Monday, 12 March 2012

• 10 Totally Selfish Reasons to Sponsor a Child Through Compassion International

  By Amy at Make Me a Mary

  1. I get a thrill clicking that “Sponsor Now” button. It’s not every day that you get to add a child to your family, and once you’ve met your new love through the Internet it seems you can’t write to him/her fast enough. And you can hardly wait to hear back from them.

  2. It helps me learn geography. Of course the first thing I do is look at a map to see where he/she lives. I always learn something because I’m not very good with geography and I don’t know a lot about other cultures. I love how Compassion provides lots of great information about each child’s family, community, and country. It’s so interesting!

  3. It keeps close to my heart Jesus’s command to care for the poor and needy. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve neglected this huge part of the Gospel my entire life. But reaching impoverished children and their families with the message of Christ’s love is at the heart of what Compassion strives to do—and they do it well.

  4. It makes me more disciplined in my prayer life. When you see their little faces every day (provided you put their pictures out where you can see them), how can you not pray? They need our financial support, but perhaps more than that, they need our prayers.

  5. It’s a really personal way to support foreign missions. There’s something about knowing exactly who I’m helping that both moves and excites me. It can’t get more personal than supporting a specific someone and having them love you back for it.

  6. I know I’m making an investment. Not only am I helping my Compassion kids now, but my support will hugely impact their futures by providing a chance for education and employment that truly will help them break free of poverty and could seriously shape the futures of their families. Talk about bang for your buck!

  7. It makes me more disciplined in my spending. Since I took on that first child, I measure almost every purchase I make by that $38 monthly donation. Do I really need this? How far would this money go in Africa? How many meals does this equal in Guatemala? It gives me pause to evaluate my purchases and makes me a better steward of what the Lord has blessed me with.

  8. Not much could be more exciting than opening your mailbox to find a letter from your sponsored child. It’s seriously the best mail ever. I opened a letter recently from Solomon in Uganda, in which he thanked me for choosing him. And I thought, Thank You, Lord, for choosing me to help him. Such a blessing. I can’t get enough of that letter.
  
  9. It helps my own kids develop a heart for missions. They see the pictures and read the mail, and they understand that this is a real child who needs us. They see that we have the honor of truly making a difference. In that letter I mentioned, Solomon said his favorite place to go is Kampare. Why? To eat bread. (This made my 6’2″ son almost cry.)

  10. Despite the {sometimes long} commitment you’re making, you can rest in knowing this expenditure is one that counts for all eternity. What else is there to say? Feed a hungry child or buy Starbucks? Buy new shoes to add to your thirty pairs, or give so your Compassion child doesn’t have to go barefoot? Take your family out on Friday night, or give a needy family groceries for several weeks or maybe even months? When I’m standing before God Almighty Himself some day, it won’t matter all the meaningless things I bought. But this one will please Him.

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  You should really do it. I mean, REALLY. Do it. It’s the best thing ever, and like I always say, you can’t out-give God. It’s just not possible.

  p.s. I recommend using the little birthday widget in my sidebar—have I mentioned it before?

  
  Sponsor a Child

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