So, the past couple of posts that I actually published here were about Haiti.  I figure it only appropriate that this one be as well.

I’ve been continuing to try to figure out just how I can help the people of Haiti.  Of course I pray and give but I want to do more.  I’m even considering going.  Maybe you’d like to join me.  At the very least I want to let you know about something else that people are doing and that you have the opportunity to be a part of.

I figured that the outpouring of support would end pretty quickly following a week or two after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12.  However, here we are a little over a month later, and, while I’m certain that donations have probably slowed, there are still some people actively working in Haiti and others who continue to see what they can do to raise awareness, funds and supplies for the ongoing relief effort there.  Right now there’s a group of youth ministry bloggers there with Adventures in Missions.  They went to survey what was happening, make connections and help out wherever they could.  And they’re seeing some incredible things.  You can find out more about it here.

I previously wrote about how you could help tremendously simply by giving to Compassion International’s disaster relief fund (which you can still do).  I now want to let you know about something else that Compassion is doing.  Shaun Groves (a great songwriter and musician who works with Compassion Bloggers and whom I’ve written about before) has been working tirelessly to see if he couldn’t make something big happen to help Haiti.  His idea has been to host a concerts in two different cities to raise awareness and money for Compassion’s efforts in Haiti and to simulcast those concerts.  It’s a big idea, especially considering the time-frame in which he has wanted to pull it off.

Well, a number of people have caught Shaun’s vision and joined him and making this idea a reality.  The result is Help Haiti Live.  Here’s the skinny.

On February 27 two concerts will happen, one at the Ryman in Nashville and the other at the Wiltern Theater in L.A.  The lineup for these events is incredible.  Big Kenny.  Alison Krauss with Union Station (featuring Jerry Douglas).  Jars of Clay.  Mat Kearney.  Dave Barnes.  Matt Wertz.  Brandon Heath.  Francis Chan.  Amy Grant.  LeAnn Rimes.  Rebecca St. James.  NEEDTOBREATHE.  And as if that weren’t enough, there’s promise of a “to-be-announced special guest headliner” for the L.A. event.

Tickets have gone on sale today.  So all of you who live around Nashvegas or the City of Angels, get ‘em now.  For those of you who don’t, have no fear.  The concerts will be broadcast live at HelpHaitiLive.com.

It’s not just Shaun and these artists that have come together to make this happen.  This whole thing is being made possible through the effort of numerous other individuals and corporations who all care deeply about the plight of the people of Haiti and who see Compassion’s work there as essential and effective and want to help equip them further with what they need to continue releasing the children of Haiti from poverty in Jesus’ name.

That’s why all the proceeds from Help Haiti Live will go to Compassion’s Haiti disaster relief fund.

All money raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to re-equip Compassion’s local support structure and to provide for the immediate needs of Compassion-assisted children and families.

Compassion has been meeting the physical and spiritual needs of Haitians for more than forty years and will continue to serve them in this time of extreme need. Already Compassion International has supplied more than 15,000 families with clean water, food, blankets, temporary shelter, medical supplies and counseling.  Donations will lay bricks, feed, educate, clothe, heal and rebuild Haiti for many months to come.

Compassion International is the world’s largest Christian child development organization that permanently releases children from poverty. Founded in 1952, Compassion successfully tackles global poverty one child at a time, serving more than 1 million children in 26 of the world’s poorest countries. Recognizing that poverty is more than a lack of money, Compassion works holistically through local churches to address the individual physical, economic, educational and spiritual needs of children, enabling them to thrive, not just survive. Charity Navigator, America’s largest charity evaluator, has awarded Compassion its highest rating “four stars” for eight consecutive years.

So don’t let the opportunity pass you by to join this great group of people in helping some others who could really use it.  Just because a month has passed, don’t think that the need is any less great, any less vital, any less urgent.

You can make a difference.

Today.

Won’t you?

Help Haiti February 27th – HelpHaitiLive.com from Compassion International on Vimeo.

I’m a little late to the ball game here but this is too important to let pass by.

Unless you’ve been completely out of touch you know that Haiti was hit by a 7.0 earthquake Tuesday, a catastrophe whose epicenter was right around the capital, Port Au Prince.

Government buildings have collapsed.  Hospitals have collapsed.  Hotels have collapsed.  Grocery stores have collapsed.  The U.N. headquarters has collapsed.  Thousand of homes have been destroyed.  The airport is in disarray.  Hundreds of thousands are dead and more are homeless.

All of this in a nation that is the poorest in the western hemisphere where two-thirds already live in abject poverty many on less than $2-a-day.

I have friends who have and are adopting from Haiti.  They’ve both been able to hear that their children are okay.  However, thousands of children are not.

I have friends who have had the privilege to visit Haiti.  They’ve walked the streets, slept in the hotels, ate the food and been blessed by the people.  They can’t get them out of their minds.

There are people I respect immediately there who are literally serving as first responders in a country that basically has none.

James 1:27 reads “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

The world is full of orphans and widows in distress.  Right now Haiti is full of them.  You are called by almighty God to look after them.

You’re called to do something.

You can do something.

You have to do something.

For those of you who know me or have been readers of this blog for any amount of time you know that I love Compassion International and the work they’re doing around the world to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

I’d like to ask you to consider helping those affected by the Haiti earthquake by giving financially to their disaster relief fund.  Literally any amount you give will make a difference, but here’s a breakdown of just how your money will be transformed into aid that is desperately needed.

Actually, scratch that.  I don’t want you to consider giving.  I want you to give.

Compassion’s work in Haiti is run by Haitians.  The cream of the crop in Haiti.  They don’t have to send people in.  They have people there.  They are in the right position to make a difference there right now.

There are a lot of people out there warning you to be weary of who you give money to, to make sure that it is actually going to help those in Haiti.  Maybe it’s good enough for you that you’ll just take my word for it that Compassion is the real deal and that you can trust him.  But if that’s not enough (I don’t take it personally) then check them out over at Charity Navigator.

Please.

Give.

Perhaps, go one further and sponsor a child in Haiti or one of Compassion’s twenty-five other countries.

Do.

Something.

Now.

I have a posts lined up for all of December to get back into this thing.  I had planned on launching the first today.

However, today is World AIDS Day, and I can’t let it go by without some sort of commemoration.

I should have planned better, but I didn’t.  So, I give you a re-post, what I wrote for World AIDS Day last year.

Thanks.

Today is World AIDS Day. Not quite as celebratory of a day as we recently experienced with Thanksgiving, but one that people will commemorate around the world in various ways. Some will wear a red ribbon to show their awareness and support. Some will go to Starbucks and purchase one of their specialty holiday drinks so that $0.05 can be donated to the (RED) campaign. Some will give a speech. Some will examine patients. Some will stand in line for their ARV’s. Some will slowly and painfully pass from this world to the next. And some will go about their day blissfully unaware that any of the rest of this is happening at all.

What will you do?

The vast majority of the people I’m surrounded by on a daily basis are lucky enough to have not really been affected by the AIDS pandemic in a personal way. Many people I know haven’t even ever come into contact with anyone who has HIV/AIDS. On some level I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful that my city, my state, my country hasn’t been so ravaged by this disease that it is commonplace, that part of a person’s daily existence is a constant state of fear over when it will strike, when their luck, or the luck of a family member or friend, will finally run out. On some level I’m thankful that on World Aids Day there are a lot of people who can’t think of a single person with the disease that they can do something for, that the extent of their involvement really is ordering a grande peppermint mocha or joining a Facebook group that at least says they will. I’m thankful that this discussion of this disease can be dealt with in such a manner that junior high students in my country are more educated about it than the presidents of other nations. I’m thankful that we can make movies about it that make us cry and give Oscars to actors “brave” enough to play such a role with true, heartfelt empathy. I’m thankful that some of our largest companies can jump onboard with a campaign that spends more money on promoting awareness of the disease than it raises to help fight the disease. On some level I’m thankful for all these things. I really am.

However, I understand that the world in which I live, in which AIDS is a cause for action and not of death, is not the real world. I’m lucky. I’m blessed. That’s the only thing that separates me from those who live in constant fear and ignorance of this disease every moment of every day.

I understand this because I am not one of the people I’m surrounded by that have not been affected by the AIDS pandemic in a personal way. But again, I’m just blessed, lucky, in that the way in which I have been affected is in perhaps the most positive way possible. AIDS didn’t take a family member from me. Instead, it gave me one I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Most of you have heard me talk about or have read my writings about my youngest brother, Alfie. Alfie is of the Tswana tribe in South Africa. He is four years old (He’ll turn five in January), and his adoption by my parents became official in September of 2007, though he’s lived with them since he was about eighteen months. Alfie is also one of the millions of children around the world that have been orphaned because of AIDS (in fact, a child is orphaned by AIDS every 14 seconds. How many orphans does that make in the amount of time it’s taken you to read this post so far?).

Alfie’s biological father is unknown and his birth-mother died when he was just a baby from AIDS. She was just another one of the thousands living with the disease made more complicated because they are stricken with poverty as well. I don’t say that to make light of her death, but to express the general attitude that is often taken towards those with the disease. When she died, Alfie was sent to live with his uncle who has children of his own, lives in a squatter camp outside Pretoria, and works as a day laborer if he can. He also has a drinking problem. Alfie has very bad allergies. So, you can imagine that a squatter camp wouldn’t be the best environment for him to be in. When my parents found him, he was really sick. They offered to take Alfie to get some medical treatment and to stay with them until he was better. This led to my parents wanting to adopt him. For a number of reasons, it was a really long process, but now he is a Kinsley (to be fair, I’ve just vastly oversimplified his story. Perhaps at another time I can do it justice, but that’s not really the point of this post).

Alfie is lucky. He’s blessed. His story is definitely not typical for these children. He comes from a continent that is ravaged by the disease. It still carries a heavy social stigma with it so that most people don’t want to talk about it and complete ignorance is the norm. I’ve sat and talked with other AIDS orphans who actually contracted the disease from their mother before she died. I’ve listened to their stories, their fears, their worries. I’ve heard them talk about how much they hate their medication, though it’s the only thing keeping them alive. I’ve seen the marks of the witch doctors on children they are “treating,” the same witch doctors that often prescribe to older men with AIDS to have sex with the youngest virgin they can find in order to be healed. I’ll allow you to take that to its conclusion for yourself. I’ve knelt beside a “bed” in a shack in a squatter camp and held and prayed for a young woman no older than myself and prayed for strength in healing as she faces the final stages of the disease.

In some ways I’ve had the opportunity to stare the monster of AIDS in the face, and I’ll tell you this: it scares the hell out of me. Literally. It makes me cling to the things of Heaven, the things of God, to Him and His wisdom and His will and His plan and His timing. I have to trust him. It’s too big for me to deal with on my own. Every country in the world is affected by HIV/AIDS. Every single one. Some, like mine, have stemmed the tide. Others, like Alfie’s native country, are on the verge of being awash in it. Still others are struggling to keep their heads afloat.

But I do what I can, and I hope you will too. Today, I hope you wear your ribbon. I hope you buy your peppermint mocha and join your Facebook group. I hope you have some conversation with someone who didn’t even know there was a World AIDS Day and open their eyes.

But if you want to think about maybe doing a little bit more, here’s some suggestions for you.

1. Sponsor a Compassion child. I know. It seems like there are tons of us within my circle that won’t shut up about Compassion. Well, there’s a reason for that. We’ve seen it first hand, and we know that it works. Some of those hit hardest and most affected by the AIDS pandemic are those who live in poverty. Compassion is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. They focus on working with a child holistically throught their local church in six areas of development in their life: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, economically, socially and physically. For $32 a month you can help a child in one of Compassion’s 25 countries to ensure that they are educated and have access to all that they need so that they not only can avoid being a victim of this disease but of all the other trappings of poverty. I have other posts here you can read to hear about just what it’s like to sponsor a child, but I want you to hear me clearly right now. If you don’t sponsor a child with Compassion, you should. It’s easy and it changes their life and will lead to lasting change in their family, community, country and eventually, the world. Do it. Please. You can, very easily, by clicking here.

2. If you already sponsor or, for whatever reason, don’t feel like you can right now, then consider giving toward’s Compassions AIDS iInitiative. I give an additional $8 a month to Compassions work to fight this disease in addition to the children I sponsor. For that little bit (which goes a much longer way than the 10 cents that would be donated to (RED) if I spent that 8 bucks on two Starbucks) I’m able to be a part of making sure that communities are educated about AIDS and that those who need treatment are able to have access to it when they wouldn’t otherwise. Incidentally, the first prority in Compassion’s AIDS initiative is to promote abstinence before marriage and faithfulness inside of marriage. So, if you’re worried about condoms being handed out all over Africa because of your 8 dollars, then consider your fears relieved. Right now they do focus this work on the continent of Africa but have plans to expand it further to all of the countries in which they work. You can find out more about this by clicking here or read a blog post about their work by clicking here or on their blog in my blogroll at the right..

3. Contact your local hospital or health clinic for information about volunteering with AIDS hospice care.

4. Pick a country in the world to which you have some connection and find out how to be inolved there. You can do so by searching the various AIDS foundations through the World AIDS Campaign website by clicking here.

5. Forward this post to someone you know who is one of those going about their day blissfully unaware. Rock their world a little bit. Enlighten them. Make it happen.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, I think we should pray. I’m a huge believer in prayer. I believe it actually affects change in the world. What if all of the millions of Christians were united in prayer today for God to intervene miraculously in the world with regards to eradicating AIDS? I believe He’s listening.

I know that right now a lot of different ideas are being thrown at us about how we can and should be involved with various causes around the world. That’s great, but I know that it can either be overhelming or just become part of the noise surrounding us. I also know how easy it is to become cynical about it all.

So, my hope is that you can sift through the noise and discover where your involvement can be most effective.

Thanks for reading.

So, I promised on Monday that when video of this moment became available, I’d post it.  Well, here it is straight from Catalyst.  You might want to prepare yourself a bit.

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

Remember, you too can be a Compassion sponsor and be a part of changing a life like Jimmy’s.  To do so, click here.

Thanks.

Shlog is the blog of Shaun Groves (get it? “Shaun” – “aun” + “blog” – “b” = “Shlog”. that concludes our math lesson for the day).  If you look in the various blogroll categories I have listed on the right, you’ll notice that I have Shaun listed under “Some People I Know (Kinda).”  That “(Kinda)” is there for a reason.  To be honest, I don’t really know Shaun hardly at all.  I mean, I read his blog, obviously.  So, I know a some stuff about him, things he does, thinks, feels, says, in so far as he writes them down and publishes them there.  And we’ve communicated to one another a handful of times on Twitter.  Other than that, we’ve only actually met two or three times.  I can only recall two for sure, though I could swear there was a third time.  Both of the times I can remember involved a mutual passion we share, seeking the release of children around the world from poverty in Jesus’ name through Compassion International (for more info on Compassion click my category to the left or the add on the right; if you’d like to sponsor a child then simply click here).

The first was during our Clairty tour here at Student Life.  During that tour we were honored to have a graduate of Compassion’s program travel with us to be an advocate for the million children with whom they work.  Her name was Jackie and her story is awesome.  Compassion had randomly chosen to begin filming her when she was a young girl in their program in Uganda.  Their pick couldn’t have been more provident.  They’ve been able to follow her all the way through their program, and she is a real success story.  I had the privilege of meeting her mother while I was in Uganda that year.  It was obvious to me that not only had Compassion made a difference in Jackie’s life but in that of her entire family as well.  But I digress.  While Jackie was here in the States travelling with us, Shaun (who’s a Compassion advocate, himself, and even directs their Compassion Bloggers program) came down from Nashvile to just sit down with Jackie and interview her a little bit.  Taylor, Eric and I filmed their time together.  Now that I’m writing this I’m wondering what ever happened to that footage and if it was used at all.  I should ask him.

The second time we met was at an appreciation dinner hosted by Compassion during GMA week.  Shaun had recently traveled with Compassion on their first ever vision trip for bloggers.  I think they went to Uganda, coincidentally enough.  Following that trip he was then tapped to lead their effort.  Maybe that was the plan all along.  I don’t know.  I just remember them announcing it at that dinner.

So, that’s it, really, as far as me knowing him personally, which, again, isn’t really at all.  What I do know is that Shaun is a lot of things as far as labels go.  Musician.  Songwriter.  Preacher.  Husband.  Father.  Writer.  Thinker.  From what I can tell he’s not one to be comfortable with the status quo.  It seems to me that he seeks Jesus with a devoted passion and is willing to literally follow Him wherever He leads.  Unfortunatley, that makes him a real radical in the American church that challenges and at least afflicts any of us who get too content in our pews (or padded stadium seats) for an hour on Sunday.

But that’s not really why I wanted to feature him and his Shlog for this edition of “Friend Friday.”  Here’s the real reason.

Shaun recently had a bout with depression.  I know this not because of any real connection we have but because once he came out of it he began writing about it on the Shlog.  You can find the posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here (or just click here).  He writes about this time openly, honestly and forthrightly.  I know that a lot of you don’t like posts that have much length at all (it’s a wonder you stop by here at all), and these posts aren’t short, but they’re worth reading.  I don’t know.  I wonder how much you will get out of them.  For me, though, they were a Godsend, literally.  From the moment the first post popped up in my Google Reader I was captivated, eagerly waiting (often not patiently) for the next installment.

The reason why is because I struggle with depression, too. I have for years.  Many of you may not know that.  I don’t really talk about it that much.  It’s hard for me to do so, not because I don’t want to or am not willing to, but because I often can’t find the words for it.  It’s something I live with and experience deeply but when I’m not gripped by it I have trouble thinking about it and contemplating it.  It’s like that depressed version of me is someone I don’t know, a stranger (or at least unwelcomed visitor) that I have no idea how to interact with.  Shaun, however, found the words, and through them I found I could relate so much.

Depression is a tricky topic in the Church.  After all, we have the “joy of the Lord,” what’s there to be depressed about?  That’s a great question with no easy answers, but in his posts, Shaun takes them on and does so beautifully.

I don’t know, maybe this Friend Friday is one that’s just too personal.  You might not have any interest in reading those posts whatsoever.  But even if you don’t, Shaun’s got a lot to say, and it’s usually not easy.  So, I think he’s worth listening to and getting to know (at least as much as you can).

Again, you can read the Shlog or follow Shaun on Twitter.  His next trip with Compassion Bloggers is in November.  His lates post is about putting that group together.  Be sure to follow that and let anyone and everyone know about it.  It could save a child’s life, quite literally.

Thanks.  Have a great weekend!

Hey, all you Compassion sponsors.  Check it out. ourcompassion.org.  A way to network with the million or so other Compassion sponsors around the world.  Find and connect with people who sponsor kids in the same project that you do.

Pretty cool.

Here’s a so-so video about it.

Don’t hold the so-soness of the video against the concept.  Go.  Sign up.  I’ll see you there.

If you’re not already a part of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name by sponsoring a child with Compassion.  You can do so by clicking here… or the widget on the right.

So any reader of this blog or friend of mine knows that I’m an advocate for Compassion. The company I work for has a partnership with them, but my advocacy goes beyond that. However, most of my talk about Compassion here has centered around my experience with them or those of my close friends and are most often filtered through the lens of our limited perspective since we’re only a small few of those who have the privilege of joining Compassion in the work they’re doing to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.

Shaun Groves is  a guy I’ve only met a couple of times, but who is a great voice for millions of children around the world who have none. He’s a musician but also works with the Compassion Bloggers. Last week he had the great opportunity to be up in Colorado Springs at Compassion’s home office to lead worship for their chapel service celebrating the sponsorship of their millionth child. You can read a little bit about it at his shlog. There he has a video they played at that service. I’ve only ever put Compassion videos on here that we had something to do with producing (we being those of us here at Student Life). But this one’s worth it.

Enjoy.

By the way, you, too, can be a part of releasing a child from poverty through sponsorship with Compassion International by clicking here.

Thanks.

Do you remember the heroes you looked up to and wanted to be like when you grew up? Most of mine carried a lightsaber of some kind and could move objects with their minds. I can remember sitting in the bathtub concentrating so hard and trying to will the soap into my hands. I don’t know why the bathtub. Was where I tried to develop my Jedi abilities, but that’s not really the point.

I sometimes wonder who is a hero to Luis, Akena or Mey. I used to wonder partly because I figured they didn’t have all the options we have from our over-pop-cultured society, but I now know they actually do. This was revealed to me when I was in a poor African village and some of the kids called my friend Graham “Lex Luthor” because he looks the guy from Smallville.

I now wonder because I know they are surrounded by so many great options.

I’ve mentioned before the LDP graduates I’ve gotten to meet and spend time with. They are now my heroes. They have faced innumerous challenges and obstacles and have persevered and overcome. They are strong and courageous in the purest since of the words. They are living unselfish lives that exemplify hope for all those around them.

I know that within Compassion’s program the children are able to see alumni and LDP students and have a clear picture of what their future might look like that stands in complete contrast to how meaningless things around them might seem.

So, on behalf of Luis, Akena, Mey and all the rest of us I’d like to say thanks to Lois, James, Dennis, Prim, Moses, Peace, Rafonzel, Keewi, Nice, Mishel, Dan, Michelle, Patti, and Jeff. I’m proud of you guys. You’re heroes.

To sponsor a future hero go to compassion.com, click the banner on the right, or I e of the links in the posts below. To read more of my writings about Compassion click on the “compassion” category.

Thanks.

Merry Christmas!

(To sponsor a child with Compassion, just click here. For more of my posts about Compassion click on the category on the right.)

I wanted to include some of my thoughts from when we were in the Philippines with Compassion last Spring. For those of you who read this regularly (thanks, Liza), I apologize for the re-read.

Today was our last day to really see any of the Compassion stuff. As I mentioned, we had a lot of filming left to do. Well, we rock-n-rolled and, despite the torrential downpour we experienced at one point, we made it happen.

To start the day we headed to yet another Compassion project, and this one was, of course, fantastic. We were greeted again by some of the children. The hung homemade ribbon necklaces around our necks and escorted us individually to seats for a program. The little girl who escorted me wasn’t much for conversation, but she was super-cute.

If you remember, this is one of the first visits Davao has ever had from Compassion advocated, so they really pulled out all the stops. There were a lot of greetings, a number of musical performances and a chance to build and paint the wall of a classroom, which our fearless event directors were more than gracious to undertake.

This was our first day to spend with Rafonselle, the one LDP student who has already been granted a visa for the summer. So we spent a good bit of time filming her with some of the children. I told her that we just wanted some shots of her talking to them or singing with them or playing with them or whatever really. She was awesome. She jumped right in, and you could definitely tell that she knew what it was like to be where they are now, and she looks at them differently than we do. No pity. No worry. No appreciation. No Fancy. She looks at them with hope.

After lunch we drove out to the middle of nowhere through some beautiful country. We haven’t seen much of rural Philippines, but we did today and there were moments where it could really be breathtaking. Our destination was some rice fields where we were planning on shooting Rafonselle’s interview. Through a lot of waiting for motorcycles to pass, we were able to get most of it done, until it started sprinkling. I should mention that before this occurred our van driver realized one of the tires was flat and left us out there to go take care of it. Roger was convinced that it would pass after a little while. It didn’t. Right as the bottom dropped out, our heroic chauffer comes bounding down the road to rescue us. We ditched the rest and came back to the hotel. Luckily we were able to finish it there.

With regards to Rafonselle, let me just say that our students this summer are in for a treat. She gets it. She really wants to meet Chris Tomlin, but as Taylor has said more than once, ol’ Tomlin “should be so lucky to get to meet her.”

After dinner tonight (we had pizza; can you believe it?) we spent a good bit of time just kinda debriefing our week. So, I feel like I might share a bit of it here.

In transferring posts from my old Xanga to this blog, I found one I had written a few years ago basically whining about how frustrated I was that my current ministry was to middle-class, suburban, white American kids. This made me think about how there was some moment during the last year-and-a-half that I just made a decision that I was no longer going to feel guilty about that. If God has proved anything throughout history and in my own life, it’s that He knows exactly what He’s doing. He’s not just making it up as he goes along. So, while I believe that He is big enough to handle me questioning Him, I can certainly try to realize when those questions and complaints are purely selfish in nature. My post about ministering to middle-class, suburban, white American kids was/is selfish. So, what has that led to?

Callie and I were talking earlier this week about what we do in response to everything we’re seeing. I said that one of the things I’ve realized is that there’s only so much I can do. That might sound simple, but for many of us I think it can actually be somewhat profound. It was for me. Here’s why…

There are a lot of problems in the world, a lot of injustices. As a Christian I have a responsibility to do something about this. It is incumbent upon me to give to the poor, care for the sick, feed the hungry, provide for the needy, make disciples of the world, care for widows and orphans, and basically, look after the “least-of-these.” But you know what? I don’t bear the burden of giving to every poor person, caring for every sick person, feeding all the hungry, providing for everyone in need, making sure every person hears the Gospel, caring for every widow and every orphan and ensuring that anyone who might be considered “the least of these” is looked after. Because that’s your responsibility too. We share that. If I tried to make a difference in the world by giving to every relief organization I come in contact with, going on every mission trip I hear about, promoting every awareness video or event, reading every book on how to heal the world’s ills, and jumping on every social-justice bandwagon that comes my way, I would utterly, miserably, and completely fail. So, what do I do?

I become obedient to that which God calls me, and I get other people on board as much as possible to fill in the gaps. This for me is what it means to be an advocate.

This past year I received an email from Compassion saying they were looking for more people for their advocates network. Now, I already do a lot with and for Compassion, but it’s all through Student Life, which, though a ministry, is also my job. So, I became an advocate to be a part of something outside of my work. It’s something I really believe in and something that works. That advocacy for me leads to action, as I hope it will for others. Advocacy is about action, not awareness. If I constantly talk to people about Compassion, but it never leads to them sponsoring, then what am I doing?

The other thing my refutation of guilt has lead to is a new and different outlook on what I experience overseas in developing countries. I don’t feel a lot of pity anymore. I actually feel a great deal of respect. This makes me uneasy because it seems such an unnatural reaction to seeing what we see on these types of trips or in the squatter camps of South Africa, but that makes me feel like it might be right. The Kingdom of God is unnatural. In fact, it’s supernatural in the purest sense of the word. God has such great affection for these people, for all people, and when I can catch just a glimmer of that, it changes the way I can relate to other people completely. I can be a voice for them, and when that voice, the way I tell their story, comes from a place of respect rather than pity or guilt, I believe it is more honoring to them and to the work that God is accomplishing in their lives.

Lastly, my decision has changed the way I feel about those middle-class, suburban, white American kids. They’re a product of their culture just like these Compassion children are. Neither are at fault for where they find themselves. For whatever reason that’s just where they are. So I can’t get upset with them. I can’t fault them. I have to be just as patient and compassionate with them as I would be with others.

I live for the moment that a student gets it. This is my purpose in life. God manifests that purpose in me in a variety of ways, and being an advocate and sponsor with Compassion is just one of them. I look forward to a lifetime of discovering all the others.

Tomorrow we visit a market to… well, you know… shop (nothing like finishing what I just wrote and then typing that sentence to test my resolve to not feel guilty). We then fly back to Manila for a final meal with some of the Compassion country staff before catching a few hours of sleep and then flying Japan for 24 hours in Tokyo and then back to the ‘Ham by way of Detroit.

Not sure if this will be the last post before then or not. If it is, I’ll be sure to post any more reactions I might have once I get back in the U.S. Until then…

Thanks to all of you who read this for journeying along with us.

Signing off.

To sponsor a child with Compassion, just click here.

Merry Christmas!

(To sponsor a child with Compassion, just click here. For more of my posts about Compassion click on the category on the right.)

Yesterday I told you a little bit about the various programs Compassion uses to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. If you remember, one of those was the LDP program. If you don’t remember, just scroll below.

Well, this past year I had the great honor of being able to travel to the Philippines to produce a video with Taylor and Eric for us to use at the Student Life events this past summer to try to recruit sponsors. One of the graduates we got to meet was Rafonzel. She, like all LDP students and graduates, is absolutely awesome. I’ll be giving you more details about them later, but right now I wanted you to see the video we ended up making.

Enjoy.

To sponsor (you know what to do) just click here.

Merry Christmas!