FredMcKinnon.Com

Dear Friends,

As you may know, I am a passionate advocate for Compassion International.  Compassion exists to release children from poverty in Jesus’ Name.  I’ve experienced the ministry of Compassion first-hand and we are also child-sponsors for Compassion.

I just received this URGENT request from our Advocate Relations Department.  Please see below.  EVERY PERSON WHO READS THIS BLOG (tweet, and Facebook note) can do this.  If you cannot afford a card, create one out of regular paper.

There are THOUSANDS of children who do not yet have a sponsor.  We’d love to see EVERY CHILD receive a Christmas card.

DEADLINE:  November 23 (only 5 postal days away – you should mail this within the next 2 days!).

We can collect letters and Christmas cards for children in our projects that have never received a letter!  Send them to:

Compassion International
Attn Candy Entingh
12290 Voyager Pkwy
Colorado Springs, CO  80921

BUT…they have to arrive at GMC by November 23rd, in order for them to get into the system and arrive for each child to receive them BY Christmas.

There are over 1,400 children in HAITI alone who don’t yet have a sponsor! Just write out a card or letter leaving out any attempt to address a particular child by name and let them know you are praying for them and thinking of them this Christmas.  Share your faith, share your words of love and encouragement – but be sure to share something!  It will take just a couple minutes to write out a quick card.

Finally, I hope that if you have not sponsored a child you would consider doing so this Christmas.  The cost is $38/month and it will change the life of a child forever.  I know all the skeptical questions that you have – I had them too.  That’s why I spent time in the field with Compassion and learned about them first hand.  It’s an amazing ministry.

1.  Please send a Christmas Card to the address above within the next 2 business days.
2.  Please visit the Compassion Site and consider sponsoring a child.  It will change their life … and yours too.
3.  Please “Tweet” or “ReTweet” this post to everyone on your list.  “Like” this post and share it on FaceBook.  Spread the word.  Let’s make a difference together.

For the Kingdom,
Fred

As you know, I’m an Advocate for Compassion International.  We have a sponsored child in Tanzania, Africa and were in the process of selecting a child in Haiti when the earthquake happened.  Compassion is there, updating through their Facebook, Twitter, and Blog pages.

Below is a video from President Wes Stafford.  This shows the heart and vision of Compassion and is a personal update from Wes.  For those  of you who have sponsored children in Haiti, you will definitely want to see this video.

In a bit of GOOD NEWS, one of the Compassion US staff, Dan Woolley, was rescued yesterday after being trapped in an elevator shaft for 60+ hours at the “Hotel Montana” in Haiti.  Dan had just arrived in Haiti with a contractor team for the Child Survival Projects (CSP).

Lots of emails and calls today about the earthquake in Haiti.  As you know, Haiti experienced a terrible earthquake yesterday.  We recently had a “Compassion Sunday” in our church and we sponsored a BUNCH of kids from Haiti.

Haiti needs our help, more than ever.

Sponsor a child in Haiti, or visit Compassion.Com and make a donation to their Disaster Relief Program.

So this is the last week of 2009 and I thought we’d look back and share the best (and worst) memories in 2009.  Each day I’ll choose something, like songs, albums, happenings, movies, church services, etc.  Feel free to suggest a “topic”.

Today, let’s kick it off with your comments on the “best” and “worst” happenings for you in 2009.

This is very general and hard to define for me, so feel free to have more than one answer.

BEST:

For me, I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for in 2009.  A couple of things that come to mind as some of the best highlights for me include

Jon Michael and Will’s Baptisms
I had the privilege of baptizing my oldest two sons, Jon Michael (9) and Will (7).  I can’t wait to baptize the younger two when they are old enough to make that decision and understand it fully.  (the rest of the baptism photos are in an album on Facebook – check them out)

My trip with Compassion International to Peru was also a huge highlight for 2009.  There is really nothing like getting out of the country and serving others for a much-needed shift in what’s important in life.   (view Peru Trip photos on Facebook)

On a completely personal and selfish note, one of my best happenings of 2009 was having Lasik surgery.  I’ve been extremely near-sighed since 5th grade.  I wore glasses and contacts ever since then.  Since having Lasik surgery, I am 20/20 and enjoy the luxury of seeing clearly the way God intended!  It’s been awesome.

THE WORST

I know this may seem ridiculous, but I can’t really think of any “happening” that I’d say was “the worst”.   Joy is sitting across from me and she just shrugged her shoulders.  No serious loss, no serious sickness or health issues (other than ongoing chronic lower back issues for me!), etc.  Church has been great, business has been great, friends are true  and faithful … we are full of God’s blessings.  I’m sure plenty of you reading this will immediately think of something as “the worst” happening for you.  There has been the loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, etc.  Express those, share them, and let us be a part of your life in doing so.

Your Turn – click below to comment!

Today was a fantastic day in Lima, Peru.  I am totally blown away by the faces, testimonies, and stories from all of these projects by Compassion International.

We spent some time this morning getting some tours en route to the church where today’s Compassion project was hosted.  (click the image for a larger picture) … this is one of the big city squares.

We spent a good amount of time with the kids today – for the first time we spent some time with the teenagers today and saw that they are learning marketable skills at the Compassion projects.  For example, they were learning to make silk screen design T-Shirts calendars, printing, and they made some incredible chocolates that they typically would sell.  I say “typically sell” because we ATE THEM today instead.

We also spent time with 3 students who are part of Compassion’s “LTP” (Leadership Training Program).  This is a program where some of the best students get scholarships and leadership training to the colleges and universities.  If only I could have pictures and videos of “Elizabeth” and her story.  She grew up as a sponsored child and now is in the LTP and is studying in the university to be an elementary teacher.  When asked what she wanted to do, she said “go to the farthest parts of Peru and teach the children about my faith in Jesus Christ”.

Last night I shared a once-in-a-lifetime treat with my friend, Scott Copeland.  Scott is a worship pastor up in the Atlanta area and we met at the re:create conference earlier this year.  In addition, Pastor Francis Castañeda from Lima, Peru attends the conference.  We kept thinking it would be a shame to visit Lima, Peru and not see Pastor Francis whom we’d grown to love from our visits at re:create.

In addition to being a full-time Worship Pastor here in Lima, Francis founded the Allegro Institute, a training center for the arts  – worship, music, arts, etc.  His passion for teaching and training worship leaders is contagious – I’m ready to fly back to Peru soon and teach these students in music theory, arranging, and the spiritual aspects of worship leadership.

Scott and I became true locals – as everyone else on our team from Compassion was headed up to bed, we joined Francis and jumped in a cab and toured Allegro Institute.  We toured all around Lima, seeing some sights that I’m sure we’d never see otherwise.  We enjoyed coffee and some incredible “steak-kabob” type dish in a beautiful restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean together.  We returned to the hotel around midnight – exhausted, but exhilarated from our time with Francis.

Finally, I captured a great video today with a couple of the sponsored kids.  I’ll post that as a separate blog, it’s still processing.

Thanks for your prayers.  A few of you have emailed or messaged me and asked “how can I sponsor a child”?  Just visit www.compassion.com and it’s so simple.  Have questions, just ask me!

Fred