A Happy Saturday Song From the Children of Barranquilla, Colombia

150 New Smiles

Children welcome us to the project.

 Thanks for sharing my little journey to Colombia the last five days.  On Saturday when visited one last Compassion project.  One-hundred fifty children just got a chance to join this project which just started two weeks ago.  However, the church has been planning and ready for these kids for around a year.

Everywhere we went we were surrounded by smiles.  They were smiles of kids who were simply having fun being kids.  Too many kids here in Colombia and around the world don't get to be kids.

A little girl spreads some sunshine.

But people like you are changing that.  There are so many kids in the world that need help that it can seem overwhelming.  But each child is special.  And each child has a story to tell.  It's a story that's still being written.  Coming up on WGTS 91.9 on September 18th and 19th you'll have a chance to make the difference for one child.  Our broadcast team will be sharing with the WGTS 91.9 family ways that you can develop a relationship with a beautiful child in Colombia.  I'll be sharing more of what I've seen and heard here in hopes that it will inspire you to bring hope -perhaps in DC or another corner of the world.

Talking to the kids in the classroom.

Little girls everywhere like to play dress-up.

Okay, okay, I'm ticklish!

150 kids at the new Compassion Project.

The Carballo family show me their home.  Their little girl
is in the new Compassion project.

How Compassion Saved Derwin's Life

Children's commitment card.

There are lots of child sponsorship programs that are doing a lot of good.  One of the things that makes Compassion unique is the emphasis on Jesus.  Every single Compassion project is run by a local church in that country.  To the left is a commitment card that children sign when they want to give their hearts to Christ.  Around 80% of children in each project give their hearts to Christ.  Frequently, the parents are led to Christ by their children as well.

My new friend Derwin.

Let's be honest, while being spiritually healthy is a top priority,these children have very real physical needs right now.  Take Derwin for instance, when he came to the project as a year-and-a-half ago, he was very sick.  His liver was failing.  Compassion found this out when they sent him to a doctor for routine check-up.   They provided care for him, and got him on the transplant list.  He got transplant last year, and it saved his life.  Unfortunately, his liver is failing again and the team here at the project is working on getting him a second transplant.

You wouldn't know that he's sick from the way he acts.  This five-year-old led the singing of popular praise song in English for all of us.  Later he led the singing in his classroom.

When sponsors, people like you love on these kids, it changes their lives.  In fact, I think it's not an understatement to say it can save their lives!

My friend Heather says goodbye to a little one.

Five-year-old angels singing for us at a Compassion Project

Hope Starts with One Child

The Mancilla family take a picture with us in the home that they own.
 

Whenever you turn on the news, it's easy to get depressed.  I hadn't heard much news for a couple of days, so I flipped on one of the couple channels here in Colombia that's in English.   I saw stories of violence in the Middle East as well as problems at home.  There are so many things we can get down about.   Then we went out to another project, and met this family, the Mancillas.  They gave me so much hope. 

The young lady in the green shirt is 14-year-old Yanaris.  She has been in the Compassion project since she was four years old.  When we asked her to describe how it had changed her life, she teared up.  She talked about how things were not happy at home before the project.  Then she got to know Jesus.  She shared him with her parents, and now they all believe and they all go to church together.  She told us that she wants to be a singer, an actress and to travel the world when she grows up.  She says her job right now is to help set a good example for her younger brother and sister. 

 

Sergio is the dad from this family.  He makes his living by going out fishing on the Caribbean Sea.  He saved up enough money to buy bricks to build a simple home.  This home is much better than the ones we saw yesterday that were built out of simple clapboards.  Both mom and dad are very proud of their daughter, and how her example has helped pull the family together.  A sponsor, someone just like you, is helping to give this entire family a better way of life and a hope because of their love for Jesus.

 



The outside of the Mancilla home.

Special Guests in a Child's Home

Earlier today the team and I got a chance to visit one of the homes of a Compassion sponsored child.  A little boy named Isael lives here with his three brothers and mom and dad.  The parents actually own this home, and mom was happy to share her home with us.  She told us the story of how Isael, who is only five, taught her how to pray.

A Tale of Two Cities

 

This is the city of Barranquilla, Colombia.  It's a very metropolitan city of almost two-million.  All in all it doesn't seem that much different from the United States.

 We left Barranquilla this morning and took an hour bus ride to the Magdalena River.  From there we took a boat 10 minutes to Sitio Nuevo.  Suddenly, we were in an entirely different world; one plagued by poverty.

 And yet in the middle of this poverty, there is great hope.  The children greeted us at the dock with signs that had our names on them.  From there we walked a few minutes to the church. 

This particular project is called Los Hijos Del Rey which means "The Children of the King."  It has only been in existence for about six months and right now it serves 170 children.  The difference between these children being served by Compassion and the many more around them
is profound.  The children in the project look vibrant.  They get food, tutoring, medical care and spiritual training.  But there are  many more children in the community.  Many who don't even have the opportunity to go to school.  This project is looking to expand to 400 children soon. 



Isael & his mom at their home.

After putting on a chef's hat and helping serve lunch, we walked to  a local home to see where a little boy named Isael lived.  The house was simple clapboard with a dirt floor.   In the backyard a dog, kitten, pig and her piglets roamed.  The mother shared with us how her son had started behaving better and looking for ways to help her since he has been at the project.  He is only five years old.  Isael told me that he wants to be a policeman when he grows up.  There are many, many more Isael's here who are just looking for someone to give them an opportunity to succeed at every level. 

Outside of Isael's home.



Blowing bubbles with the kids at the project.



The Dedicated Staff at Los Hijos Del Rey along with our team from the U.S.