Something Different for Me

If you have looked around on this blog page - you've seen the small Compassion International banner and a link to their website. I got an opportunity to serve at a local event for Compassion. Christian recording artist, Adam Paul Williams, was doing a concert and Compassion presentation at a local church - they needed a couple of people who were sponsors to work the booth. Skip would have been terrific at this but definitely not able to go in that kind of crowd. You see the fun and interesting other volunteer, Martha, standing inside our booth area with Adam Paul and his wife Kelly and the host church music ministry director setting up in first picture.




Then we have the completed display - the large banner is the artist and his compassion sponsored child - picture taken about a year ago when he visited Guatemala. Also seen is the adorable child of Mr. and Mrs. Williams - and no I am not in any of the pictures - didn't think to ask someone to take one of me in the group!









I was blown away by the beautiful voice and worshipful nature of Adam Paul Williams. Have added a link to his website and I hope the embedded link will play a little of one of his recordings. Had such a great time telling people about the blessing of sponsoring a child through Compassion and the work Compassion does with over one million children around the world. Wanted to share this with y'all - it is good on Buhlaland to know our two little guys in Bangladesh are cared for with the help of such a wonderful organization. Enough effusiveness - we are blessed so abundantly - being able to share it is absolutely the cherry on the sundae of our lives!

Adam Paul Williams

My kids and these kids

I write about our goat kids - they are sheltered, given fresh water, more than adequate food and I sing hymns to them when I'm out in the pens (they may not rate my singing as special care!)

The kids I want you to think about now - are kids who need you, want you to be their friend and will change our world because of your relationship with them. Everybody is sick of hearing about give to this or that because you are a big spoiled American and the rest of the world deserves your help. During hard economic times fewer and fewer people we know can rate themselves as spoiled financially, compared to the rest of the world we are rich. Most of us think about what we want to eat - rarely whether we'll have anything TO eat. I'm playing an old familiar song for you but it isn't any less true because you've heard it before. Our "stuff" isn't given to us on earth to measure our value - it is to be sustenance for us and handled as a good steward. We are to store up treasures in heaven. You'll definitely be paying it forward to store up treasures you'll receive for $38/month -the financial cost of sponsoring a child through Compassion International. Be prepared to pay more - prayers and notes and pictures. You'll be in touch with your sponsored child - not some generic "poor kid" in the country of your choice. With Compassion it is a real child, if you wish a visit can be arranged to meet with your child (or children?) Our two boys are Elius and Bipul - they are both in Bangladesh. We receive far more from sponsoring than a charitable contribution for your taxes and a feel-good-about-yourself pat on your own back. We are blessed and humbled by prayers of our boys - they pray for US - can you imagine? They live in one of the darkest countries spiritually and a a hard impoverished environment and they pray for us.

Please read any of the Compassion Bloggers-Kenya - look at the faces, joy and real poverty. Not tooting our horn because so many others with more with less- but we found we lived better without satellite TV. Almost the exact savings from cancelling satellite service brought us Elius and Bipul as long distance friends. You really can do it -don't feel as if you'll deprive yourself somehow. A dear blogger friend said recently she'd been taught the lesson "you can't outgive God". You can store up treasures where thieves can't steal, rust won't destroy and joy is the interest compounded on deposits.

It sounds as if I'm saying sponsor a child through Compassion for your own benefit - well it is. Yes - your sponsorship will absolutely change a child (and their family) forever - they'll receive education, food, health care and biblically sound teaching. No child has to become a Christian nor does their family - all care is administered by local, well established churches. Try it - you'll never be the same - it is Soul Food without the cholesterol and salt, it is candy without the calories and cavities, it is comfort food which will truly comfort! Bless y'all - every tongue, every nation - let's help write the Love Song born of a grateful choir.

Feeling a little Hungry?

Millions of people in our world are hungry and it isn't a matter of going to the store to replenish the pantry. Today(March 11, 2009) is a day of emphasis by Compassion International about the global food crisis.

"What is the global food crisis?
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. Though increases in food prices have hit all budgets, it's the poor who bear the brunt of price inflation. The higher prices are forcing people who survive on just $1 a day to spend upwards of 80 percent of their budgets just on food. As a result, many people, including millions of children, are going hungry. The longer food prices rise, the more people will be plunged into hunger and poverty.
Why is the global food crisis happening?
Food shortages have affected developing countries for generations. It's a cyclical problem. But this global food crisis is more rapid, urgent and devastating. Since 2005, food prices have risen a whopping 80 percent.

• Why?
  *rising fuel costs
  *rising food demand from populous nations like India and China
  *natural disasters destroying crop yields all over the world, including the United States
  *growth of biofuels."

An editorial comment of mine and certainly not to be attributed to Compassion International - the issue of biofuels is concerning because many people think it is very "green" to use biofuels in their vehicles. My understanding of the commercial production of biofuels is the costs are not low to make the fuel and clearly it takes more production out of the world food supply. My prejudices are showing- but in my mind the survival of human beings (created in God's image beings) is a great deal more important than nifty car fuels. Not being foolish about wasting fossil fuels is a good thing. Using food to fuel a vehicle to drive to church to pray for the poor and downtrodden isn't exactly the highest and best use of resources. Please read and pray about the issue and respond according to your finances and heart --

"James 1:27 (New International Version)
27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Interesting wording, being polluted by the world. I believe true religion is following the teaching of our God and Savior as closely as we are able. Are we able to feed orphans and widows and millions of our brothers and sisters with a few dollars? Yes - because $5 from each of us can become tons of rice, cooking oil and seed to plant for a future harvest. Try it - you will like it! Better to be labeled a fool for Christ than be wise in man's eyes. We are well fed and content on Buhlaland - why are we so blessed?

Compassion

I seem to have a theme this week. As a person with no children of her own it truly makes my heart ache when I read about a child who needs help. Rachel and Jacob were the subjects of yesterday's plea for help (my pleading - they graciously gave us the opportunity to be part of blessing a child).

I joined the Compassion International's bloggers some time ago- a very loosely knit group of Compassion sponsors who are given a blogging topic once a month. I'm a wretched procrastinator and I've delayed until today - the last day for June to post. Hard to get my mind around how massive the Global Food Crisis is and how quickly it is growing. I've posted one of our sponsored children - Elius in Bangaldesh again - he is not starving but I spoke with a pastor from his country and was told food is getting harder to buy. We have SOOOOOO much in this country. Like you I'm freaking out a bit each week seeing how staples in our diet are going up in price but we still are able to buy pretty much what we want to eat. The dividing line in my mind would be - I get to think about what we WANT to eat - while millions are trying to find a way to eat at all. Now realistically - how long do we spend thinking about it? Oh a few minutes during the evening news watching foreign reporters talking about feeding stations. YUCK what an awful word to have to apply to humans, created in the image of God. Humans who are our brothers and sisters in this world are fed at "stations".
If you click on the link global food crisis - it takes you to the Compassion International site where you can get more information or make a donation. I know I know I know - we are bombarded with "good causes" and catastrophes and flooding and typhoons. Yes yes yes I totally agree we cannot save the whole world ourselves. But if we can save just a few at least we won't stand on the Day of Judgment saying - well Lord there were so many good things available to do I just couldn't decide which one YOU wanted me to do - so I sat and read and thought and prayed - and did nothing.
I want us all to hear "well done my good and faithful servant". Quoting the advertisement from Nike - Just Do It.
God bless you for reading this - whatever you decide to do is between you and the Lord. Honestly unless you are just moved to say so - I'd rather you didn't post if you gave or not - this is one of those times I think it would be wise to keep the giving decision between you and God.

We are overfed and often overwhelmed on Buhlaland and forever grateful for a chance to help. Cannot do it all - but oh thank you Lord we can do something.

Our special blessing

Here is our most recent picture of Elius - he'll be ten in July. Isn't he handsome? We have been blessed to be his sponsors for almost 3 years now. We can't say often enough or strongly enough go here child waiting longest and commit to change the life of a child. For less than the cost of going out for a pizza and movie night once a month - you will be blessed beyond belief. You may not be able to change the world but you can change the world of a child and his or her family. The link goes to Compassion International, specifically the page where you can select a child by your own preferences - we chose a child "waiting longest" and Elius became part of our life. Do it - I mean seriously - do you NEED another high fat and sodium meal or do you offer the bread of life to someone? Here on Buhlaland, we are carrying new pictures in our wallets and showing everyone!

I'm no Alex Trebek or Ken Jennings

Alex, the question is Why do you click on this link and spend $10? Jeopardy answers could be: because you love them, because God tells us to , because you feel guilty sometimes about all you have and how little they have, because it is the right thing, because you can.
Aiding children in poverty might not be a great category for a TV game show. Compassion International is giving us all an opportunity to help children in countries with serious malaria problems. Try it - you'll be blessed and what is ten dollars? It coud be a life - Please watch the video at Bite Back and your heart will grow.Would have been a lot more effective if I'd put in the link to Bite Back Sorry -

Blog insecurity

I'm supposed to be blogging for mental discipline (yeah right?!) and to keep a record of my life so I don't forget how wonderful, challenging, blessed I am in my life every day. BUT I started reading all these other blogs like this or we could consider this and for interesting perspective there is this then of course there is this and realized I am BORING! Creative, Christ glorifying, interesting people are out there blogging. They pay attention to statistics of linkage, create videos, meet fascinating people and write about it. I take pictures of a goat nibbling my finger and hail falling in my backyard. Big whoop huh? So I'm suffering big time blog insecurity - this is NOT a plea for the loyal and wonderful souls who come by here to shore my ego by posting nice comments. I need to work through this myself because I'm allowing my purpose to be diluting, or polluted or convoluted or patooted! SO - visit those big time bloggers to be blogosized or blogenchanced or perhaps even blogrevitalized but drop back by soon and I'll post about going to Walmart or clearing weeds out of the garden.
That's just how we roll here in Buhlaland. (in terms of truth - my next post will be about malaria and Compassion so it will be of significance - not like my foolishness)

New decade - what next?!

I'd been pretty glum for about 48 hours . Anticipation of this day for months - the reality of turning 60 just blew me out of the water. 50 - that was a breeze - I was excited and happy and just had so much fun. But 60 - SIX OH - bleah! I am no longer middle aged - unless I'm planning on 120 -considering my current rate of decline - naw. Turned down offers of b'day party from DH and generally have obsessed over how little good I've actually accomplished and overall I've fallen way short of my goals.
BUT - our dog was barking this morning as soon as it started getting light and out we ventured - look what somebody did for me! That is our front gate - somebody decorated it with balloons and streamers and a sign - how cool is that?
See it isn't the great big gestures in life making a difference(although anyone thinking of giving me a week at a spa shouldn't be discouraged from generosity!)-it is taking your time,resources and spending them on someone else. Making a difference -- I have been caught up with the Compassion Bloggers' stories of Uganda and being convicted I'm not doing enough to help --my 60th birthday makes me focus on the clock -it is ticking. My clock needs rewinding occasionally (I'm definitely not digital) and this gesture of love from someone for my birthday - well I'm ready to go for the next 10 years - Lord willing - and maybe I can make someone else grin as much as I did this morning.
Thank you world - and thank you Lord - Buhlaland is a birthday extravaganza today! It is good.

WWJD?

Elius then and now

















Bipul first picture and now - our boys are growing so fast!














"What Would Jesus Do" a slogan on bumper stickers, jewelry, shirts, coffee mugs and banners, WWJD in a multitude of places . I know a definite answer to that question - Jesus would be smack dab, totally in the middle of the poorest of the poor children. Compassion International is working as Jesus with skin on in the world. Pictured are our children through Compassion. Elius and Bipul live in Bangladesh. The serious young man in blue long pants has been ours for a year longer than Bipul. Elius has a hardworking mother, his father died over a year ago. Bipul's parents placed him with someone so he could go to the Christian center in their town and they traveled as itinerant workers. For less than the cost of going out for pizza and a movie ($32/month each) God has changed their lives, they are getting an education, medical care and learning about Christ. We get letters regularly - usually with drawings of animals or plants and lots of questions about how we live. They pray for us , you can't imagine the persistence with which we pray for them. The world in which they live is as different from the United States as earth is from Mars. Bangladesh is a primarily Muslim country, one of the poorest countries of the world and afflicted with frequent severe flooding. But they have hope - realistic hope through a simple arrangement done very well.
Compassion International is sponsoring a blogging trip this week to Uganda - I've included links to all the blogs and a link to Compassion so you can sign up RIGHT NOW and change your world. It is absolutely the best thing you can do to make a difference. I'm adding this on Friday the 15th - I forgot to mention when we contacted Compassion to sponsor - we simply asked for the child who had been waiting longest - no stipulation on age, location or anything. God engineered it both times that it would be a young boy in Bangladesh.


Bloggers for Uganda Trip - absolutely worth reading - share these with everyone you know and ask your readers and friends to become Compassion sponsors:
Anne Jackson
BooMama
Chris Elrod
David Kuo
Doug Van Pelt
Heather Whittaker
Keely Scott
Phil Ware
Ragamuffin Soul
Randy Elrod
Rocks In My Dryer
Shaun Groves
Spence Smith
Tom Emmons





I would like to encourage you to prayerfully consider sponsoring a child today! In fact - I strongly recommend it - it'll rock your world. Knowing that on the other side of the world, two boys pray for us makes life even sweeter here on Buhlaland. Thank you Lord.