Compassion Archives | The Franklin MamaThe Franklin Mama

Posted on November 9, 2015

Poverty + The Red Cup Issue

Worldwide 600 million children live in extreme poverty. Almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.

I’m not even going to give the authors and protestors of the Starbucks red cup issue a moment of my day. Instead, I’ll write this.

I am fully aware that many (probably the majority) of companies where I shop, don’t have the same convictions and beliefs as me. I would be wasting so much of my precious time on this earth if I looked into the backbone of every single company that I indirectly support as a consumer. I have chosen to not be the Christian that goes pointing fingers and boycotting businesses in attempt to make a point, but instead, be the Christian that DOES something to make a difference for the real issue. Read more..

Posted on July 26, 2014

Eight

Central America/ church/ Compassion/ Compassion Advocate/ Compassion Sponsor/ Jesus/ poverty/ South America

A while back I shared about how we became sponsors through Compassion. {Click HERE to read that post.} In the right side bar you can see the faces of our two precious children. Those two pictures sit directly across from where I sit each day on the couch. Their pictures humble me, motivate me and most importantly, they lead me to pray. It was through a time of worship that I was led (along with a handful of teenagers at a summer camp) to sponsor.

Reading their letters and seeing their drawings every couple of months inspired me to do more. So I became a Child Advocate. Since I’ve had opportunities to volunteer at events where hundreds of children get sponsored. It brings me to tears every single time. When setting up the table there are always a few faces that just tug at your heart. I just love it when those particular packets get snatched up by an enthusiastic new sponsor!

Here’s the thing. Living in North America we can lose site of what poverty looks like. Even though it’s in our very own neighborhoods. Check out these horrifying statistics. {Taken from Compassion’s website HERE}

Worldwide 600 million children are living in extreme poverty.

The cost of eradicating world poverty is estimated at 1 percent of global income.

Almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.

The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income.

1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live without electricity.

6.9 million children under five years of age died in 2011, nearly 800 every hour.

It takes very little for us to make a huge difference in the life of a child. I love how Compassion actually goes to the local church and equips them to reach their community. Just $38 per month enrolls a child into the program in their local church where they are mentored, prayed for, and loved on regularly. They are given food and water and they will be able to stay in school or maybe even attend for the very first time. The child will then have basic healthcare and they will be taught proper hygiene. And the investment you make into their lives through the relationship you build will be forever life-changing. You may be the first person to tell them they are loved. To tell them you believe in them.

Are you inspired yet? Well I have 8 beautiful little faces sitting next to me on the couch. I wish they were next to me in person, but they are pictures sitting in a packet. They need a sponsor. What is so cool is that the five children in Africa attend the same center as our two sponsored kids! I already have a handful of friends who sponsor in Ethiopia and Kenya as well so if one day any of us are able to go, we will be able to send things along with them!

Look at these faces…

Which one will you choose? I know, I made it really hard for you! You can also click HERE to look at other children needing sponsors if you want a specific country or even birthday! Maybe it’s hard because you’re just barely making ends meet. Well I can promise you, that we have been there and God always provides. Make the small sacrifice and sponsor today. You won’t regret it! Please post a comment or email me to make your commit today!

Posted on November 28, 2012

Giving Tuesday

Building 429/ Compassion/ Compassion Advocate/ Compassion Sponsor/ Giving Tuesday/ poverty/ Retreat

Who knew there was such a day? Okay, well I didn’t until I saw a few tweets from Compassion today and then began to see a re-tweeting trend. They summed it up best.

Compassion Intl ‏@compassion

#GivingTuesday is about giving to those who need more than money– who need things like love, kindness and a sense of humor.

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With my birthday coming up (in 1 very long day from now) I have had people ask what I want. Sure there are things I would like to have, and really, what girl doesn’t want another pair of shoes? But what do I need? Nothing. I have more than I could ever ask for. I recently finished the book ‘Too Small to Ignore’ by Wess Stafford. What an eye opener! Wess Stafford is the President of Compassion International and an advocate for children in poverty. As a newly trained advocate for Compassion, I wanted to find out how God led him to do this work.

He tells of his stories of growing up on the Ivory Coast and although some of them were difficult to stomach, I could have packed up my bags and boarded a flight the moment I finished the book. I have always had Africa on my heart before I knew what a missions trip was. Our two sponsored children were hand selected by our youth students on a retreat and they were both from Africa. Okay Lord, I’m going! Two statements from his book impacted me in a way that has change my life.

“Some people think the earth can’t keep up with the food needs of its population. That is not true. In fact, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) declared at a World Food Summit in Rome that the planet could produce enough food for every one of us to have a daily diet of 2,720 calories.”

And,

“The likelihood of a little Haitian child making it to his or her fifth birthday is so small that many parents do not even entrust their child with a name until then. They refer to the toddler as ti chape, ‘my little escapee.’ In other words, this little one has dodged death up to now, but who knows if he will actually survive? So why bother giving him a real name? We can always do that later, if needed.”

And we blame God for poverty?

We can do something about it. When I heard the testimony of a Compassion program graduate at a youth retreat in 2011 {READ HERE} I felt compelled to change the life of a child (or two!) through sponsorship. This Christmas you can make a huge difference by giving gifts through Compassion’s Christmas Gift Catalog or sponsor a child yourself!

My second Advocate concert was incredible! Jason Roy from Building 429 shared his incredible personal story of becoming an advocate for children in poverty. He and his wife and kiddos have become compassionate (get it?) advocates using their platform to lead many to sponsorship. I could relate to his story in many ways and had a hard time collecting myself as I was the one in front helping him hand out child packets. It was hard not to keep the stack for myself.

So how much do we really need for Christmas? How much could we give to a child to make an eternal impact? What is sacrifice? And hey, if you’re like me and super indecisive when it comes to buying gifts, this makes it so easy! Seriously, me and post offices and gift shopping do not go. I put way too much pressure on myself and there is this mental block when it comes to getting it done on time. That’s just me.

So for my birthday, I want someone to give $40 to help develop a future leader through Compassion’s Leadership Development Program so that many more testimonies like Davids’ from Kenya could be heard and therefore lead more people to sponsorship. Or maybe just $25 to provide a first-time HIV test for a child.

Sure a new pair of shoes are nice, but what about the ones that have yet to receive their first pair? And yeah, it’s okay to have both.

To see more of what God is doing through Compassion, you can read first-hand experiences from a team of bloggers who recently traveled to Peru. Their stories make it all so real. Plus, I love on e of the bloggers Angie Smith and have been reading her book ‘What Women Fear’! So check it out. All of it!

Be blessed & be a blessing.

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