Patrick Regan is the founder and director of an urban-youth charity working in very challenging situations in the heart of London, called XLP. Where most organisations have given up hope in seeing people’s lives transformed, Patrick and his team refuse to believe that anything is impossible.

In this video, I asked Patrick about his new book No Celing To Hope and what it is about hope that is so fundamental to the work of both XLP and Compassion.

No Ceiling to Hope describes how all over the world – from Bolivia to Bangladesh, LA to Peckham – Christians are making a difference.  Where poverty, gangs, homelessness and addiction exist the church is getting its hands dirty. Patrick shows how God’s people are offering hope in the midst of pain. “As Christians there is no ceiling to the hope we can bring, even when things look bleak,” he says. “Extreme poverty has been halved in the last 30 years. This book encourages and challenges the church to think and act  creatively to eradicate all types of poverty and suffering.”

Find out more about the book.

Dear Sponsor (name withheld for sponsor’s privacy),

First of all, may the grace and peace of God be with you and your family for always. Every time I write a letter to you, I am very happy and excited to talk to you again. This time, it is breathtaking and I don’t want to write because it is the last letter I will be able to write to you as I have reached the maximum age for the project.

It has passed by very quickly. I have been given the opportunity to study since I was young. I could study many lessons such as the Thai tutoring when I started primary school, or I could study computers, the guitar and English lessons on Saturdays. I got to join in the summer camp held at the beach, the retreat camp, the youth camp and the evangelism team with my friends each year. Morever, I got to learn about dental care, teenage life and against using drugs. I got to attend the activities with my friends whether on Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Teacher’s Day, Children’s Day and Thanksgiving. I have improved and changed in every way. From a stubborn girl who couldn’t read and never learned about God, I can now read, write and speak, and most of all I have come to know God and I have Jesus in my life.

The important thing is that I could learn about you and your family. Even though we have never met each other, I can feel the love from you and your family towards me. The love from you and your family is always in my heart and it is unforgettable. I love you and your family so much. I would like to thank you very much for sponsorsing me so that I could study. I can have this day because of you and your family who are among the most important things in my life.

Because of the mercy of God towards me, I am provided with the best in my life. Even though I will not stay with the project any more, I will never forget about it and I will never forget about God’s blessing. You and your family will always be in my prayer. From now on, I will go out to the world I have never been and I will follow my dream and make my dreams come true.

Thank you very much for your love and the gifts, whether it was at Christmas or for my birthday. Thank you for the letters and photos from you. I dont know what I will have to face in the future so please pray for me about my studying in the university too. For the tuition fees and the other expenses, God has provided for me already. Even though you are not my sponsors any more, there are still many children who are looking for your help and sponsorship that they will have a chance to study like me.

Finally, I hope you and your family take good care of your health. May God protect you and your family in your life and in every work for always.

Best regards,

From Daughter Jantakarn Jaroenseematiwong.

(NB: Compassion partners with Tearfund in finding sponsors for children in New Zealand.)

This image reminds me of the many varied places that people call their home. At Compassion, we hear the stories, and see the images, of families that make their homes in a myriad of places. There is this image of a home in Ecuador, made from plant material, or the homes in India consisting of a sheet of corrugated iron held up by four wooden posts, with no shelter from the elements. And then there are the homes being built in Ecuador by Compassion, funded by a generous UK supporter, that are replacing houses that are no longer habitable.

Witnessing the stories of loving homes, that exist in often the most poverty-stricken circumstances, make me realise that a home isn’t about bricks and mortar, or even corrugated iron and wood for that matter. It is about the love and sharing of a family that exists within the confines of the space they call home.

What do you enjoy the most from all the things you do at the Compassion project?
Here at the project I do my homework from school. I can write numbers up to 200! [He says this with a humourous, but yet shy tone in his voice.]
I also learn Kichwa and Spanish. I can say the numbers in Kichwa [mother tongue].

Shuk    1
Ishkai    2
Kimsa    3

[Juan recited these numbers in his mother tongue, Kichwa.]

I also like to play “cascaritas” with a football trying to keep it from touching the ground and hitting it with nothing but my knees. I like marbles and chips [those chips usually come as prizes in bags of chips]. When we play chips, the kid who gets more of them is the winner!   [he smiles!]
My favorite thing to do is playing football with my friends.

Do you have a favourite Bible verse?  If you do, which verse is it and why do you like it?
[Juan couldn’t remember a full Bible verse so he preferred to sing a song to us.]
“Oh, Holy Dove! You are our strength. Take me in your wings, up where Jesus is.”

What do you do at home to help your mum?
I help her to pick up water from a faucet that we have in the backyard. I carry that water in a bucket and my mum uses it to cook.  I also clean up my bedroom and sweep.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to become a bus driver and travel all over Cañar [the province where he lives]. I’d love to visit many places and take tonnes of passengers to various destinations.

Interview by by Cecilia Yepez, Compassion Ecuador Communications Specialist

The nation sits within the African Meningitis Belt, an area plagued by large epidemics. In 2010, a meningitis outbreak hit Burkina Faso killing over 600 people. Last year, Compassion-assisted children in Burkina Faso were the first in their country to receive potentially life saving vaccines against meningitis. Here’s a video of the impact it made:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew  you. Jeremiah 1:4

The child I sponsor from The Philippines amazes me all the time. I am shocked at how God is using him in my life as he is so far away and so small. I suffer with anxiety since my mum died and God has been working through this with me. One day, I was advised to wait on a scripture that would really speak to me and I found it in Philippa Hanna’s book. It was as though everything just slotted into place.

From then on, I decided to carry Joshua 1-9 with me in my bag.  “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

That was last September. This week, on the back of the letter from my sponsor child was the very same verses! I feel such a strong bond and I thank God for the opportunity. I may be assisting in his financial situation but this little child is making a difference to me spiritually, richly letting me discover God through this simple sharing of letters of love.

Even in Ofsted inspections

I’m training to be a childminder and with childcare provisions you need to demonstrate that you welcome and have materials and resources of people from different cultures and countries. So when I had my Ofsted visit from the inspector I thought it a good idea to leave my child sponsorship folders out and explain that with the children in my care we would learn about different people around the world.

I was so nervous about the visit and prayed before she arrived. When the inspector came she was friendly and also liked cats (that went down well as my cute cat Lulu was made a fuss of). Sitting down to get on with business, she noticed the Compassion folders, she said she had a compassion child! I asked if she was a Christian and she was. Thank you Lord! Now this important professional figure was just a woman sharing the affection she had for her Compassion child, things went fantastically from then on.

We spoke about Compassion and of course childcare, but after having Compassion in common I felt a prayer had been answered and God had helped me yet again!

By Louisa Christaki, Compassion Advocate

Do you have any stories of how God has used Compassion or your sponsored child to help you in any way?

 

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must  love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you  love one another. — John 13:34–35, NIV

I have been challenged and humbled by the sacrifices I see being made by those closest to the children we serve. But I have also seen examples of envy,  power struggles, anger, and broken relationships.

The success of Compassion and the Church is at risk when broken relationships  prevail.

In John 13:34–35, Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another, saying they would be known as His disciples by the way they loved. The distinguishing  characteristic of Jesus’ disciples was not their passionate worship, their  eloquent prayers, their care for the poor, or their sacrificial giving.

No, Jesus said that it was their love for one another that would demonstrate  to the world that they were His disciples.

In Matthew 5:23–24, Jesus said: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against  you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Our relationship with God and our worship of Him is unacceptable as long as we allow divisions between us.

In Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus told us to love God with everything we have, and secondly, to love our neighbours as ourselves. I want to encourage you to ask God to reveal any offense or hurt you may have caused.

I challenge you to obey Christ’s command in Matthew 5:24 to seek forgiveness and reconciliation with your brother or sister.

In Luke 23:34–39, we see Jesus hanging on the cross, enduring unimaginable pain and shame as people mocked Him and cast lots for His clothing. Jesus’ response was not one of justice, but mercy, love, and forgiveness.

As His disciples, may we respond in the same spirit to those who have hurt  us.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your Word and for Your desire to bring restoration and reconciliation to the world. May we be Your ambassadors,  demonstrating Your love for the world by our love for one another. Help us to extend the grace that we have received to all we meet. Amen.

By Walt Hintz, Compassion USA

adjective

1. pulsating with vigour and energy

2. vigorous, energetic

So often images of poverty from around the world are dark, lacking any sense of colour. Think of the last time you saw poverty depicted on your TV, it was probably in a very monotone style with dark figures and equally dark and washed out backgrounds.

At Compassion, we believe that poverty doesn’t mean a lack of colour. The energetic nature of a child is intrinsic, whether born into poverty or wealth. This image reminds me of this. A child, surrounded by colour.

The vibrancy of life, villages and towns pulsating with vigour and energy is diminished by poverty, but is reinvigorated when the love of Christ permeates through the place. When someone comes to know the love and grace of Christ, their house doesn’t change, they don’t suddenly receive a well-paid job, but they are energised by love, they see things in a new and exciting way.

How do you view the world, in varying shades of gray or in vibrant rich colours?

It’s a tough one because, to be honest, I already know the answer to the question.  I’m just not sure I’m brave enough to tell them.  My daughter doesn’t want or need a thing. She has a lovely room, a comfy cot, plenty of clothes, blankets and more toys than she’ll ever need. As long as she is fed, watered and cuddled she’ll be quite happy enough.

As I move on to the Argos catalogue, I just can’t help thinking about the pile of plastic that is already swamping my once-tidy living room, and how that pile is so often bypassed by my baby girl who would rather hit a tin with a spoon play than with the mountain of toys.

But please don’t think I’m ungrateful. I’m not. I totally understand her grandparents’ desire to celebrate her first year of life, and it warms my heart to think that there are so many people who love this little girl more than she will ever know.  But she just doesn’t need any more things.

As I move on to the Kiddiecare website I think of the Mums I’ve met across the world who, when asked the question, “What would your daughter like for her birthday?” would have no problem thinking of an answer.  I think specifically of Cristi, the beautiful girl I sponsor in Honduras. Every year I lovingly send her a card and a small amount of money, which Compassion project workers take to her mum and together they decide what she really needs. I have never met Cristi, but I have travelled to Honduras and seen the sort of one room shack that her family most probably call home. I have stood on the dirt floors where the children huddle together under threat bare blankets to keep warm, and I have watched mothers lovingly rinse out the only set of clothes their children own.

Unlike me, Cristi’s mother must have had a long list of needs to choose from for her daughter’s birthday gift. Last year she bought three chickens named Kico, Estella and Honey. They use the eggs as a good source of food and sell any excess for profit. What a great gift. I’m not sure I’ll be suggesting chickens as a present for Alice though. But perhaps we should celebrate her first year of life by encouraging her friends and family to invest into the life of a child who, like Cristi, really does need something for her birthday. Surely life is the greatest gift we can give.

I’d better pick up that phone.

By Kate Sharma , Compassion UK

To send a gift to your sponsored child go to www.compassionuk.org/give