Help for Haiti-Why Give to Compassion International??

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done."

Proverbs 19:17

If you are anything like me tonight, you are overwhelmed, devastated and disturbed by the magnitude of suffering and grief happening in Haiti.  With every segment I've watched on every news channel today, my heart breaks a little bit more for the Haitian people who are enduring a tragedy like no other.  As I watched the nightly news with Ava playing around me, I could not help but weep over the precious children I saw...many with gaping wounds, many alone and unable to find their families, and many in shock.  Their big, brown eyes have seen more suffering in the last 48 hours than most people see their whole lives.  Their world has been, quite literally, rocked to the core and they are helpless to do anything about it.  They are in need, desperate need.  And as I sat in my cozy living room, watching my daughter play with her toys, I couldn't help but weep.

Somewhere in Haiti, a mother died to save her children.  Somewhere in Haiti, a mother is searching for her missing babies.  And somewhere in Haiti, a mother is comforting her child with little to no resources available to her.

There are few situations in my lifetime that have seemed so bleak.  Few times that my heart has felt as if it has been ripped out of my chest.  Few times that I've wanted to jump on a plane and wipe the tears from hundreds of children I don't know.  Few times until today...

Today I realized that I don't have to stand by and do nothing.  I don't have to watch from a distance, I don't have to hope that people will step up and intervene.  I can help...I can help...I can help.

More than any other thing I could do, I can pray.  I can speak directly to the ear of the One who created each and every Haitian child and I can ask Him to hold their broken hearts in His very capable hands.  I can ask Him to heal, restore and re-build lives.  I can ask Him because He hears.  Each and every word.  And not only does He hear, but He is faithful and He is mighty to Save.  There is nothing He can't do.

But because He has been so gracious to me, I can also give.  And I'm guessing most of you could give too.  There are actual tangible things our money can do right now.  Real ways we can intervene and eternal ways we can invest.  There is no organization I would rather do that with than the people at Compassion International.  Travis and I have personally sponsored a child through compassion for 5 years.  I have the utmost respect for them and can speak personally to the integrity of this charity.  But, you don't have to take my word for it, you can read what they are doing about the Haiti earthquake for yourself...

The catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12 has resulted in unfathomable chaos and devastation for hundreds of thousands of children and families.

Compassion sponsors and donors serve more than 65,000 children in Haiti. At least a third of them live in the areas that were hardest hit.

I am asking you to please send a generous gift today to help precious children and their families, and to encourage others to give to Compassion International through your blog, Facebook and Myspace pages, Twitter account and e-mail. Please utilize every on-line tool you have access to. The people of Haiti desperately need our help and hope.

Compassion International is working rapidly to assess the situation and determine the full extent of damage:

• Sadly, we anticipate there will be many deaths.
• We anticipate thousands of children and families will have lost everything.
• We anticipate many of our church-based child development centers will have been destroyed.
Without a doubt, the children we serve in Haiti are in shock and face immediate needs for food, water, medical care, shelter and counseling. We have teams prepared to respond, and we are deeply committed to helping each child.
We need your help immediately. Please reach out in the name of Jesus to bring relief, comfort, love and restoration to precious children and families whose lives have been devastated by this crisis. And, If you are so led to give to Compassion International, here is what your money can do...  All funds raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to provide for Compassion-assisted children and families affected by this crisis. Any funds raised in excess will be stewarded by Compassion for additional and future disaster relief efforts.

You can provide immediate relief today.
• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families’ needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families’ needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.
Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.  If you want to know more about their financial integrity, check this out...  FINANCIAL INTEGRITY: The FBI is warning of several Haiti charity scams that have popped up in the wake of this earthquake.http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/wayoflife/01/13/haiti.charity.scams/

They are suggesting that donations only be made to organizations monitored and rated by CharityNavigator.org and The American Institute of Philanthropy. Both organizations have given Compassion International their highest approval ranking. Compassion International is the only non-profit in it’s category to receive eight consecutive years of four star rating from CharityNavigator.org.
Links regarding Compassion International’s financial integrity:
• http://www.compassion.com/about/financial/default.htm
• http://www.compassion.com/press/currentnews/charity-navigator-awards-compassion-highest-rating-8th-year-in-row.htm
FIRST RESPONDER: In this disaster it is crucial that first responders receive support quickly. Because Compassion International ministers through local churches to meet the needs of that church’s neighbors, and because these church partners are respected aid workers in their communities, Compassion is uniquely positioned to assess and meet the needs of it’s sponsored children quickly. This is an advantage of our church-based model in practice for more than 50 years.
IN JESUS’ NAME: Compassion International does not accept government funds which could at times restrict our ability to meet the physical and spiritual needs of children in Jesus’ name. Because of this Compassion International’s primary financial support comes from individual donors.   As a new Mother, on behalf of Haitian Mother's, let's all do what we can to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake.  Let's pray and let's give.  There are babies and teenagers, men and women, older and younger who need help.  I would never lead you to an organization that I wasn't 100% confident in or behind.  You can click on any of the links in this post to donate or on the blue box to the left of this post.  They will all lead you to the same place.  You can give a one time donation or you can do what we do and sponsor a child monthly. You can make a difference around the world by ensuring that another child will receive clean water, nutritious meals, an education and most importantly the love of Jesus.  You could be the lifeline they are waiting for...  I love Compassion International.