One of the God given desires of our heart is to minister to the poor and under privileged. Often it is difficult to be able to do this in the most direct way possible due to other responsibilities like work. However, we did not want these things to prevent us from still helping out. After hearing about Compassion International and their goals of providing education, health care, and bible teaching to impoverished children, we decided to become sponsors.
We had it in our heart to sponsor two children the Philippines. The sponsorship provides us the opportunity to write letters and develop a relationship with these children and to encourage them through prayers and financial support. Dulcinea and I have now been involved with Compassion for a decade and it has been one of the most exciting ministries to be involved with.Here are pictures of Melet and Kristian the children we are currently supporting:
If you want to become a Compassion Sponsor you can just click on this banner below:
"The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad."—Psalm 126:3.
SOME Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, yet with scarcely any allusion to the mercy and help which God has vouchsafed them. But a Christian whose soul is in a healthy state, will come forward joyously, and say, "I will speak, not about myself, but to the honour of my God. He hath brought me up out of an horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings: and He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. The Lord hath done great things for me, whereof I am glad." Such an abstract of experience as this is the very best that any child of God can present. It is true that we endure trials, but it is just as true that we are delivered out of them. It is true that we have our corruptions, and mournfully do we know this, but it is quite as true that we have an all-sufficient Saviour, who overcomes these corruptions, and delivers us from their dominion. In looking back, it would be wrong to deny that we have been in the Slough of Despond, and have crept along the Valley of Humiliation, but it would be equally wicked to forget that we have been through them safely and profitably; we have not remained in them, thanks to our Almighty Helper and Leader, who has brought us "out into a wealthy place." The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through all, and preserved us until now. Our griefs cannot mar the melody of our praise, we reckon them to be the bass part of our life's song, "He hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad."
Charles Spurgeon
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Our friend, Phil Koneman, from Hope Community Church had invited us to join him for another one of his many trips to continue to build relationships with the Lakota family. He makes quarterly visits to assist in repairs or to make himself available to help in whatever needs to be done. This time he asked us to come along with him on the trip. Both my wife and I were honored to go and visit the Pine Ridge reservation to show the Lakota people the love of Christ by lending a helping hand. Intrestingly, this visit was different from the other visits Phil use to make as we were all invited to join the Lakota family on a memorial ride. The memorial was held for a family that died as they were swept away from the tornado.
The video above just showed one short segment of the ceremony that was held after the Lakota people got done with the trail ride. Here below are some photos of the beautiful Lakota children that we met on the reservation.
One of my passions is to one day be involved in church planting both here in the US and in the Philippines. One of the papers I wrote for a class revolves around trying to develop a plan for church planting in the Philippines.
Christianity
