compassion blog - part 4

Compassion believes that change begins with the heart of a child. People in poverty believe lies for many many years. That’s why we must start with the heart and mind of a child. We must pour truth over them and tell them that they are special and that God has a plan for them. Each of these children who are sponsored begin a relationship that will have an eternal impact. When a child’s life is changed, it affects the entire family, church, community, region, country, and eventually the world. The ripple effects are endless and lasting.

Compassion International is the real deal. I know my $32 a month is going directly to making a better life for my sponsored child. My life has been forever changed by Compassion, and that’s why I’m writing this blog. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ve seen the children whose lives have been changed by this organization. I’ve visited the offices of Compassion and talked with the staff. I’ve held the children in the schools and sat in on their class lessons where they learn about the Love of Christ. It’s ridiculously difficult to try and sum up what Compassion is and what it’s meant to me by the use of mere words. But I knew I had to try. God has called me to be a voice for the voiceless, to speak up on behalf on children in poverty living all over the world.
As a worship leader, my life was changed when I read James 1:27 that says “Pure and undefiled worship/religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: caring for and visiting orphans and widows in their time of need.” I can no longer just sit there and watch children die in poverty. Did you know that 30,000 children a day die in poverty? It doesn’t have to be this way. We can help change the world. I believe in this so much that I am devoting as much time as I possibly can to share about Compassion.

Would you pray about changing the life of one child today? My intention is not to guilt anyone into sponsoring a child. My intention is simply to make you aware of one of the best and most successful organizations for combating poverty. Compassion is changing the world, one child at a time and you can be a part of it. You can go online at www.compassion.com and look for God’s child for you. You will not just be a sponsor who gives money. You will be so much more: a mentor who will change their life forever. A friend who will speak truth into their lives through your hand-written letters that are translated and given to the child.

Letters are huge in this sponsor-child relationship. I visited one 18 yr old girl who showed me a thick binder of every single letter she had ever received from her sponsor, who had been her sponsor for 15 years. This girl cried as she looked through all the letters and pictures that her sponsor had so faithfully sent her through the years. When I asked this young woman what she would say if her sponsor walked in the room, she busted out into tears, had to sit down, and was speechless. After finally gaining composure, she told me that she wouldn’t really know what to say. She would just hug her sponsor as tight as possible and thank her over and over again for changing her life forever. To see the gratitude on her face made me want to sponsor even more children!

The truth is, I’m addicted to sponsoring children. When I share about Compassion at a ministry event, I put the packets of the children waiting to be sponsored on my product table. Sometimes at the end of the event, there are children who have yet to be sponsored. These beautiful little ones always capture my heart. I have three children now, but if I could, I would sponsor them all!

The bottom line is this: thank you so much for reading about my heart for the ministry of Compassion International. My heart beats with joy in knowing that you might be one that God will raise up to mentor a child living in poverty overseas. Please commit these children to pray and pray that God would continue providing sponsors for these children. We think our economy is bad, but theirs is even worse. We actually have food and clothing, while most of them have nothing. Compassion provides for every aspect of the child’s life and introduces them to Jesus, who is mighty to save.

My GOAL: let's get 10 kids sponsored by February. Go to compassion.com and change a life today!

compassion blog - part 3

My favorite mission trip of all-time was when I had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic with a ministry called Compassion International. What I’d heard about for years finally became a reality in my life. No longer were the children just pictured on packets. Now they were real children in need of sponsors and mentors. For years I had heard about Compassion from different people and in different concerts. I knew there were dozens of child-sponsorship programs, but for some reason Compassion stood out to me in a unique way. I began studying about Compassion and praying about whether or not the Lord would have me be a part of this ministry in some capacity.


Three years ago, I decided to sponsor my first child Clare who lives in Kenya. That was one of the best decisions of my life. At first she was just a child on a page, but little did I know that she would change my life forever. Much like Grehme, who I mentioned in my first blog, Clare’s life was changed by Love and my life was changed by her.


Three years later, I now sponsor 3 children who all live in Kenya. I literally cannot wait for the day when I get to go to Kenya and meet them all and scoop them up in my arms and spin them around. Also, I’m a Compassion International artist, which means I get to travel across the country with my music ministry and share about Compassion. Before I partnered with Compassion in ministry, I made sure that I prayed a lot about it and researched heavily. I didn’t just want to join up with any ministry. And with all the child-sponsorship programs out there, I knew I had to find the perfect fit for my ministry.

I began looking into the ministry of Compassion, whose mission is to rescue children from poverty in Jesus’ name. What’s unique about Compassion is that they go into a specific region and immediately partner with a local church. In fact, the local church is what drives the Compassion Project. This enables the children to have a spiritual foundation first and foremost. Discipleship can also thrive in this environment. Each child that is sponsored receives necessary food and clothing each day and also receives a Bible-based Christian education each day. I have seen the children and I have visited the schools. I have served food to the children for lunchtime at their Compassion projects and I assure you, this is one of the most real and legitimate ministries out there. When I went to the D.R. with Compassion, everything changed. It all became so real to me and I wanted to tell everyone about what Compassion was doing to change the world, one child at a time.

compassion blog - part 2

There she was in all her anger, lashing out at everyone around her. I noticed her instantly. She was the uncontrollable 12 yr old girl who was running throughout the classroom hitting boys in the face, wreaking havoc all over the place. I knew at that moment that she was the little Dominican girl I wanted to especially reach out to. I was instantly filled with an overwhelming sense of love for her.

The young girl’s name is Grehme and her life was changed by Love.

Grehme was full of hate when I met her and full of love when I had to leave her. The day I first saw her, she was acting out of anger and bitterness. After I saw her hit her 5th victim, I walked up to her. Wanting desperately to be the hands and feet of Jesus, I gave her a hug. I held her tight but gently. She fought my hug with all her might. As I hugged her, I repeated over and over again in Spanish that I loved her and that she was beautiful. With each sentence of truth that I spoke over her, she fought me less and less. Eventually she stopped swinging and fighting. Eventually she even settled into my hug and allowed me to hold her. Then, I felt one little hand on my lower back. Shortly thereafter, the other hand. She was hugging me back. I couldn’t believe it. The little girl, this great fighter, was hugging me back.

And thus began a changed life thanks to Love.

The rest of my time with Grehme was unforgettable. She was no longer fighting and no longer yelling or hitting anyone. She became a delightful student, ready for involvement. She wouldn’t leave my side. If I was in the vicinity, she was right next to me. She was receiving my love and loving me back. I saw a complete transformation in her life and I knew it was because she had let Love in. For a moment she let her walls down.

My favorite part of my time with Grehme was our last day together. The entire day was filled with the looming sadness of leaving one another. It was also filled with her new obsession with a doll she had brought to school that day. I’d never seen the doll before, but she was acting like it was a real baby. If anyone tried to take it from her, she would cling to her baby doll and tuck it in tight for safety. At the end of the day when the moment came for us to say our goodbyes, I finally asked about the doll. She told me that her doll’s name was Lindsey and it was her best friend. I had to fight back tears. This little girl changed my life, though I thought I would be the one having an impact on the children in the Dominican Republic.

The Giving Spirit of Christmas

in light of the recent focus of this blog on the ministry of compassion international - let's think about what Christmas is really all about. watch this video cuz it's awesome, but also because it really challenges us to re-think what we give and who we give to.