Monday 15 December 2008

Sponsoring a child through Compassion

Christuraj lives in Chennai India. The mud and brick shacks of his community are so close to the river that when it floods, sewage washes into people’s homes. Unemployment, alcoholism and violence are rife but life poses even more problems for Christuraj. “My father had small pox and is blind in both his eyes,” explains the 15-year-old. “I have to do everything for him.” Christuraj’s mother left when he was just five years old and Christuraj has to take sole responsibility for his father.

But, in spite of his hardship, Christuraj has big dreams. “I want to be a doctor,” he says with resolution. Every day after school and every Saturday Christuraj attends the Andrew’s Kirk Child Development Centre, run in conjunction with the child development ministry Compassion. “I want to be a big man and bring honour to my father and Compassion because they are helping me a lot.”

In the cramped and crowded community where the majority of parents work as casual day labourers, uncertain where the next meal is coming from, the child development centre is a breath of fresh air. It is here that Christuraj gets a healthy evening meal every day and regular medical checkups; something his father could never afford to provide for him. He can play cricket and football with his friends and get extra support with his studies. He even gets a chance to learn valuable computer skills. But the Bible study classes are his favourite. “What I love the most is the word of God,” he says with a warm smile.

His father’s disability means that Christuraj’s family have no regular income. Without the support of the project and his sponsor, Christuraj’s knows his life would be very different.
“If Compassion had not been there, we would have been begging on the street.”

For more than 50 years Compassion has been working to transform the lives of children across the world. In addition to their financial support sponsors can also exchange letters with the children they sponsor and pray for them. More than a million children are currently attending Compassion’s church based projects in 25 of the world’s poorest countries, but there are many more children waiting for a sponsor to give them the opportunities that Christuraj has been given.

It costs just 60p a day, less than the price of a cup of tea, to transform the life of a child like Christuraj through sponsorship.
To find out about Compassion visit www.compassionuk.org or call 01932 836490. Alternatively, speak to Diane Sainsbury.

Our Christmas Challenge

Every time I’ve turned on the radio or the television over the last few weeks there seems to be only one topic: the economic crisis. I’m not an economist, so I won’t pretend to understand all the complexities involved. Part of the problem is that none of the economists or politicians seems to know either, nor do they know how to get us out of the difficulty!

What I know for certain is that however difficult things become for us, (and they may become very difficult indeed in the years ahead), our hardships will not compare with those endured by our brothers and sisters in Darfur, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and many other places we could all name. Charitable giving is often one of the first casualties in an economic downturn, so we need to make sure we remember those worse off than ourselves.

In Matthew 25 v.35 + 36 Jesus said: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” This is the inspiration for the majority of charities that exist in our country.

At this time of Advent, as we wait with mounting anticipation for the Christ Child, God’s Emmanuel, the light of the world, we remember that He was not born in a palatial home with central heating, en suite facilities and surround sound HD television. Jesus was born in a cold, uncomfortable, smelly stable surrounded by animals. The stressed and busy inn-keeper acted with compassion and sympathy towards this young couple whose child was about to be born. Our Christmas challenge is to do the same for our needy neighbours. If we are not salt and light for God then what are we?

God bless, Jackie.

Thursday 11 December 2008

Jonah and the Whale


It just seems as though The Net is getting better and better. This was certainly true in November, when we looked at the story of Jonah and the Whale. The highlight was when the hall was decorated to make it look like the inside of the whale, and we all went into the darkened hall carrying glow sticks, and listened to the story of Jonah and the Whale.

These photos give a flavour of some of the fun we had.