Compassion International Blog

Title:	Compassion International Blog
URL:	http://blog.compassion.com
Cat:	Kids_and_Teens/
Text:	blog child poverty .recentcomments display inline important important margin important jun written half visits saturday days, trying half sentence. please finish us. poverty popularity share icons link social bookmarking sites readers share discover pages. posted tagged , jun written may sound odd, really thought word phrase human being. me, phrase meant thing just plain human word was, mind anyway, superfluous. call human beings kind human merriam webster defines conscious existence living thing. so, kind human there, beings popularity share icons link social bookmarking sites readers share discover pages. posted tagged , , , , jun written part part series driving streets lome, togo, scenes unfold far common sub saharan africa. individuals ranging young old sit stand side road, hoping sell baked goods sweets small kitchen items myriad trinkets passers by. roads bad worse depart busiest streets. buildings showing signs beautiful time appear abandoned long ago are, fact, current offices businesses. place stable civil jobs guarantee paid, overarching atmosphere apathy brought years resigned situation. midst this, people refuse accept current circumstances, reject done. take, example, pastor happy pentecostal congregation located heart lome. pastor happy possesses smile exudes optimism confirm way appropriateness name. congregation large, poor sanctuary work progress, complete rustic wooden scaffolding tarps areas protection roof. pastor happy explains church recognized years ago vision helping need addressing just spiritual needs. congregation lacks financial resources passion, creativity dedication. outgrew room available children sunday school, waiting come funds space building project, pastor happy simply went school located door asked classrooms weekend. school agreed. addition bible classes, church houses medical clinic, provides food, clothing, school supplies greatest need community shows films positive message school children safe place go. accomplished largely donation goods, time services church members vision. church able more, decided faithful opportunities present themselves. positively impacted church ministry family couple called mesa ama. opportunity speak inspiring children, couple exceptional. country pastor pastor estimates percent families communities headed single mothers, mesa stayed faithful wife family notable fact. mesa carpenter ama sells secondhand clothing. daughters sons in, family sure children stay school. awolfa, , right arm mother caring rest family able complete secondary school currently attending classes tailor. year old brother francis year old brother felix dream doctors, year old edem hopes pastor. struggle meet current needs, family lost belief future different. tempting consider far motivated group added support compassion child development program, faces youngest, year old david year old sister, gracia, sees possibility future. david quiet contemplative gracia exact opposite. asked hopes grows up, whispers carpenter. gracia wait asked, announces loudly, seamstress awolfa. starting work togo, compassion opportunity minister davids gracias, tens thousands children lives unstable uncertain parent advocate regarding importance staying school. opportunity support encourage parents mesa ama, miracle lost hope vision future bring back hope begun despair. story photos popularity share icons link social bookmarking sites readers share discover pages. posted tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , jun written worker mine, , broadcast following note facebook friends tuesday night. striking. work business casual, walking mall having just bought scrumptious dinner sbarro pizza see sad sight eyes. girl, probably years old, tomboyish type short brown hair, kinda hobbling along. left leg cast sort. crosses mind seen girl bit earlier, walking condition looking lost super sad face. destitute word came mind. well, really destitute far clothes went, just expression face was. closer her, looks look recognize know, look says need help, immediately start wondering ask poor little orphan child abandoned parents way starving hungry sad, puppy dog eyes, asks fast, mumblish, barely audible fashion, miss, second answer, sympathetic, sure, just knowing ask cash spare. me, good samaritan deed day walk back food court debit card. kept walking lack cash, look face just sad stop. way, absolutely way prepared said next. complete seriousness sad face, says, store dvd going it, told version, special edition version, wanted it more, wondering spare popularity share icons link social bookmarking sites readers share discover pages. posted tagged , , jun written thank commitment fast pray today. nearly , strong. thank helped spread word day fasting prayer global food crisis. thank donated money . thank shed tear. know sorrow. share it. christ sorrow. global food crisis compassion day prayer fasting june , . day honor victims global food crisis pray them. global food crisis world food programme calls global food crisis phenomenon, silent tsunami, affecting families nation continent. food prices popular menu items rice, wheat beans doubled year. popularity share icons link social bookmarking sites readers share discover pages. posted tagged , jun written part part series christianity togo dates back mid methodist presbyterian denominations organized churches country. followed catholic church years today joined churches affiliated assemblies god, pentecostals, baptists, lutherans denominations. available statistics, togo percent christian. decades, umbrella organizations formed include church leaders various denominations desire work together. past, little collaboration denominations, leaders rising wish bring unity strength church turn effectively evangelize influence country. church leaders share anecdotal evidence church currently growing rapid rate past times. identified ministry children universally weak area churches, time, recognize need greater focus strength purpose influence young people future country. increasingly, churches poor areas far majority churches country recognizing relevant communities, address spiritual state people. churches simply take offerings funds try meet various needs come attention. structured, asking people bring extra clothing, shoes, food school supplies they redistributed severe need. church lome shows films positive message school give children place loiter streets. thanks vision retired doctor, church runs clinic treat need medical attention community train volunteers minister medicine nearby rural communities. children, children, coming single parent homes little adult influence lives. churches desire ways improve expand children ministries, want attempt provide structure begun looking ways train work children provide better guidance. anecdotal evidence ministries positively impacting churches ability witness impact communities. may seen way church leaders received welcomed visit homes communities, comfort level neighbors especially children feel come church. tomorrow putting faces statistics story photo popularity share icons link social bookmarking sites readers share discover pages. posted tagged , , , jun written addition expectation excitement registering child year, excited say weeks ago unanimously approved plans work sri lanka. course, preparation needs done launch country, proposed timeline includes registering children sri lanka summer . please pray smooth process, doors open needed little lives sri lanka changed eternity. popularity share icons link social bookmarking sites readers share discover pages. posted tagged , cause spotlink posts comments cheryl jones kathy syndicate blog categories tags archives search posts copyright
Source:	ï»¿<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head profile="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <title>Blog on Child Poverty</title> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 2.5.1" /> <!-- leave this for stats --> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/themes/compassion/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen" /> <!--[if lt ie 7]> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/themes/compassion/ie-win.css" /> <![endif]--> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Compassion Blog Post RSS Feed" href="http://blog.compassion.com/feed/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Compassion Blog Comments RSS Feed" href="http://blog.compassion.com/comments/feed/" /> <link rel="pingback" href="http://blog.compassion.com/xmlrpc.php" /> <link rel='archives' title='June 2008' href='http://blog.compassion.com/2008/06/' /> <link rel='archives' title='May 2008' href='http://blog.compassion.com/2008/05/' /> <link rel='archives' title='April 2008' href='http://blog.compassion.com/2008/04/' /> <link rel='archives' title='March 2008' href='http://blog.compassion.com/2008/03/' /> <link rel='archives' title='February 2008' href='http://blog.compassion.com/2008/02/' /> <!-- META Tags added by Add-Meta-Tags WordPress plugin. 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width: 410px; clear: right; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 10px; margin-left: 5px;"> <span class="titles"><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/human-becoming/" rel="bookmark" title=" Human Becoming">Human Becoming</a></span> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div> <div class="post"> <p>Written by: <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/author/timglenn/" title="Posts by Tim Glenn">Tim Glenn</a></p> <p><img style='float: left; margin-right: 10px; border: none;' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=9a58f978b0fe557fad11021837a45bb7&default=http://use.perl.org/images/pix.gif' width=40 height=40/><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-456" border="0" align="right" src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/davinci_human-sketch32.jpg" hspace="5" alt="Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man Sketch" title="Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man Sketch" width="178" height="172" /></a>It may sound odd, but I never really thought about the word â��beingâ�� in the phrase “human being.” To me, the phrase has always meant the same thing as just plain â��humanâ�� so the word â��beingâ�� was, in my mind anyway, superfluous.</p> <p>Why do we call ourselves human beings? Is there another kind of human? </p> <p>Merriam Webster defines a â��beingâ�� as â��conscious existenceâ�� or â��a living thing.â�� So, what other kind of human is there, if we arenâ��t all beings? <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/human-becoming/#more-452" class="more-link">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p> <p class="akpc_pop">Popularity: 13% <span class="akpc_help">[<a href="http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress/popularity-contest" title="What does this mean?">?</a>]</span></p> <div class="sociable"> <span class="sociable_tagline"> <strong>Share This:</strong> <span>These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.</span> </span> <ul> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:?subject=Human%20Becoming&body=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F" title="E-mail this story to a friend!"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/email_link.png" title="E-mail this story to a friend!" alt="E-mail this story to a friend!" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F&t=Human%20Becoming" title="Facebook"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/facebook.png" title="Facebook" alt="Facebook" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F&title=Human%20Becoming" title="bodytext"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/digg.png" title="bodytext" alt="bodytext" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F&title=Human%20Becoming" title="StumbleUpon"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/stumbleupon.png" title="StumbleUpon" alt="StumbleUpon" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://technorati.com/faves?add=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F" title="Technorati"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/technorati.png" title="Technorati" alt="Technorati" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F&title=Human%20Becoming" title="del.icio.us"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/delicious.png" title="del.icio.us" alt="del.icio.us" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.sphere.com/search?q=sphereit:http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F&title=Human%20Becoming" title="SphereIt"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/sphere.png" title="SphereIt" alt="SphereIt" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://twitthis.com/twit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F" title="TwitThis"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/twitter.png" title="TwitThis" alt="TwitThis" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/bookmarks/mark?op=edit&bkmk=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F&title=Human%20Becoming" title="Google"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/googlebookmark.png" title="Google" alt="Google" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.mixx.com/submit?page_url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fhuman-becoming%2F&title=Human%20Becoming" title="Mixx"><img src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/plugins/sociable/images/mixx.png" title="Mixx" alt="Mixx" class="sociable-hovers" /></a></li> </ul> </div> </div><!-- /.post --> <div class="post-footer">Posted in <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/category/advocacy/" title="View all posts in Advocacy" rel="category tag">Advocacy</a> \| Tagged with <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/children-in-poverty/" rel="tag">children in poverty</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/church/" rel="tag">church</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/human/" rel="tag">human</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/human-becoming/" rel="tag">human becoming</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/human-being/" rel="tag">human being</a> \| <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/human-becoming/#respond" title="Comment on Human Becoming">No Comments »</a></div><!-- /.post-footer --> </div><!-- /.post-wrapper --> <div class="post-wrapper"> <div class="date"> <span class="month">Jun</span> <span class="day">26</span> </div><!-- /.date --> <div style="float: right; width: 410px; clear: right; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 10px; margin-left: 5px;"> <span class="titles"><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/compassion-togo-putting-faces-to-the-statistics/" rel="bookmark" title=" Compassion Togo: Putting Faces to the Statistics">Compassion Togo: Putting Faces to the Statistics</a></span> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div> <div class="post"> <p>Written by: <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/author/webteam/" title="Posts by Web Team">Web Team</a></p> <p><img style='float: left; margin-right: 10px; border: none;' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=e2603ba8f5876082b477f2338e14fbe5&default=http://use.perl.org/images/pix.gif' width=40 height=40/><strong>This is part four in our four part series - <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/the-case-for-compassion-togo/" title="Read all the posts in the series">The Case for Compassion Togo</a></strong></p> <p>Driving through the streets of Lome, Togo, scenes unfold that are far too common in sub-Saharan Africa. Individuals ranging from very young to very old sit and stand at the side of the road, hoping to sell baked goods or sweets or small kitchen items or a myriad of other trinkets to passers-by. The roads are bad and get worse as you depart the busiest streets. Many of the buildings â�� showing signs that they were beautiful at one time â�� appear to have been abandoned long ago but are, in fact, current offices and businesses. </p> <p>In a place where even those with â��stableâ�� civil jobs have no guarantee of being paid, the overarching atmosphere is one of apathy brought on by too many years of being resigned to the situation. But in the midst of all this, there are people who refuse to accept the current circumstances, who reject the idea that there is nothing to be done.</p> <p>Take, for example, Pastor Happy and his Pentecostal congregation located in the heart of Lome. Pastor Happy possesses a smile and exudes an optimism that confirm in every way the appropriateness of his name. Though the congregation is large, it is also poor and so the sanctuary is a work-in-progress, complete with rustic wooden scaffolding and tarps over areas that donâ��t yet have the protection of a roof.</p> <p><center><img border="0" src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/togo-pastor-happy.jpg" alt="togo-pastor-happy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-441" /></center></p> <p>Pastor Happy explains that his church recognized a few years ago that they must â��have a vision for helping those in need â�� and addressing more than just their spiritual needs.â�� What the congregation lacks in financial resources it has made up for in passion, creativity and dedication. When they outgrew the one room they had available for childrenâ��s Sunday school, rather than waiting to come up with funds or space for another building project, Pastor Happy simply went to the school located next door and asked if they could use the classrooms on the weekend. The school agreed. </p> <p>In addition to the Bible classes, the church now houses a medical clinic, provides food, clothing, school supplies and more to those with the greatest need in their community and shows films with a positive message after school so children have a safe place to go. All this is accomplished largely through the donation of goods, time and services of church members with a vision. The church would like to be able to do more, but in the meantime has decided to be faithful with the opportunities that present themselves. </p> <p>Among those who have been positively impacted by the churchâ��s ministry is the family of a couple called Mesa and Ama. Even before one has an opportunity to speak with their six inspiring children, this couple is exceptional. In a country where pastor after pastor estimates that 80 to 90 percent of the families in their communities are headed by single mothers, that Mesa has stayed faithful to his wife and family is a notable fact. </p> <p>Mesa is a carpenter and Ama sells secondhand clothing. Their two daughters and four sons join in, but the family has also made sure that all the children stay in school. </p> <p><center><img border="0" src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/togo-mesa.jpg" alt="togo-mesa" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-442" /></center></p> <p>Awolfa, 19, is the right arm of her mother in caring for the rest of the family but also has been able to complete secondary school and is currently attending classes to become a tailor. Her 16-year-old brother Francis and 12-year-old brother Felix both dream of being doctors, and 15-year-old Edem hopes to become a pastor. </p> <p>Though they struggle to meet all their current needs, this family has not lost the belief that the future can be different. It is tempting to consider how far such a motivated group might go with the added support of Compassionâ��s child development program, and it is in the faces of the two youngest, seven-year-old David and his four-year-old sister, Gracia, that one sees the possibility of this future. </p> <p>David is quiet and contemplative and Gracia is his exact opposite. When asked what he hopes to be when he grows up, he whispers â��a carpenter.â�� Gracia does not wait to be asked, but announces loudly, â��I will be a seamstress like Awolfa.â��</p> <p>By starting a work in Togo, Compassion has the opportunity to minister to the Davids as well as the Gracias, along with the tens of thousands of children whose lives are even more unstable and uncertain because they have only one parent or have no one to advocate for them regarding the importance of staying in school. Itâ��s an opportunity to support and encourage those parents like Mesa and Ama, who by some miracle have not lost their hope and vision for the future â�� and to bring back hope to those who have begun to despair.</p> <hr /> <p>Story and photos by <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/phoebe-rogers/" title="Posts tagged Phoebe Rogers">Phoebe Rogers</a></p> <p class="akpc_pop">Popularity: 18% <span class="akpc_help">[<a href="http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress/popularity-contest" title="What does this mean?">?</a>]</span></p> <div class="sociable"> <span class="sociable_tagline"> <strong>Share This:</strong> <span>These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.</span> </span> <ul> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:?subject=Compassion%20Togo%3A%20Putting%20Faces%20to%20the%20Statistics&body=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fcompassion-togo-putting-faces-to-the-statistics%2F" title="E-mail this story to a 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class="post-footer">Posted in <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/category/sponsors-and-donors/" title="View all posts in Sponsors and Donors" rel="category tag">Sponsors and Donors</a> \| Tagged with <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/ama/" rel="tag">Ama</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/awolfa/" rel="tag">Awolfa</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/children-in-poverty/" rel="tag">children in poverty</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/david/" rel="tag">David</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/edem/" rel="tag">Edem</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/felix/" rel="tag">Felix</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/francis/" rel="tag">Francis</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/gracia/" rel="tag">Gracia</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/mesa/" rel="tag">Mesa</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/pastor-happy/" rel="tag">Pastor Happy</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/phoebe-rogers/" rel="tag">Phoebe Rogers</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/the-case-for-compassion-togo/" rel="tag">The Case for Compassion Togo</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/togo/" rel="tag">Togo</a> \| <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/compassion-togo-putting-faces-to-the-statistics/#comments" title="Comment on Compassion Togo: Putting Faces to the Statistics">4 Comments »</a></div><!-- /.post-footer --> </div><!-- /.post-wrapper --> <div class="post-wrapper"> <div class="date"> <span class="month">Jun</span> <span class="day">25</span> </div><!-- /.date --> <div style="float: right; width: 410px; clear: right; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 10px; margin-left: 5px;"> <span class="titles"><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/are-you-for-real/" rel="bookmark" title=" Are You For Real?">Are You For Real?</a></span> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div> <div class="post"> <p>Written by: <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/author/chrisgiovagnoni/" title="Posts by Chris Giovagnoni">Chris Giovagnoni</a></p> <p><img style='float: left; margin-right: 10px; border: none;' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=dd7fb73a99c62798572eff054933f297&default=http://use.perl.org/images/pix.gif' width=40 height=40/>A co-worker of mine, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=69700177&ref=nf" title="Candace's Facebook profile">Candace Perry</a>, broadcast the following note to her Facebook friends Tuesday night. It’s striking.</p> <hr /> It’s after work and I’m in my business casual, walking through the mall having just bought a not-so-scrumptious dinner of Sbarro’s pizza when I see a sad sight before my eyes.</p> <p>A girl, probably about 12 years old, of the tomboyish type with short brown hair, is kinda hobbling along. Her left leg is in a cast of some sort. It crosses my mind that I’d seen this girl a bit earlier, walking in the same condition â�� looking rather lost with a super sad face. Destitute was the word that came to mind. Well, not really destitute as far as her clothes went, just the expression on her face was. As I get closer to her, she looks at me with that look you can recognize anywhere â�� you know, the look that says “I need help, can you help me?!” I immediately start wondering what she’s about to ask me … could it be that this poor little orphan child was abandoned by her parents and has no way to get home? Could it be that she’s starving and hungry?” </p> <p>With sad, puppy dog eyes, she asks in a fast, mumblish, barely audible fashion, “Miss, do you have a second?” And I answer, all sympathetic, “Sure,” just knowing she was about to ask me if I had some cash to spare. And even though I didn’t have any on me, I’d do my good samaritan deed for the day and walk back over to the food court and buy her something with my debit card. I had almost kept walking because of that lack of cash, but the look on her face was just THAT sad that I couldn’t help but stop.</p> <p>But there was no way, absolutely no way I could’ve been prepared for what she said next. With complete seriousness and the same sad face, she says, “I was in this store and they have this new DVD and I was going to buy it, but then they told me they had this other version, the special edition version, and I wanted to buy it but it was $4 more, so I was wondering if you might have $4 to spare?”<br /> <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/are-you-for-real/#more-450" class="more-link">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p> <p class="akpc_pop">Popularity: 28% <span class="akpc_help">[<a href="http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress/popularity-contest" title="What does this mean?">?</a>]</span></p> <div class="sociable"> <span class="sociable_tagline"> <strong>Share This:</strong> <span>These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.</span> </span> <ul> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:?subject=Are%20You%20For%20Real%3F&body=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fare-you-for-real%2F" title="E-mail this story to a 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<div class="post-wrapper"> <div class="date"> <span class="month">Jun</span> <span class="day">25</span> </div><!-- /.date --> <div style="float: right; width: 410px; clear: right; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 10px; margin-left: 5px;"> <span class="titles"><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/day-of-fasting-and-prayer-reminder/" rel="bookmark" title=" Today is the Day to Fast and Pray">Today is the Day to Fast and Pray</a></span> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div> <div class="post"> <p>Written by: <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/author/webteam/" title="Posts by Web Team">Web Team</a></p> <p><img style='float: left; margin-right: 10px; border: none;' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=e2603ba8f5876082b477f2338e14fbe5&default=http://use.perl.org/images/pix.gif' width=40 height=40/>Thank you to everyone who has made the commitment to fast and pray with us today. We’re nearly 6,000 strong.</p> <p>Thank you to everyone who has helped spread the word about the day of fasting and prayer and about the global food crisis. </p> <p>Thank you to everyone who has donated money to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.compassion.com/contribution/default.htm" title="Donate to the Global Food Crisis Fund">Global Food Crisis fund</a>. </p> <p>Thank you to everyone who has shed a tear. We know your sorrow. We share it. For it is Christ’s sorrow. </p> <p><center><!-- SpringWidgets \| Global Food Crisis (#42681) \| JavaScript \| Generated on 06/17/2008 --><script type="text/javascript" src="http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/swfobject_2.js"></script> <div id="springwidgets_42681" align="center" style="width:160px; height:467px; text-align:center;"> <div style="width:100%; height:98%; overflow:hidden; border:2px dotted #CCCCCC;"><a href="http://www.springwidgets.com" title="SpringWidgets" target="_blank">SpringWidgets</a><br />Global Food Crisis<br />Join Compassion’s Day of Prayer and Fasting on June 25, 2008. This is the day we will honor the victims of the global food crisis and pray for them. </p> <p>What is the global food crisis?</p> <p>The World Food Programme calls the global food crisis a phenomenon, a “silent tsunami,” that is affecting families in every nation on every continent. Food prices for popular menu items like rice, wheat and beans have doubled in the last year.</p></div> </div> <p><script type="text/javascript">var flashVars = {};var params= {wmode:'transparent', quality:'high', allownetworking:'all', allowscriptaccess:'always', allowfullscreen:'true', bgcolor:'0x000000'};swfobject.embedSWF('http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/wrapper.php?file=42681.sbw', 'springwidgets_42681', '160', '467', '8.0.0', 'http://downloads.thespringbox.com/web/expressInstall.swf', flashVars, params);</script> <div style="font:11px/12px arial;width:160px;"><a href="http://www.springwidgets.com/widgets/view/42681/?&width=160&height=449" target="_blank">Get this widget!</a></div> <p></center></p> <p class="akpc_pop">Popularity: 22% <span class="akpc_help">[<a href="http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress/popularity-contest" title="What does this mean?">?</a>]</span></p> <div class="sociable"> <span class="sociable_tagline"> <strong>Share This:</strong> <span>These icons link 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href="http://blog.compassion.com/category/widgets/" title="View all posts in Join the Cause" rel="category tag">Join the Cause</a> \| Tagged with <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/day-of-fasting-and-prayer/" rel="tag">day of fasting and prayer</a>, <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/global-food-crisis/" rel="tag">global food crisis</a> \| <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/day-of-fasting-and-prayer-reminder/#comments" title="Comment on Today is the Day to Fast and Pray">3 Comments »</a></div><!-- /.post-footer --> </div><!-- /.post-wrapper --> <div class="post-wrapper"> <div class="date"> <span class="month">Jun</span> <span class="day">25</span> </div><!-- /.date --> <div style="float: right; width: 410px; clear: right; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 10px; margin-left: 5px;"> <span class="titles"><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/the-state-of-the-church/" rel="bookmark" title=" The State of the Church">The State of the Church</a></span> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div> <div class="post"> <p>Written by: <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/author/webteam/" title="Posts by Web Team">Web Team</a></p> <p><img style='float: left; margin-right: 10px; border: none;' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=e2603ba8f5876082b477f2338e14fbe5&default=http://use.perl.org/images/pix.gif' width=40 height=40/><strong>This is part three in our four part series - <a href="http://http://blog.compassion.com/tag/the-case-for-compassion-togo/" title="Read all the posts in the series">The Case for Compassion Togo</a></strong></p> <p>Christianity in Togo dates back to the mid-1800s when the Methodist and Presbyterian denominations organized churches in the country. They were followed by the Catholic Church about 40 years later and today are joined by churches affiliated with the Assemblies of God, Pentecostals, Baptists, Lutherans and many other denominations. According to available statistics, Togo is 29 percent Christian.</p> <p>In recent decades, several â��umbrellaâ�� organizations have formed that include church leaders from the various denominations who desire to work together. In the past, there has been little-to-no collaboration among the denominations, but leaders are rising up who wish to bring unity and strength to the Church so that they might in turn more effectively evangelize and influence their country. </p> <p>Many of these church leaders share anecdotal evidence that the church is currently growing at a more rapid rate than in past times. Many have also identified their ministry to children as a universally weak area among the churches, and at the same time, recognize a need for a greater focus and strength of purpose if they are to influence these young people who are future of their country.</p> <p><center><img border="0" src="http://blog.compassion.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/togo-church.jpg" alt="togo-church" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-439" /></center></p> <p>Increasingly, churches in poor areas (which are by far the majority of churches in the country) are recognizing that if they are to be relevant within their communities, they must address more than only the spiritual state of the people. Some churches simply take up offerings and use the funds to try to meet the various needs that come to their attention. Others are more structured, asking people to bring extra clothing, shoes, food and school supplies they might have so that they can be redistributed to those with the most severe need. </p> <p>A church in Lome shows films with a positive message after school to give children a place to go so they wonâ��t loiter in the streets. Thanks to the vision of a retired doctor, this same church also runs a clinic where they not only treat those who need medical attention in their own community but also train volunteers so that they can go out and minister through medicine in nearby rural communities.</p> <p>Everywhere there are children, so many children, most coming from single-parent homes and many of whom have little adult influence on their lives. Many churches desire to find ways to improve and expand their childrenâ��s ministries, want to attempt to provide more structure and even have begun looking for ways to train those who work with the children so they might provide better guidance.</p> <p>There is anecdotal evidence that these ministries are positively impacting these churchesâ�� ability to witness to and impact their communities. This may be seen both in the way the church leaders are received and welcomed when they visit homes in the communities, and also in the comfort level that neighbors â�� and especially the children â�� feel to come to the church.</p> <p><strong>TOMORROW:</strong> Putting Faces to the Statistics</p> <hr /> <p>Story and photo by <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/phoebe-rogers/" title="Posts tagged Phoebe Rogers">Phoebe Rogers</a></p> <p class="akpc_pop">Popularity: 21% <span class="akpc_help">[<a href="http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress/popularity-contest" title="What does this mean?">?</a>]</span></p> <div class="sociable"> <span class="sociable_tagline"> <strong>Share This:</strong> <span>These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.</span> </span> <ul> <li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="mailto:?subject=The%20State%20of%20the%20Church&body=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.compassion.com%2Fthe-state-of-the-church%2F" title="E-mail 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href="http://blog.compassion.com/the-state-of-the-church/#comments" title="Comment on The State of the Church">1 Comment »</a></div><!-- /.post-footer --> </div><!-- /.post-wrapper --> <div class="post-wrapper"> <div class="date"> <span class="month">Jun</span> <span class="day">24</span> </div><!-- /.date --> <div style="float: right; width: 410px; clear: right; margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 10px; margin-left: 5px;"> <span class="titles"><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/compassion-sri-lanka/" rel="bookmark" title=" Compassion Sri Lanka">Compassion Sri Lanka</a></span> </div> <div style="clear: both;"></div> <div class="post"> <p>Written by: <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/author/daviddahlin/" title="Posts by David Dahlin">David Dahlin</a></p> <p><img style='float: left; margin-right: 10px; border: none;' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=70d2143bb6ad90b55ebcf607c2babe6f&default=http://use.perl.org/images/pix.gif' width=40 height=40/>In addition to the expectation and excitement of registering our first child in <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/tag/the-case-for-compassion-togo/" title="Blog series about Compassion Togo">Togo</a> later this year, I’m very excited to say that two weeks ago our <a target="_blank" href="http://www.compassion.com/about/board/default.htm" title="Our leadership">Board of Directors</a> unanimously approved plans to begin work in Sri Lanka. </p> <p>Of course, there is still much preparation that needs to be done to launch this new country, but weâ��ve proposed a timeline that includes registering the first children in Sri Lanka during the summer of 2009. </p> <p>Please pray with us that this will be a smooth process, that doors will open as needed and that many little lives in Sri Lanka will be changed for eternity.</p> <p class="akpc_pop">Popularity: 23% <span class="akpc_help">[<a href="http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress/popularity-contest" title="What does this 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and Pray </a></li> <li><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/the-state-of-the-church/">The State of the Church </a></li> <li><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/compassion-sri-lanka/">Compassion Sri Lanka </a></li> <li><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/the-state-of-the-children/">The State of the Children </a></li> <li><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/19-children/">10 Days, 14,000 Feet and 19 Children </a></li> <li><a href="http://blog.compassion.com/the-case-for-compassion-togo/">The Case for Compassion Togo </a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="sideblock"> <h3>Recent Comments</h3> <ul id="recentcomments"><li class="recentcomments">Cheryl Jones on <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/poverty-is/#comment-1597">Poverty Is …</a></li><li class="recentcomments"><a href='http://www.frazzmom.blogspot.com' rel='external nofollow'>LeeAnn (AKA Frazzmom)</a> on <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/compassion-togo-putting-faces-to-the-statistics/#comment-1596">Compassion Togo: Putting Faces to the 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href='http://leopardatthesummit.blogspot.com/' rel='external nofollow'>Steve K.</a> on <a href="http://blog.compassion.com/poverty-is/#comment-1590">Poverty Is …</a></li></ul> </div><div class="sideblock"><h3>Syndicate This Blog</h3><div style="text-align:center"><a href="http://www.addthis.com/feed.php?pub=compassioninternational&h1=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FCompassionBlogPosts" target="_blank" title="Subscribe using any feed reader!"><img src="http://s5.addthis.com/button1-fd.gif" width="125" height="16" alt="AddThis Feed Button" /></a></div></div> <div class="sideblock"> <div class="textwidget"><center><strong><div style="font:14px/16px arial;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=1681628&loc=en_US" title="Get our blog posts sent directly to you">Subscribe by email</a></div></strong></center></div> </div><div class="sideblock"><h3>Categories</h3> <ul> <li class="cat-item cat-item-96"><a 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