacrificing.

So I started thinking about that, and I realized that my income has increased considerably, but my giving has not.  My immediate response was that I needed to sponsor another Compassion child.  As soon as I got home, I popped on Compassion's website, and began scrolling through the first page of kids, overwhelmed, and, once again all but in tears attempting to decide which one.  Who is it that actually is going to get their needs cared for?  Oh, how well the devil knows me.  He knows that that tiny whisper is almost always enough to chase me away from that page.  And it almost did tonight, too.

At the bottom of the page was Abel.  He was the only kid on that page to be denoted as a child who had been waiting for over six months for a sponsor (193 days, to be exact) - indication 1.  He lives in Peru and speaks Spanish - indication 2.  I all but threw up and burst into tears when I scrolled on to the next page - indication 3.

I threw on the brakes and turned the car around.  Abel's wait was over.

It didn't occur to me until half an hour ago how truly fitting this sponsorship is.  Abel.  Abel is the child I'm choosing to sponsor as an act of sacrifice to G-d.  Abel is the child whose name alone will keep me reflecting on the act of dying to self.  Abel is the child who is named after a man who did what was right in the eyes of the L-RD, even at the cost of his own life.  Abel is the child who will inspire me, simply by having his own name, to draw back to G-d.

G-d works in the most mysterious ways.  Praise be to G-d.

February Prayers

February 2012 Prayer Calendar

Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? (James 2:5, NIV)

Wednesday 1
Please pray for all the children Compassion serves, that the darkness of poverty will flee as the light of hope shines more and more brightly in their lives.

Thursday 2
Pray for the Compassion-assisted children and families whose homes were recently damaged by landslides in Antonia Santos, Colombia.

Friday 3
Pray for our staff in Togo as they register children in regions where idolatry predominates. Pray that parents will allow their children to be registered.

Saturday 4
Pray for healing for 13-year-old John in Haiti, who suffers from Pott’s disease — a spinal illness that could paralyze him for the rest of his life.

Sunday 5
Pray for our adolescent Compassion-assisted girls in Burkina Faso, who face many social pressures. Some are getting pregnant and others are becoming disinterested in the helpful programs offered by their Compassion centers.

Monday 6
Pray for 14-year-old Danitza in Peru, whose home was destroyed by fire. As Compassion helps his family, ask the Lord for His comfort and provision.

Tuesday 7
Pray that our Leadership Development Program mentors in Thailand will have wisdom from God and will keep their commitments to mentor our LDP students.

Wednesday 8
Pray for wisdom, strength and provision for our Child Survival Program mothers around the globe who are single and are raising their children on their own.

Thursday 9
Pray for a full recovery for 9-year-old Gilbert Samuel Hdun in Bandung, Indonesia, who was hit by a car in mid-December.

Friday 10
Pray for our children, staff and their families in the aftermath of recent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions near Tomohon City in East Indonesia.

Saturday 11
A cyclone hit the coastal area of Tamilnadu, India in late December, damaging the Puduvai Child Development Center and the homes of 70 Compassion children. Praise God that the children and their families are safe; please pray as their homes and center are repaired.

Sunday 12
Pray for Compassion-assisted children Ruby and Miriam in eastern India, who both suffer from brain malaria.

Monday 13
Praise God that no one was harmed during a recent burglary of the Compassion field office in Uganda! Pray for the staff as they replace lost equipment.

Tuesday 14
Pray for God’s healing for Elsabet, an LDP student in Ethiopia who has had to withdraw from Arbaminch University because of serious illness.

Wednesday 15
Please lift up 9-year-old Kamolwan and her family in Thailand. Her father recently passed away.

Thursday 16
Praise God for His protection and safety for our Compassion children from destructive rains that struck the area of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania!

Friday 17
Pray for Compassion Philippines, where 2,725 sponsored children in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City were impacted by severe flash flooding. The homes of 359 Compassion families were destroyed and 101 homes were damaged.

Saturday 18
Pray for 13-year-old Magda in Peru. Although her cancer has stopped growing, she struggles with depression. Please pray for her healing and encouragement.

Sunday 19
Continue to pray for Prasit in Thailand, who has leukemia — and for his parents, who are unable to work full-time due to frequent travel to be with their son.

Monday 20
Please pray about the rise in malnutrition we see at our child development centers in Haiti despite the nutritional support we provide. Pray that we can help these children attain health.

Tuesday 21
Praise God for His care and protection of our children and staff from a fire at our child development center in Kakina, Bangladesh!

Wednesday 22
Pray for the parents of sponsored children in Burkina Faso, that God would provide the resources they need to keep their children in school.

Thursday 23
Please pray for God’s comfort and strength for the families and friends of the seven sponsored children and three Child Survival Program children who died in the recent, devastating flash flood in the Philippines.

Friday 24
Please continue to pray for the children and their families in Nicaragua who have been affected by recent heavy flooding.

Saturday 25
Pray for the healing of eastern India children Faijen, Sushila and Benjamin, as well as the father of Bikas, who all suffer from tuberculosis.

Sunday 26
Pray for the health of our children in El Salvador as the dry season’s winds bring cool nights and dust, which can cause respiratory diseases.

Monday 27
Pray for Compassion families in the community of Mwanza, Tanzania, as they continue recovering from destructive flooding.

Tuesday 28
Please continue praying for the Lord’s protection of our children in Colombia from prevalent illnesses after recent heavy floods.

Wednesday 29
Pray for God’s guiding hand on Compassion’s leaders, employees and volunteers around the world as they expand efforts to release more and more children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

Vacation: Natthida (Taeng)

My whole reason for this vacation, and especially for going to The-Middle-of-Nowhere, Thailand was to see this lovely lady:

My sponsor child - Taeng - and me, outside her home

I've been sponsoring Natthida (Taeng) for about five years now, and the story of how we got started is definitely one near to my heart.  Before Taeng, I had been sponsoring Raquel of Honduras for quite some time.  I had been wanting to sponsor another child, but I wasn't sure I could afford it, so I started hosting Compassion events, when I presented Compassion to churches or even concerts and festivals, trying to get children sponsored that way.  At the start of every event, I made it a habit of picking up every child packet and praying over them.  At smaller events, I'd try to get to know something about each child.  It made things feel more personal, and, as a result, it got more children sponsored.  But still, I couldn't shake the desire to sponsor more.  So I prayed:

 G-d, if there ever comes a child across my table who shares my birthday, I'll sponsor him or her.

And then I continued my habits.  I can't tell you the number of April 22nds and April 24ths that crossed my table, entered my hands, almost had my name on them, but then I'd think of my bank account and my deal with G-d, and I'd wait.

Then, once day, it happened - the packet was there.  Terrified, I put the packet on the table, and prayed a new prayer:

G-d, if this is what you want, confirm it for me: don't let anyone sponsor her.

A copy of the first letter I ever sent Natthida,
which was found in a binder, holding copies of all
of our communications.

But halfway through, I new I was being foolish and cowardly, and I picked up the packet, wrote my information on the form, stapled my money to it, and added it to the stack.  Never before and never since have I encountered a Compassion child packet that shared my birthday.  For some reason, G-d specifically paired Natthida and me.  In meeting her, I began to realize the magnitude of the amount of responsibility He has placed on me and the amount of trust He must have in me, because I am now one of the maybe 6 Christian adults with whom she has contact.

Me and Taeng

For a while, Taeng was attending church and writing to me about what she was learning, but that has stopped.  Her community being mostly Hindu and Buddhist, her family began to fear neighbors' reactions to her church attendance and have had her stop.  She now sells (delicious) deep fried pancakes on Saturdays (which is when her church met) instead.  She does not believe in Jesus' salvation.  For a while, I know she was ripe to believe, but now, I know I must redouble my efforts.  I hope you will join me in praying for her and her family as well as for me - that G-d will give me the right words to write to her to lead her in the correct direction.

Taeng's house.  There are two beds in the house.  Taeng and her sister share one bed, their mother sleeps on another, and their father sleeps on the floor.  If you look to the left of the blue present on the shelf, you will see that the only framed picture in their home is of me and my father.  (I won't lie, I started crying.) 

We went to the zoo, which turned out to be Taeng's favorite spot in town.  I really liked finding that commonality: we both really enjoy zoos!  We also found another commonality: we are both the fast-museum kind of people (unlike my father, who likes to read every word on every sign).

Feeding the MASSIVE fish in the lake near the zoo

Next, we made a quick trip Natthida's grandmother's house, where Natthida helps to make these delicious, deep-fried pancakes and walks around selling them.  She wanted to make some for me, a request to which my taste buds were more than obliging. 

Trying to find more common ground, I noted how this was similar to my job making omelets in college, which was answered with an invitation to give the pancakes a try.  Natthida was giving me instructions over my shoulder.  Apparently, she was impressed with my results. :)

Natthida's little sister kept trying to sneak into pictures, so we just welcomed her in.  I never figured out how the boys were related, but I'm assuming they're cousins.

with Natthida and her mom

Then, we went to the Big Pagoda (I told you the better pictures would make sense here).  The Compassion people seemed very uncomfortable, as they kept insisting that they were Christians, so they knew very little about it, but it's a huge landmark in Nakhon Si Thammarat, and they wanted me to be able to see it and be impressed with it.

It was right about here that Taeng looked over at me and said, "You skin is so pretty!  My skin just absorbs the sun, but yours reflects it.  You're kind of hard to look at."  I laughed and reassured her that in a couple of hours it would be bright red.  This intrigued her a lot, so she asked me to lie down in the sun and show her.  I politely declined and attempted to distract her by buying her things. hahah.  I'm so American.

Exploring the pagoda

Saying goodbye was definitely the hardest part of the trip - having to release this beautiful girl (who's already sick) back into the care of people who, although well meaning, cannot provide all the medical treatment/advice she needs.  She cannot get all the religious encouragement I would want for her.  By no means do I think I could provide a better home for her, but I'm so used to being the kid who takes over the project when I feel like it's not being done to the absolute best of it's potential.  I'm a micro-manager, and I can't micro-manage this.  I have to trust G-d.  I CANNOT be in control on this one, and that's so scary for me.

One thing I will always take with me, though, is the memory of the sound of this sweet child's voice as she called out her classroom window to me, halting my progression to my ride back to the hotel.  I looked up, and there she was, leaning out the window for a third goodbye.  Maybe she didn't specifically mouth the words, "I love you, too, and I want you to be safe, too," but I feel like they were implied.

January Prayers

January 2012 Prayer Calendar

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with
joy because of your partnership in the gospel from
the first day until now (Philippians 1:4-5, NIV).

Sunday 1
Many of the children we serve have had to bear abusive situations and adult-level burdens. Pray for the restoration of innocence and hope in each precious child.

Monday 2
Praise God that in the past three decades the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by half! Pray that this momentum will continue in 2012 as Compassion ministers to children and caregivers around the world.

Tuesday 3
Pray for Compassion-assisted families in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where a rare tornado damaged several homes including that of a CSP mother and child.

Wednesday 4
Pray for Vipin and Pathros in east India, who both suffer from malaria.

Thursday 5
Pray for the protection of our children in Honduras, where the delinquency rate among young people is very high.

Friday 6
Pray against untimely and premature deaths among parents and caregivers in Ghana. Pray for God’s provision for the many orphaned children left behind.

Saturday 7
Pray for 16-year-old Mirian in Peru, who suffers from seizures and is unable to attend school.


Sunday 8
Pray for the family of east Indonesia staff member Winston Walujan, whose father passed away during dialysis treatments.


Monday 9
Pray for Rima, Smrity, Pronoy and Dipa in Bangladesh, who all suffer from epilepsy.


Tuesday 10
Pray for Keyla and Rebeca in Mexico. Their grandmother is fighting for custody because the girls’ mother mistreats them.


Wednesday 11
Pray for Lillian in Rwanda, who suffers from acute renal failure. She needs a kidney transplant and a donor has not yet been found.


Thursday 12
Pray for the Church in Guatemala to be light and salt for the world and take the message of salvation and comfort to those in need.


Friday 13
Pray for the Lord’s protection and safety of our children, families and staff members after flooding damaged several homes in Mwanza, Tanzania.


Saturday 14
Pray for 4-year-old Pablo and 14-year-old Yenny in Peru, who both suffer from leukemia.


Sunday 15
Pray for Compassion-assisted children in Sri Lanka, whose homes were partially destroyed
by recent floods. These children are sleeping on the floors with the mud and sand.


Monday 16
We praise God for the visible physical improvement in our children in India who entered our program weak and malnourished.


Tuesday 17
Pray for the children and families in Bolivia who live in extreme poverty, that God will raise up people to sponsor and help them.


Wednesday 18
Pray for the children of Tanzania who do not yet have sponsors — about 4,390 of 64,656 registered children.


Thursday 19
Pray for Lina in Bangladesh, whose father was killed by a tiger in the Sunderban Mangrove area. Pray for Lina’s mother and family.


Friday 20
Pray for 5-year-old Yulet in Mexico, who has been diagnosed with leukemia. She is under treatment but her condition is unstable.


Saturday 21
Pray for the people of Thailand who have been suffering from the worst flooding in years.


Sunday 22
Pray for the children and their families affected by heavy rains and flooding in Ciudad Sandino in Managua, Nicaragua.


Monday 23
Pray for Jasashree, Chirashree and Biswajeet in east India; their father suffers from paralysis.


Tuesday 24
Pray for healing for Compassion-assisted child Rebecca in Rwanda, who is under treatment for a mental disorder.


Wednesday 25
As we work together to release children from poverty, pray that the Holy Spirit will help you and Compassion’s staff and volunteers to truly “change and become like little children” according to Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:3.

Thursday 26
Pray for 8-year-old Mariana in Peru, whose family is struggling after the murder of her father.


Friday 27
Pray for a change of heart and lifestyle for Iresha, a CSP mother in Sri Lanka who begs for a living. She has not come to the project for some time and her children are chronically ill.


Saturday 28 
Pray for all of Compassion’s faithful sponsors and donors, that God would protect and bless them during 2012.


Sunday 29
Fourteen-year-old Joseph in Ghana wants to be a preacher and a gospel singer, but he stammers badly. Pray that God will enable him to overcome this challenge.


Monday 30
Pray for CSP mothers in India who will be having their babies soon. Pray for their safe delivery and for their finances.


Tuesday 31
Praise God for sponsored child Kezia in Indonesia who, although not accepted into the Leadership Development Program, has been awarded a full scholarship to study medical instrumentation at one of the local universities!

Advent, Week 2: Love

As always, click the title of this post for a (almost always) relevant video to tie everything together.

(As adapted from the Book of Common Prayer):

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) 

O Come, All Ye Faithful

The Confession:

Let us confess our sins against G-d and our neighbor:

Most merciful G-d, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in you will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen. 

Almighty G-d, have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our L-rd Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

The Psalter (sung):
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,
World without end, Amen.  Amen.


Psalm 85
Love Came Down at Christmas
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Verses 1, 3, 4, 5)
Isaiah 40:1-11

2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8

Candle Lighting: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (verses 3 and 1)

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of G-d appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.


A Message from Katie Davis, Founder and Executive Director of Amazima Ministries

I want to preface this portion.  This is not a "sermon" per se.  However, Katie Davis is a living example of what it means to have Christ-like love.  Personally, I place her on equal footing with Ghandi and Mother Teresa.  At age 18, Katie went on a missions trip to Uganda.  She now lives there full time as the official adopted mother of fourteen beautiful girls, fostering others as they come along.  Simply hearing this message from Katie changed how I view my life.  I hope that it will do the same for you.






Prayers
The L-rd be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.


The L-rd's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, the power,
and the glory, forever.
Amen.


Prayers of the People
Each person may voice a prayer aloud, ending with “This is my prayer.”
We will respond:
“L-rd, hear our prayer.”


Response: They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love

 

The Advent Prayer:

Merciful God, who didst send thy messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, in God, Now and Forever. Amen.

The Closing Prayer:
Almighty G-d, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: fulfill now, O L-rd, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.


Blessing:
May the G-d of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.