Louder Than The Music

If you're wondering why we have so many Compassion themed articles and adverts on LouderThanTheMusic at the moment, it's because this week is our 'Compassion Week'. Why? Well, let me explain.

This coming Sunday, 20th September, is officially Compassion Sunday. It's a special day when loads of churches will be mentioning the Compassion charity in their services, explaining some of the work they do, hearing from people who sponsor children through Compassion and most importantly, encouraging other people to become sponsors.

Compassion is a charity which we truly admire and advocate. We are proud, personally, to sponsor a number of Children through Compassion, and we pledge to promote and support Compassion through LouderThanTheMusic as much as possible. So this week seemed like a good time to really bring to your attention just what an incredible charity it is.

The Compassion catchphrase is "Sponsor a child in Jesus' name", and that sums up just what it is all about. Remember those tacky bracelets that were popular a few years back with 'WWJD' on them? What Would Jesus Do? Well, I'm willing to bet that if Jesus was on the earth right now, he'd sponsor a child through Compassion.

Thousands of people all around the world already do sponsor children. In fact, Compassion now has over 1 million children in every corner of the globe being sponsored by their supporters. But how many more children are there in the third world who live in desperately poor conditions and poverty beyond our wildest imagination?

Compassion is supported by many of the biggest artists in Christian music including, Graham Kendrick, Rebecca St James, Michael W Smith and Darlene Zschech. But it's not just the wealthy and famous who do it. Let me give you an example from Compassion's website of one very ordinary individual, called Tracey:

On 21 September 2007 Tracey changed a life. In fact, countless lives have been transformed as a result of Tracey's actions. Tracey is not a pop star, millionaire or political leader. She is just a teacher from Epsom who was willing to follow God's prompting to speak out on behalf of children in poverty.

On that day in September Tracey gave a short presentation to her local church, encouraging others to sponsor a child. Following Tracey's presentation a member of her church, was prompted to stop at the Compassion table at church and pick up the photo of a five-year-old boy from Ecuador.

Whilst members of the congregation were looking at the photographs of children, five year-old Juan was getting up for another day in Sisid in central Ecuador, unaware that 5,900 miles away someone was about to change his life forever. Life is tough for little Juan, who shares his crumbling home in the Andean mountains with six siblings, his mother, Maria, and her third husband. But it's a miracle that this little boy is here at all. Two of Juan's siblings died in infancy, simply because they did not receive the medical care that we take for granted in the West. In the first few weeks of his life, Juan sustained head injuries at the hands of the drunken father from whom his mother subsequently fled.

Two years on from Tracey's Compassion Sunday presentation and Maria is already witnessing the changes in her son. Her face lights up when she talks about the support the project has provided. "Now that he's part of the project he always has food to eat and a safe place to spend the afternoon. I have faith in the project and trust in them. Juan has memorized all the songs and hymns that the tutors sing at the project. His temper has changed a bit too. Juan used to get angry a lot." Juan has also received the proper treatment for the trauma he suffered as a baby. Maria also has a special message for Juan's sponsor, "I'd thank him very, very much for the support my child receives here and for all the benefits Juanito has been given. For example food, school supplies, medical screenings and Christmas presents. I hope this person continues to help and sponsor my Juanito."

If you want another powerful story about the work of Compassion, read our fascinating and moving interview with Sheiba, a former sponsored child, who tells us just what it means to be sponsored. At LouderThanTheMusic we would strongly urge anyone reading this to find out more about the work of Compassion and to seriously consider what you would be giving if you were to Sponsor a child in Jesus' name.

Dave & Jono

Find out more: Compassion International | Compassion UK