10K Tuesday

Merry Christmas

In South Africa, December is a month for relaxation and holiday. Shops and restaurants close down and the streets empty as people take a break for the year. In the Western world, the opposite seems to be true. People are so busy attending parties, buying gifts, and working extra hard during the holiday rush that it seems impossible to stop and savor what’s truly important this time of year.

Creative Action:

During this Holiday season, be deliberate and take the time to stop and breathe. Rest with your family and be sure to tell them they are loved and valued. During your prayer times, renew your relationship with God and remember those in need. Let’s start the New Year with truly refreshed hearts and minds!

This is our last 10K Tuesday for the year 2009! We will be starting back up in the beginning of January. Please post any questions, comments, and stories on our discussion board. We love to hear from you!

10K Tuesday

World AIDS Day

December 1^st is the internationally recognized, World’s AIDS Day. We’ve all seen and heard the HIV/AIDS statistics for Africa. Whether it’s from a missionary standing at the pulpit in your church, on the news, or read on the Internet the number of adults and children dying is hardly a secret. What a lot of people don’t know is that with the proper medication, diet, and exercise HIV can be controlled for a long time and a person can live a long, healthy life. Children who are born with HIV have a harder time, but it is possible.

Creative Action:

Pin an AIDS Ribbon to your jacket everyday this week, and gather people to pray with you for AIDS education and health in South Africa. Pray that the fear of stigma would not keep people away from being tested or taking their medications. Pray for the orphans left behind and/or infected from their parents.

Thank you for participating in this week’s 10K Tuesday! Please take a moment and post any comments, questions, or stories on our discussion board.

10K Tuesday

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving may be a strictly American tradition, but the principles can be celebrated worldwide. The idea is to offer praise and thanks to God for His blessings. It’s a time to join together as a family and remember all that we have been given and how much we are loved and adored for who we are.

Creative Action:

This week, be deliberate in including others in your family circle. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a family, but we all long to feel that connection and love. Whether it’s a coworker or a college student from your church, be intentional and share your blessings with others. Sharing a meal is one of the best ways to build relationship, so step outside your bubble and be a blessing to those around you!

Thank you for participating in this week’s 10K Tuesday! Please take a moment and post any comments, questions, or stories on our discussion board.

Staff Spotlight

Michael and Lindsay Kaufman are one of the founding couples of Ten Thousand Homes. The first to make the move from the States in 2007, they've lived in White River ever since. Both from the Southern part of America, they met and married in Youth With A Mission years ago and have hearts to see transformation in Africa. With their beautiful daughter Isabelle and a son on the way, they are an amazing and vital part of the Ten Thousand Homes team.

To find out more about the Kaufmans, visit their blog.

10K Tuesday

Young Mothers

It’s common in Africa for young, unmarried women to become pregnant. In fact it’s fairly unusual for an African woman to reach the age of twenty-five without giving birth to a child or two despite the negative connotations associated with pregnancy outside of wedlock. These past few months, we’ve received news that several of the young girls we work with at the care centers are pregnant.

Creative Action:

This week, as you sit down to eat dinner with your families pray for blessings for these young, soon-to-be mothers and their unborn children. Pray for health and that their communities would surround them and help care for their children. Pray that the fathers would take active roles in their children’s lives. Pray that God would give us wisdom in handling and mentoring these girls.

Thank you for participating in this week’s 10K Tuesday! Please take a moment and post any comments, questions, or stories on our discussion board.

Compassion DTS: January 2010

We are so excited to officially announce next year's Discipleship Training School! Starting January 17th and ending June 6th, the first three months of the school called the 'Lecture Phase' consists of visiting teachers, local community outreaches, and time spent bonding and growing with your fellow students and staff members. The last two months are a time to put into practice all that you've learned and the students are sent on an intense outreach.

DTS Outreach 2009 at the Source of the Nile, Uganda

Why Compassion? Our DTS focuses on the care of orphaned and vulnerable children, especially those affected by HIV/AIDS. We believe it's an issue close to God's heart and we devote much of our ministry time to children.

As time flies by and January swiftly approaches, we are busy accepting student applications, appointing staff positions, lining up guest speakers, setting up the classrooms and getting dorms ready along with many other details.

If you'd want to find out more about the Discipleship Training School or would like to fill out an application, please visit www.compassiondts.com

10K Tuesday

The Innocent

AIDS is still a very sensitive topic in most cultures today. You must have done something wrong or shameful to become infected. Even in Africa, the stigma associated with the disease keeps people from being tested and taking their medications. That may have been true ten or twenty years ago, but the truth today is that the ones most affected by HIV/AIDS are the children who never had a choice. These kids have struggled and lived under a burden of shame since their birth, because their parents or their grandparents made a bad decision.

Creative Action:

This week, look for one person you can tell about the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, whether it’s someone you meet in the line at the local coffee shop, a friend, family member, or coworker. Tell someone that AIDS is no longer about people making bad decisions, but about the innocent children that are dying with no family or support system. Take some time and pray that the world’s outlook and response to those infected with HIV/AIDS would change.

Thank you for participating in this week's 10K Tuesday! Please take a moment and post any questions, comments, or stories on our discussion board.