Meet Yet Another Blogger...

The tension at the intersection was palpable. All traffic had come to a halt in the sweltering heat of early November summer as stern-faced policemen prepared the way for the president and his motorcade to pass.

The year was 1970, the location was Lima, Peru, and urgency seemed to emanate from a gold-colored International Harvester Travelall station wagon that sat marooned in the traffic jam. Inside the car sat an American couple, and the tension seemed to elevate with each gasp from the woman…who was in the advanced stages of labor.

It’s a good thing the Americans were missionaries, because the situation certainly called for someone who knew how to pray. And pray they did…until finally the motorcade was gone, the road opened up, and they set new speed records to the Anglo-American Clinic in the San Isidro neighborhood of the city. The American lady was rushed to the delivery room, where moments later I arrived on the scene – blissfully unaware of the drama I had helped cause.

That was 38 years ago today. Since that time, I’ve lived in Peru, Costa Rica, the United States, Brazil and the United States all over again. Having grown up as the son of missionaries and later served as a missionary myself, I feel a real connection to people in developing countries who struggle daily against overwhelming poverty. After all, they were my playmates when I was growing up.

Today I’m blessed with four healthy children (two teenagers, a “tween” and a right handsome young man who just turned 9). I’m constantly reminded of just how privileged we are to live in a comfortable home where our worst weather-related fear is whether or not the cars will get dings from the hail traditionally dropped by our famous Midwest storms – so unlike the fear that grips poor families’ hearts when it rains…a fear born from the knowledge that, when the rains are over, their houses and belongings may not be there any more.

I’ve worked for Children International for the past five years. What we do with the help of our sponsors is truly incredible. In an era when few employees stay with a company more than five years, I’m looking forward to many more fruitful years of working with CI – and with you – as we continue to bring real change to people’s lives around the world.


Helping families can sometimes lead you to be in unusual places at unusual times. This photo was taken while visiting a sponsored family in Santiago, Dominican Republic, during Tropical Storm Noel. The hillside was steep and the rain had turned the ground to slick, soupy mud. One misstep and I would have had a long, fast trip down the hill!

Countdown to Action

In just two short days we will ask our Children International blog readers to join us for Blog Action Day. United with over 8,000 other bloggers around the world, this day is our opportunity to do something to make a difference in the global fight against poverty.

Wednesday you will be able to view a blog and slideshow with just a few of the many children who face not only the hardships that poverty places upon them, but must also deal with physical and or mental disabilities and diseases.

If you haven’t already shared our commitment to helping poor children with your friends and family, now is the perfect time. Please join us on Wednesday as we take action to help these special children.

Just for Grins, Part 3

Nebel's Notes

"You know, Sarah....There's an easier way to do these blog posts!"

* * *

Meet Nebel:

Hi, blog readers. I hope you’ve enjoyed my sketches.

Although I work as a translator for CI, I find myself doodling every now and then in my spare time. Sarah and Kelly somehow found this out and graciously asked me to create and share some illustrations with you.

I’ve been wearing down pencils and drying up pens since I was about 3 years old. That being said, I don’t consider myself artist; from my point of view, I merely possess an inherent affinity towards illustration, one that I’m happy to use now as it relates to CI and child sponsorship.

Comments and/or suggestions are always welcome!

©2008 Children International. All rights reserved.

Meet a Blogger: Sarah

I’ve been blogging for Children International for a while now, but I’ve never really introduced myself. While a little mystery is always nice, I’d like to share a bit about the name behind some of the blogs you read.

I got my first taste of real poverty when I spent a summer studying in Mexico. When I wasn’t in class, I volunteered at an elementary school for inner-city kids and at a federal orphanage. Those little faces stuck with me. After I graduated from college, I moved back to Mexico and taught English to pre-school children - a challenge to say the least. I taught them English; they taught me patience and humility. Although the school was somewhat prestigious, poverty was still all around me: in the poor neighborhood surrounding the school, on the street corners where children sold gum to help their families, in the zócalo or plaza where mothers begged for money with their children at their feet. It’s amazing how easily one becomes accustomed to seeing it.

When I moved back to the States I knew I wanted to continue working with children and above all, use my Spanish to help people. I took a job as a translator for immigrant families at a public school, and I even taught a bilingual 2nd grade class in Dallas for a while. When I was ready to go back home to Kansas City, I stumbled across Children International. Serendipitously they were looking for someone with my skills. You know the rest of the story - I got the job.

It is a job that I kind of just fell into, but it is also a job seemingly tailor-made for me. While I spent most of my time in the main office proofreading and translating, I do occasionally get to travel to our agencies as a staff interpreter. Meeting the needy families that we help and chatting with their children are certainly the highlights of what I do. Whenever someone asks, I feel proud to tell people I work for Children International. If I have to spend my time working, knowing that in my own small way I’m helping children feels like a pretty great option to me.

Sarah and writer Damon Guinn interview a sponsored boy in Honduras.

Photo by Jennifer Spaw.

Had Your Hand Up for Awhile?

We love moderating the blog and taking advantage of the opportunity it gives us to communicate more directly with our sponsors. And because we enjoy it so much, we couldn't help but wonder if some of our readers wouldn't like to have a chance to speak up as well.

So we thought we'd just ask.

Would any of you be interested in joining a Google Group for Children International sponsors? If you're not familiar with Google Groups, they are forums that join people with common interests and allow them to conduct threaded discussions.

If enough of you find this interesting, we'll make it happen. So please tag in, leave us a comment and let us know. In fact, we'll need you to contact us at blog@children.org and give us an email address so we can send you an invitation to join the group.

We're standing by!

Happy Birthday! Children International Celebrates One Year of Blogging

Poverty is a worldwide problem of truly epic proportions. Here at Children International, we are proud to add our voices and efforts to those of the dedicated non-profits from many nations who have made it their business to take on this insidious foe.

But of far greater importance than our efforts alone is the host of caring members of our sponsorship family who supply the financial support that is driving the changes we are bringing about. We help over 300,000 children…and that’s thanks to each of you, our sponsors.

As you know, we use a number of different media to keep you informed of our activities, the challenges we face, and the victories that are won along the way. But some time ago, we recognized that many of you wanted more. After all, you are part of the family; it’s important you have a means of interacting with us in a way that suits you.

So on January 22, 2007, we made the very first post to the Children International blog…and the response told us that our readers were eager to participate. In a few weeks we hope to hit our 200th post!

As moderators of the Children International blog, Jennifer and I enjoy bringing our sponsors and friends behind the scenes.

Through the blog, our readers are able to look at what we do from the perspective of the staff…share inside accounts from our communications coordinators in the field…become acquainted with critical cases of children in urgent need of medical assistance, housing or other special support…get the inside scoop when natural disasters affect areas where we work…become virtual team members when our staff from Kansas City – and even our president, Jim Cook – visits the field…meet our team of writers and other Children International employees…interact with other sponsors…and the list goes on.

And what is really exciting is how time after time our blog readers have taken the challenge to personally help children and families whose plight they’ve learned about through the blog. I can think of a family who no longer lives in a cemetery, a girl who has the wheelchair and other items she needs to deal with her disability, a family in Mexico who is climbing out of desperate poverty, and a family in India whose monsoon-damaged home is being repaired – all because our blog readers stepped up to the plate.

Thanks in great part to our blog readers, Awilda (pictured here with her mom and CI staff) now has a new wheelchair -- and a much brighter prognosis. Awilda hates to sit down low, so she always rides on top of her wheelchair!

Join in and make your voice heard today! Browse through our archives of past entries and read the latest posts. Then take a moment to introduce yourself and let us know what you think. We’re looking forward to meeting you! And to all the friends we've made over the past year...thanks.

Photos by David Nebel and Dayanara Reyes.