Spence Smith

I’d like to highlight a few friends of mine I think are worth following. All four of these friends are in the spotlight on some level and they all are personal friends of mine. The thing I love about them is that even though there is a spotlight on them at times, they are all very real. They have their successes, failures and struggles in life and are willing to share them.

Bianca Juarez @BiancaJuarez

Bianca is a new friend. I met her through Lindsey Nobles and Alece Ronzino. If you ever meet Bianca face to face, be warned… She has so much energy that you will leave refreshed and energized yourself.

On twitter, she is fun, has great conversations with people and is very informative. You will learn something from her as you follow her through out her days. The best part of her story for me is how she met her husband Matt Olthoff. That’s one worth listening too.

Bianca also has a blog that comes with a bit of punch to it, so again… I warned you. She’s good.

Sheila Walsh @SheilaWalsh

Sheila is the kind of friend that comes along every once in a while and shows you what it is to be true to who you are and how to really be a loyal friend. Every day on twitter she loves on people even from a distance. She cares for those who are going through hard times and she lets them know that she is there for them. When she writes on her blog, it’s always this extra nugget of life experience that makes me sit and ponder for a little while.

One of my favorite things about her is her humor. She is second to no one when it comes to wit and she is very, very, very funny. I’m not sure where she comes up with some of the things she says on twitter, but I assure you. Follow her and you will be laughing in no time.

James Mead @JRMeadKutless

James plays guitar in a band called Kutless. You might have heard of them. If you haven’t then you should check them out. They are a great band for the iPod.

James has this kind and gentle personality that comes with very intelligent conversation. When he sends out messages on twitter I feel like I’m following this guy who takes a view of life that is just slightly angled a different direction enough to make me want to either laugh or read more. James and his wife also have one of the cutest kids ever.

Shaun Groves @ShaunGroves

Shaun and I have been friends for a good bit of time. He is a singer/songwriter who blogs like a mad man. Shaun is passionate about what he believes in and what he supports. Because of his passion, he writes blog posts that will make you think… a lot. They might even get under your skin a little bit, but that’s good. You need that some times. Why? Because Shaun invites you to have conversation with him on his blog and at the very core of blogging, conversation is key.

You see, the thing I love about Shaun’s way of life on his blog is he wants you to think. He wants you to stretch yourself. He wants you to not look at life the same way. It doesn’t have to be his way of looking at life either.

Shaun is also a huge advocate for Compassion International. He gets a lot of kids sponsored at his shows, but he is also responsible for CompassionBloggers.com, which I’m very proud to be a part of Compassion Bloggers beginning.

Shaun is doing something that is very rare right now. He is raising all of the support for his next CD online, CLICK HERE. Again, I love it when people go a different route and why not… With the internet, we can do it if we want too. I love that!

Oh… and like the other three above me. Shaun is very funny.

So there you go. That’s my Follow Friday for today.

Go follow my friends and have a great Friday!

One of the greatest moments is watching sponsors meet their sponsor kids and today was all about that. Angie, Melissa, Robin, Anne, Patricia, Shaun and Becky all met their kids today and we all had a blast with the great moments that happened.(That’s me and Angie’s sponsor child, Sangita, in the picture above.)

We took the kiddos over to Science City (think Mad Max for kids and parts of the Water World set that never made it in the movie) where we got to see Everest in a REALLY old IMAX theater. The only problem was the film looked really cold and yet… it was still 120 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!!

After the IMAX we went over to the 3D Science Show which I just couldn’t resist trying to fit in. (See Exhibit A below) I mean… this show had 3D glasses AND animals flying at your face!! Pete and Keely took pictures and made funny videos through out the day.

So… here’s the deal. It’s one thing to sponsor a child and write letters back and forth. But when you get the chance to meet your child!!!(Exhibit B below – Me and my sponsor child Verelyn from Peru) Wow!!! The letters come to life and you see your sponsorship dollar come to life!!

I love watching people meet their kids for the first time. I know those feelings and how you remember every moment.

If you can afford to go on a sponsor tour to meet your child or if you can go visit them on your own, then I would highly recommend you going for it. It’s an experience you will never forget.

But first… if you haven’t already… go sponsor a little one. You won’t regret it!

Oh my gosh!!!! Can we say hot!!!! I don’t mean Africa hot. I mean India hot! Over 100 degrees in the shade with the humidity at LEAST 100% and there hasn’t been a heat wave like this in 29 years!!! Welcome to India! Make sure you wear clothes to absorb all that sweat!

Even in the heat though, I must say… I’ve been to a lot of projects all over the world with Compassion International and this one was definitely a bright spot in the middle of a dark community. 95% of the people in this area are Hindu and there were just over 300 children in this particular project. Amazing work when you consider Christians make up less than 1% of the population. Christ seems to have a way of reaching every corner of the world here. Even the sweaty ones.

These kids are so full of life! A little reserved until you get them playing Criquet then the gloves come off and the ball starts flying! I was impressed with Pete Wilson’s skills to master a good game of Criquet though. His wife will be proud and his boys will think he is whacked for misinterpreting baseball.

As we talked to the kids, especially the girls, there was a great amount of self-esteem, which for this community and their culture was saying a lot!! This is where sponsoring a child is amazing. The work being down through this church in such a dark community is teaching these kids that not only is Christ the Lord, but He is not like all the other gods in the Hindi religion. God is the only god they need. These kids are seeing it and living it. Humbly living as God as called them to live – to be the bright spot and the enemy of darkness….Even if you have to pull out the karate chop!

I get to see this work all the time, but today was one more indication that the partnership between Compassion and the Church is working. Not only are lives being changed, but communities are being changed from the inside out.  This is just one of the many reasons to sponsor a child. It’s just the beginning of truly playing a part in the development of children. Without the compassion program in these communities, most of these kids would be destined for the nothingness of drugs, prostitution and the simple concept of no hope… no opportunity. Education and The Word of God  = the chance to break the cycle of poverty in the life of not only a child but the child’s family. It’s an amazing concept so few people understand about the opposite of poverty.

One new thing I saw this time around was a different kind of skill being taught at the project and it was for the girls. They were teaching them Karate! I know… what? Karate? Why? Well… because these communities aren’t that safe for young innocent girls. So just in-case you’re a guy looking for a little trouble to get into with a girl… think twice or else you might get what these bricks below had coming to them. Shaun posted a great video he shot of this Karate demonstration. Click Here.

This sponsor child is about to break these flaming breaks in two with her karate chop.

Smack!!!

Eat your heart out Brock Gill! This was no illusion! No need to let a little fire scare you...

Sponsor a child… You’ll be glad you did!

As some of you know, I’m headed to Kolkata, India (Calcutta). By the time you read this we will probably be in New Delhi on an overnight layover.

I’m taking these group of bloggers headed up by Shaun Groves who handles CompassionBloggers.com for us. We are in for quite a trip indeed.

I want to make sure you know the point of this trip. The bloggers going on this trip will be getting to see Compassion International’s work first hand everyday. Meeting their sponsor children, playing with kids, meeting families, pastors, church volunteers, and watching how Compassion International partners with the local church. Why? So they (and I) can tell you first hand about what they (we) experienced THAT DAY in hopes that you the reader will be compelled to sponsor a child and invest into the development of a little one. I love the immediacy of the internet.

So…  here’s what you can do to help out and take an active roll in this week with us.

1.    Pray – pray for our safety, health, loved ones back home, and for what we aren’t expecting to see. Pray for our time with the kids and what we don’t expect will happen. And finally… Pray for those reading these blogs that they and you will be moved to make a difference and sponsor a child… or another child.

2.    Tell all your friends to come read along. Most of us have ways you can subscribe to our RSS feeds or email like in my blog… just enter your email address in the column to the right of this post and my posts will come straight into your inbox the minute I post something. You can find the list of bloggers here and here.

If you are looking for all of my posts on India as the trip rolls along, you can find them all right HERE.

3.    If you’re a blogger link back to these posts and re post them if you want on your blog. Rising Tides Lifts All Ships. The more people know about what is happening on this trip, the more positive change we can bring to the lives of children in India and to the rest of the world. Careful though… Your life might change in the process… I’m just sayin… These kids will have that effect on you.

4.    If you are on twitter (@SpenceSmith)… follow us all on twitter and Re-Tweet if we say something that moves you or if we Twit Pic something you like. Please don’t foget our Hash Tag for this trip when it comes to Twitter… #CompassionIndia. (Follow the conversation at tweetchat.com – enter CompasionIndia.)

5.    Sponsor A Child. I know… I keep bringing this up. But this is what we do… We do Child Development through the local church and the funding comes through the one on one sponsorship people like you and me provide. It’s so so important.

6.    Finally… if you already sponsor a child… go write them a letter. I can’t tell you the impact one letter will make.

So… that’s it… that’s your part in all of this if you so choose to be an active participant in our blogging trip to India.

Have a great rest of your weekend, good luck and congrats to all my friends running the Country Music Half and Full Marathon today. I’m proud of you all and I miss getting to run with you…. Warm up for the first 20 miles then the next 6 miles is the marathon:) Stretch, Hydrate and most of all… HAVE FUN!!

Today for The Sunday Post I want to feature the India Blog Trip with Compassion International. This friday I’m off to India with 9 other people. I’m leading this trip with Shaun Groves and we are in for quite a trip. The purpose of this trip is to take bloggers and show them our work just like I do for artists. Instead of coming back after the trip and writing about the experience-everyday we will come bck to the hotel and blog about what we saw THAT DAY! Our first blogging trip to Uganda was a huge success as well as the blogging trip to the Dominican Republic. Shaun heads up this effort for us over at CompassionBloggers.com.

Here’s the list of those who will be blogging on this trip.

Angie Smith

Anne Jackson

Melissa Fitzpatrick

Robin Dance

Patricia Jones

Keely Scott

Pete Wilson

Shaun Groves

and ME!