Saturday, November 22, 2014

Better Than Black Friday

I've never done a Black Friday in my life, but you can bet I'll be doing a Giving Tuesday this year.

Please, let me tell you about it?

What do you know about India?



Nearly 1 in every 3 newborn deaths in the world occurs in India. (Facts and stats courtesy Compassion International)

Every year, more than 2 million children under age 5 die in India — most from treatable and preventable causes including malnutrition and dehydration. Nearly half of those children do not even survive their first year.


This year, Giving Tuesday's goal at Compassion International is funding a Child Survival Program in a small community in Gujarat, India. The goal is $25,000. 

About Gujarat, India:

~ The average woman is just 18 when she becomes a mother there.

~ She has four children.

~ More than 70 percent of the mothers give birth in their homes.

~ Their children are malnourished.

~ They are surrounded by illiteracy, alcoholism, child labor, child marriage and abuse.

Those first years are filled with dangers for these vulnerable children. They face the threat of disease and abuse, lacking a strong start to launch them into childhood.

Your gifts will:
~ prepare moms with training to help care for their babies
~ help mothers learn to read and write
~ give children a safe place to learn and grow
~ ensure lifesaving medical care for babies and moms
~ proclaim the hope of God to families living in poverty

Pushparani’s first child was born the color of a bruise. He was one of the 30,000 babies in India each year who don’t survive their first day. And then, less than a year later, Pushparani buried another child, this time a daughter who lived for just two months.
Pushparani and her son Ishu
Then, a third pregnancy. But this one would be different. This time, Pushparani had the support of the Child Survival Program that had recently opened in her community.
Every moment of this pregnancy Pushparani felt cared for and loved. She was well-nourished and went to regular prenatal appointments. When the time came to give birth to her son, she did so in a hospital, surrounded by friends who had prayed her out of the darkest place of her life.
Pushparani held her son in her arms, her little Ishu. Ray of light. A reminder of God’s promises.
“I owe what I am today to Compassion’s Child Survival Program,” says Pushparani. “Had I not been in the Child Survival Program, I would have ended my life. And now, I have big dreams for my son, Ishu — dreams of a healthy, happy child with hopes of the future. It did not seem possible before, but now I am filled with great hope and my dreams for my son will become reality. I look upon God and I will hold on to my dream.”

In Jesus' name, please care for the children of India by Tuesday, December 2, using this link, and going to the donate now button. 

I thank you, all the mothers of India thank you. 

We are correspondent sponsors to a child in India, a delightful young lady almost eleven now who has been a part of Compassion for 3.5 years. Compassion International has served her and her family very well, giving her Jesus, love, nourishment, a sense of belonging, safety, hope, and a future. When she entered the program she was an average student, and this year, for the first time, she was rated above average in her school work. Her letters are full of joy and she writes of Bible studies and a hunger for spiritual truth. I write her every 3 to 5 weeks, and she writes about 5 times a year, filling us with joy. She remembers what we like, what happened to us, what we pray for. I can't imagine my life without her, and I can't imagine her life without Compassion International. This organization is a gift from God. We write to four children, all of whom are living changed lives.

Their Child Survival Programs are second to none in bringing Jesus and hope.

Your gift to the Child Survival Program is a one-time gift.

Sponsoring a Child

If you would like to sponsor a child (ages 3 to 19) through Compassion International for $38 a month, click here. Writing letters to your child is of utmost importance in breaking the cycle of poverty. The love and attention in your letters affirms them and tells them they matter, whereas poverty screams the opposite.

If you write online using the links provided to you when you open a Compassion account, you'll be able to write very long letters and include scripture and easily upload pictures. If you use the letter forms Compassion sends you, you are limited to short letters.

There is a longest waiting list at the sponsor link, or you can scroll through all the pictures to choose your child. Older children are chosen less often, and almost always wait quite long.

We sponsor Sheila from Uganda, who is almost 15, and she writes the longest letters, in English in her own hand. We are correspondents with Raphael in Burkina Faso who is 15, and he writes the shortest letters, but they are sweet. We sponsor Nelson in El Salvador, almost 11, and his letters get longer and more abundant all the time, so I can't say boys always write the shorter letters. I feared as Nelson got closer to puberty his letters might get shorter, but no, praise God!

If you choose a very young child, it takes far longer for the give and take to develop, as dictating a letter to you will require them to develop an attention span first. Thus, in the early letters they will circle things about themselves on pre-made forms and draw you a picture.

I just wanted to give you some idea of what to expect from the different ages. My advice is, sponsor one preschool child, one elementary, and one teen! You won't be sorry and God will return the money to you manyfold.

Someone just gave my husband a used van for free--a 2000 Toyota Sienna. Give and trust is our motto. The day he got the van, the door broke on the driver's side on his old car (his extremely old 20+ years car). How's that for timing? And it happened to be the same week we did Operation Christmas Child. There's no doubt, you have nothing to fear when you give.

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