41 Reasons...

As many of you know by now I'm trying to get 41 children sponsored through Compassion International for my 41st birthday which is March 8th. I thought it might be helpful if I were to give you 41 reasons to sponsor a child.  So, in no particular order here are 41 reasons to sponsor a child:

1. It gives you the chance to be a world missionary without ever leaving your home.
2. You can write to your child.
3. Your child will write to you.
4. It gives you the opportunity to explore a new culture.
5. It reminds you that the church is universal.
6. It is a reason to try new foods.
7. If you have children, it is a great way to introduce them to the issues that children around the world are facing.
8. It's my birthday and I have asked you to.
9. Compassion is Christ centered.
10. Compassion is child focused.
11. Compassion is church based.
12. Compassion is committed to integrity.
13. Compassion has received Charity Navigator's highest rating for over 10 years.
14. Compassion has a holistic approach to child sponsorship meeting the spiritual, physical, social, and      economic needs of the child.
15. It's biblical. "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18
16. Because more than 6 million children die each year from malnutrition.
17. There are 1.8 million diarrheal-related deaths per year among young children.
18. About 2.5 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation - roughly two-fifths of the world's population. 
19. Approximately 1.8 million children die each year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This is around 5,000 deaths a day.
20. About 1 million children each year are diagnosed with intestinal worms causing malnutrition due to the lack of sanitation. 
21. An estimated 130 million of the world's 15- to 24- year-olds cannot read or write.
22. One in six children 5 to 14 years old — about 16 percent of all children in this age group — is        involved in child labor in developing countries. 
23. After drug dealing, human trafficking (both sex trafficking and trafficking for forced labor) is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it is the fastest growing.
24. Worldwide, there are nearly two million children in the commercial sex trade.
25. There are an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 children, women and men trafficked across international  borders annually. 
26. An estimated 20 million children worldwide have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict   and human rights violations.
27. Because Dr. Seuss reminds us that, "A person's a person, no matter how small."
28. Because of what you see in this video (it's long I know but what you really need to see starts at the 3:34 mark through the 10 minute mark - trust me you want to see this): http://vimeo.com/7072300.
29. For the chance to one day meet the child that you sponsor.
30. Because it may mean that you'll have to sacrifice - and that actually is a good thing.
31. Because if it was your child you'd be praying for someone who would provide the hope to your child that you are unable to do.
32. It is your chance to literally change the world.
33. I promised to eat a bowl of broccoli if I get 41 sponsored children by my birthday.
34. It will not only change the life of a child, it will change your life as well.
35. Because of the joy and excitement you will experience each time you get a letter from your child.
36. Because I've already written 35 other reasons!
37. Simply because it's the right thing to do.
38. Because not only will you be changing the life of the child but you will also be changing that child's family and impacting that child's community.
39. Did I mention that it is biblical? Isaiah 58:6-7 - "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"
40. Did I mention that I've agreed to eat a bowl of broccoli if I get 41 children sponsored? Did I mention   that I gag just at the smell of broccoli? 

              And reason number 41 that you should sponsor a child through Compassion is:

41. Because you can.

Now please go on over to Compassion and sponsor a child. Also, if you would please pass this on to encourage others to encourage them, that would be great. Finally, after you sponsor a child please message me and let me know so I can know how we are doing in reaching 41.  Thank you!

I'm willing to make this interesting...

So yesterday I launched a birthday wish campaign that I'm calling 41 for 41.  For my 41st birthday on March 8th I'm looking to get 41 children sponsored through Compassion International. Now I've decided to up the ante.  For everyone who knows me you also know that I absolutely despise broccoli but I will eat it for the kids!  That's right, if I can get 41 children sponsored before March 8th then I will eat, record, and upload a video of me eating a bowl of broccoli.  Now come on folks, that's pure entertainment.

So again I'm asking that you do 3 things:

1. Sponsor a child through Compassion!

2. Share this with everyone you know!

3. Message me that you have sponsored a child so I can keep track of the numbers (by the way, Compassion tracks these numbers too so no cheating here just to get me to eat broccoli).

Thank you and here's to eating some broccoli!

41 for 41

In just under 4 weeks I'll be turning 41. I'm not one for really celebrating my birthday in a big way. Usually just a simple dinner with my family is all I really want. However this year there is something that I really want but it will take quite a few people to make it happen. It will take you who are reading this to not only respond but to help in passing on the birthday request to your social circles as well.

For my birthday this year I want to see 41 children sponsored through Compassion International.  Compassion works to release children from extreme poverty in Jesus' name.  In just a few days I'll be traveling to Bangladesh to see first hand the work that Compassion does and how it is impacting the lives of children, their families, and their communities. I look forward to being able to share what I see and learn on this trip. However I don't need to be on the trip to tell you that I have been involved with Compassion for years. Compassion is Christ centered, child focused, church based, and committed to integrity. I know not only from the over 10 years of 4-star ratings from Charity Navigator but more importantly from the letters we have received from our own sponsored children that Compassion is a program that works.  That children who once had no hope now have hope and a future.

I'm turning 41 this year and I want to celebrate with 41 children who are now being sponsored through Compassion.  Please help me reach this birthday goal by doing these 3 simple things:

              1. Sponsor a Child using this link - Compassion!

        2. Pass this birthday wish on by posting on FB, 
            twitter, etc.

        3. Please either leave me a comment here, on FB, 
            or email me and let me know that you have 
            sponsored a child. 

Thank you for making this the best birthday yet not only for me but for 41 children around the world.

Just a Comparison

I thought I'd take just a moment to share a little side by side comparison of the life in the United States of America to life in Bangladesh.  Enjoy the facts and then head over the Compassion site to find a child whose life you can change forever.  

	Bangladesh	United States
Capital	Dhaka	Washington, D.C.
Population	156,050,883 (July 2010 estimate)	307,212,123 (July 2010 estimate)
Languages	Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English	English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
Religions	Muslim 89.5%, Hindu 9.6%, other 0.9% (2004)	Christian 78.5% (Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%), Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Literacy rate Definition: Age 15 and over can read and write.	Male: 54% Female: 41.4% (2001 Census)	Male: 99% Female: 99% (2003 estimate)
Percentage of population using improved drinking water sources	Urban: 85% Rural: 78% (2006 estimate)	Urban: 100% Rural: 94% (2006 estimate)
Percentage of population using adequate sanitation facilities	Urban: 48% Rural: 32% (2006 estimate)	Urban: 100% Rural: 99% (2006 estimate)
Climate	Tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)	Mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the Great Plains west of the Mississippi River and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are warmed occasionally in January and February by chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
Percentage of population urbanized	27% (2008 estimate)	82% (2008 estimate)
Life expectancy	Male: 57.57 years Female: 63.03 years (2010 estimate)	Male: 75.65 years Female: 80.69 years (2010 estimate)
Under-5 mortality rate	54/1,000 (2008 estimate)	8/1,000 (2008 estimate)
GDP per capita	$1,500 (2009 estimate)	$46,000 (2009 estimate)
Monetary unit	taka (BDT)	U.S. dollar (USD)
Number of people living with HIV/AIDS	12,000 (2007 estimate)	1.2 million (2007 estimate)
Percentage of population living below $1.25 a day	50% (1992-2007 study)	Data not available

Sources for facts: The World Factbook, 2010; The State of the World's Children, 2009

Life in Bangladesh

It won't be long now before I head off to Bangladesh with Compassion International.  Before I go I thought I'd share this little write up on life in Northeastern Bangladesh where the boy that we sponsor lives.  This information comes from Compassion:

Many of the people living in the villages of northeastern Bangladesh are from the Garo tribe. Known for their honesty and industrious spirit, most Garos earn a living by farming. Many of them work on larger farms as day laborers. However, despite their hard work, they earn only a meager wage, insufficient to provide for their children’s basic needs.

Garos typically live in houses made of bamboo, straw and mud. Those who are better off have houses with brick walls and tin roofs. As a rule, these simple houses lack electricity, running water and adequate sanitation facilities.

Unlike the majority of Bangladeshis, who are Muslims, most Garos practice Christianity, and in the northeastern region, Compassion partners primarily with local churches in Garo villages to minister to their children.

Garos typically build their homes with bamboo and straw. Some houses have mud-made walls with a roof of straw or plastic sheets. The houses are 7 by 14 feet in size, and usually house five or six people. Most homes have front yards where families keep their pet cows, chickens and ducks.

                                            Oh yea, now please go and SPONSOR A CHILD!

Also this week Natalie Grant left the Grammys early...

One in six children 5 to 14 years old — about 16 percent of all children in this age group — is involved in child labor in developing countries.

In the least developed countries, 30 percent of all children are engaged in child labor.

Worldwide, 126 million children work in hazardous conditions, often enduring beatings, humiliation and sexual violence by their employers.

An estimated 1.2 million children — both boys and girls — are trafficked each year into exploitative work in agriculture, mining, factories, armed conflict or commercial sex work.

The highest proportion of child laborers is in sub-Saharan Africa, where 26 percent of children (49 million) are involved in work.

Also this week Natalie Grant left the Grammys early - priorities.

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