I am feeling useless

and I want to do something.

As you may or may not be aware, Compassion International has gathered some fourteen 'bloggers' and brought them to Uganda in order that they could give a firsthand account of how Jesus, through His Compassion ministry, is ministering to the needs of children living in unspeakable poverty.

Each day I have been reading how the economic, social, physical, and spiritual needs of these kids are being met. Today I feel strangely homesick for a place I have never been.

How is that possible?

Shannon's blog was my first reading of the day. What a blessing that she included a video of her meeting her sponsored child Dissan for the first time. Those kinds of Compassion events are always moving, so I took the liberty of 'borrowing' the video and posting it around town (MySpace).

Next there was the Shaun Groves blog. I have this 'thing' for Shaun Groves. I'll explain. Shaun was invited recently to a lead worship at a local church where I live. About midway through, he stopped and began sharing about the Compassion ministry. I have seen and heard many pitches for the Compassion ministry, but this particular one was one of the best I've ever witnessed. Shaun winds-up his latest blog by declaring, "I'm through softening the 'ask'."

That single line moved me

Patrick Sievert's Compassion blog was disturbing. Did you know there is an organization that allows you to sponsor pigs? Thirty thousand children living in extreme poverty are going to die in the next 24 hours, and in the light of that horror, there are people who would opt to sponsor a farm animal rather than a human being. I could cry, but I am too angry.

The story of Angela Turbeville's two precious sponsored children in Indonesia was timely, although I still can't get the pig-sponsorship insanity out of my head.

David Kuo summed it all up nicely in his blog when he recorded, "The longer I am here the more certain…sponsoring a child (is) a crucial first step in helping Uganda."

I'm Still in New Jersey

I want to be in Uganda. I want to be the one writing about these children and the Compassion ministry. I want to compel others to sponsor children. Then it hit me--that old missionary cliché smacked me right between my eyes,

"You don't have to cross a sea to serve the Lord; you just have to see the cross."

Read the blogs, hear the testimonies, sponsor a child, and when you do, tell us about it. What you have to say might help someone else in their decision to sponsor a child in desperate need.

Cd

See the cross? Sponsor a child