How Many Years Does it Take to Grow Hope?

As I've followed the blogs about Tanzania this week, I have to admit, a part of me has been disappointed. There has been much written about the great need there, but where are the Rosa stories? Where are the stories about sponsored teenagers who want to sponsor children one day? Where are the stories about teenagers like Hanna (our sponsored child in the Philippines) who feel certain they will be able to use the education they are receiving to send their younger siblings to school? In other words, where is the fruit of the hope that Christ brings in Tanzania?

As I thought about this, the answer became clear. It's still growing.

Compassion has been working in the Philippines for over 40 years. The 2011 bloggers went to one of the most established centers in the country. Many of the centers the Tanzania bloggers have been visiting are less than 2 years old. As this blogger so aptly pointed out: Hope is Slow.

Although Compassion has been at work in Tanzania since 1999, most centers are located near Arusha. Centers near Mwanza, like Mugendi's (which opened in 2009) are young. They are quickly earning the love and trust of their local communities, but like any relationship, it is a process. Both groups of bloggers are sharing the same message- the great need Compassion addresses and the beautiful effect that giving hope has on a community, but in differing ratios.

Today the Compassion Bloggers head to Arusha, the more established area of Tanzania (though I'm not sure how long the Center they'll be visiting has been open) and I'm looking forward to reading more stories. I'm trying not to let myself go numb to the needs in these communities as I pray God would help us to live more simply so we can help others to simply live.