Moved to Action

When God puts something on my heart, it's like a recording that plays over and over again in my mind until I realize that it is a direct message from Him. That's what happened recently when I decided to sponsor another child through Compassion International.  I started to think about the young girl in Guatemala that we've been sponsoring since 2002 and that my 15 year old daughter Emily has recently committed to sponsoring two girls on her own. It struck me that my husband and I are sponsoring one child and we have a steady income and that our teenage daughter is sponsoring two girls without a consistent income to support her commitment. Emily stepped out in faith to sponsor these two girls because her heart could not handle the fact that children all over the world were in need.  In need of love, support, financial help, and someone who was going to love and pray for them regularly, even from continents away. 

So, she vowed to support them financially with no concrete means to pay for it.  She decided as she sponsored her second girl that she would use all of the proceeds from her "Scarves for Service" non-profit micro-business to pay the monthly fees required to provide for these two sweet girls.  Emily spends months knitting scarves for a November community sale where she believes by faith that God will provide the money she needs for the year to support these girls, which is about $940.  The thing that amazes me the most is that Emily knows without a shadow of a doubt that God will provide the money.  If she is faithful to do the work of knitting the scarves, God will provide the money to buy the yarn, the people to buy the scarves, and the venue to sell them.  

So, as I thought about the meager one sponsorship that we had, and that our daughter had two, I felt the pang of conviction that there was more that we could be doing.  That there was more that we should be doing.  God's word spoke loud and clear to my heart that day. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48b (NIV)

Thank you Lord for using my daughter to move me to action. Thank you Lord for using your Word to confirm that call.

~Charlotte Larsen

  Emily's Mom

Maria- Guatemala- 16

Sylivia- Uganda- 17

Hope (Blog Month Assignment #2)

Hope is the only thing some people have.
Her children fall asleep with empty bellies. Her husband has been out of work for weeks. Her health is deteriorating, and she can't get a job to provide her kids with a basic education. Hope is all she has left, but it's all she needs. God provides, He always does. Her hope is in Him.

When all else fails, hope remains, hope strengthens, hope provides.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13

Hope is universal.
I dream of being a missionary. The people I will someday serve are 
my hope. Perhaps I will be hope to them.

My sponsor daughter tells me she's struggling in school. I encourage her to trust in the Lord. School is a struggle for me as well. We share hope, hope that it will get better, hope that our Father will provide us with the strength we need. 

Around the world, through good times and bad, there's something we all share, hope in an Almighty God.

Compassion Family- Update

Recently, my name was put on a list to be assigned to a correspondence child. I was first assigned to Sam, from India, who is 17. I then put my name on the list again, and was assigned to Wisly, from Haiti, who is 10. Again, I signed up for another correspondent buddy, and was assigned to David, from Guatemala, who is 5.

For different reasons, these kids don't get letters from their sponsors, so they are supported financially, but not emotionally by a sponsor. I do not pay the $38 a month for them as I do with Maria and Gloria, but I do correspond with them through letter-writing.

It breaks my heart that some children don't receive letters, because even though they are given the opportunities that their sponsors donations provide, the emotional connection and the life-changing encouragement that will motivate them to rise above poverty is lacking. I'm so thankful I can be there for them in prayer and love as they grow and become what God has planned for them.

If you'd like to be put on the wait-list to be assigned to a correspondent buddy, email Compassion at CICqueue@us.ci.org. I assure you it is an opportunity you won't regret!

Left to right: 
Gloria- 16- Colombia (sponsored)
Maria- 15- Honduras (sponsored)
Wisly- Haiti- 10 (correspondent)
Sam- India- 17 (correspondent)
David- Guatemala- 5 (correspondent)

Thanks again for all the love and support for S4S! Without my friends and family, I would not be able to support these children in Jesus' name! Please pray for them, and I will post more information as soon as I receive more letters with more prayer requests from them. Letters take about 2-3 months to be sent from me, translated, replied to by the child, and then again translated and sent back to me. 

So far I have received a letter from Gloria, and I am awaiting one soon from Maria. I just sent my first letters to Sam, Wisly, and David, so those replies will take a bit longer, since they are newer additions to my Compassion Family.

If you have any questions about correspondence, letter-writing, or sponsorship, let me know at emily.clairelarsen@hotmail.com

In Him, Emily Claire