our compassion children

The difference is Jesus! One way our family lives out Micah 6:8 is by releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name with Compassion International. We are all trained as Volunteer Advocates and one of our favourite things to do is represent Compassion Canada together as a family at events across our city!

So much so that, in January 2016, after much prayer, contemplation and soul-searching, I accepted a position with Compassion as Regional Relationship Manager for Ministry Relations in the Greater Toronto Area. Today, I serve as Compassion's Regional Team Manager for the Ontario South region, overseeing a team of passionate Regional Relationship Managers!

Would you like to release a child from poverty too?
To give hope by living out Love?
To be Jesus' hands and feet?

If so, please click here now... a child is waiting to call YOU friend today!


Here are some of our family's beautiful Compassion children (past and present)...

Rechelle, Leadership Development Program (LDP) Student - Philippines (Graduated)

The day we met Rechelle in person was also the day we made the decision to sponsor her. Three years later, we visited her again! In April 2015, we completed our sponsorship of Rechelle as she graduated from Compassion's Leadership Development Program. We are massively proud of her!



Esperanza, Guatemala (Graduated)

Esperanza came into our lives in a very special way... another gift! These are my reflections as we prepared to visit her during the summer of 2015. 

And... this is the account of our visit and the unexpected unfolding of Esperanza's story which brought us to the end of our sponsorship of her. Here are my girl's reflections about the beautiful time we spent with Esperanza, our final goodbye. It is a must-read!


Florianlyn, Philippines

Florianlyn came into our family's life quite unexpectedly... and less than a year later, we met her face to face! These are my reflections after meeting her and then, an addendum to the story! Plus, a heart-warming update in June 2012! :)

Then, this amazing God-story of how our family came to be a part of building a six-classroom facility at Florianlyn's church, and that time we got to visit her again to see this six-classroom facility with our very own eyes... it is truly such wild grace!



Bradley, Haiti

We started sponsoring Bradley one year after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Here is an update... after one year of sponsorship. Then, in the Summer of 2016, we met Bradley when we visited Haiti!

Bradley's story is significant in our family's life because it marked our journey of being a sponsor of just ONE Compassion child to TWO. Bradley was the catalyst in our journey to sponsoring multiple children. To me, he signifies our step into that place where brave is needed, where comfort zone is stretched.

During our visit, his mama told us his story. When the earthquake struck, Bradley was being carried by his grandma. He was only 3 years old. The house collapsed all around him and his grandma. Everyone around them didn't survive, they did.

That same year, in May 2010, the Compassion centre opened up at the local church in their community. A few months before Bradley turned 4, he was registered into the Compassion program. A few months later, in January 2011, God allowed our paths to cross and our family became his sponsor!

I am so in awe of how God preserved Bradley's life... and used his life as a catalyst for our response to God's call to love "the least of these" via child sponsorship! I am truly grateful!


Patrick, Rwanda (Graduated)

We have been writing to Patrick as correspondents since February 2014. In January 2015, he became available for sponsorship and it was a no-brainer decision to officially add him to our family!
Maria, Ecuador

On the weekend that my girl spoke to thousands of her peers about Compassion's ministry and encouraged them to sponsor a child, I came upon Maria's child pack. She is my birthday buddy! I've been looking for a Compassion child with the same birthday as me for a while now. When I saw when her birthday is, I knew right then and there that we had to welcome her into our family!
Jheny, Bolivia

In January 2016, I stepped into this vocational ministry role at Compassion Canada! I am still pinching myself... can't believe that I *get to* advocate for these children every.single.day!

This did mean that my job of 13+ years had to come to an end. The impeccable transition could only have been orchestrated by God... a story that I will hopefully get to tell at a later time.

My manager of 13+ years is the best... no doubt! She is a blessing to me in many ways... and these years of working-from-home for her has given me the gift of presence with my kids during their most formative years. It is a gift not many mamas have had the blessing of receiving!

In her honour, our family sponsored little Jheny... because she and my manager share the same birthday! But the most amazing part of this sponsorship story is this: When my manager saw Jheny's picture, she couldn't believe that little sweet Jheny is wearing her three favourite colours --- in the exact shades of green and blue that she loves! How awesome is that?!?


Linsey, Haiti

When we knew we were going to be travelling to Haiti in Summer 2016, we decided to sponsor another Haitian child... a girl this time.

My girl saw Linsey's child pack at a conference where she was speaking at to promote Compassion's True Story. Needless to say, she came home with Linsey's child pack!

It was so awesome to meet Linsey so soon after we started sponsoring her!




Eakkawin and Taeng-Mo, Thailand

Eakkawin and Taeng-Mo attend the same Compassion project. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that both of them are ethnically Chinese. It's awesome to have this opportunity to help two Chinese families via Compassion as our family is ethnically Chinese as well!




Hannah and JunJun, Philippines

We thought these children completed our Compassion family at the time when we sponsored them! But we all know that God is always in the business of stretching us some more... see below! :)

We sponsored these two friends on Christmas Eve 2016. They are from the Compassion centre located in my dad's hometown!


Luis, Nicaragua

So... like I said above, we all know that God is always in the business of stretching us some more! You know... never issue God a challenge! ;)

So, here we are with yet another Compassion child. Meet Luis!

In February 2018, I co-led my first Pastors' Vision Trip, as part of my ministry role with Compassion Canada. The destination was Nicaragua, a country I've never visited before.

On Child Visit Day, a few unsponsored children were invited to join us. One of them was Luis. My father-in-law, who passed away in 2014, was also named Luis. When I saw Luis' child pack and read his background story, I couldn't shake the feeling that it would be so great to do something meaningful and with eternal purpose, in memory of my father-in-law... especially since Luis is being raised by a single-parent. To make a long story short, I had the privilege of letting Luis know, on Child Visit Day, that he was no longer unsponsored!

He told me that, on his way to meet our team, he prayed and asked God for a sponsor. He thought God would answer his prayer by providing him a sponsor towards the end of Child Visit Day. He was pretty stoked that God's schedule was way ahead of his! ;) We had a beautiful day together, getting to know each other!

You can see more photos from my trip to Nicaragua by heading over to this Instagram link.




The following are our kids' Compassion children...


John (JD), Philippines

JD is my Jon’s Compassion child. He spotted JD's child pack at a Compassion event and knew that we just had to sponsor him!

We already had a trip to the Philippines planned when we sponsored JD so we knew that we would be meeting him very soon! Here are my thoughts as we anticipated meeting him... and, this is an account of the day we met JD! :)

Plus, this God-story doesn't end with our sponsorship of JD. Little did we know, JD and Alyssa’s intertwining stories would eventually be told in Compassion's very first youth curriculum, True Story: What God Wants Us To Do About Poverty.


Happyness, Tanzania
Happyness is Alyssa’s first Compassion child! She started sponsoring Happyness in 2011.
Here are Alyssa’s thoughts while writing Happyness her very first letter.
Lili, Thailand
Lili is from the same Compassion centre as our A-Jong. Lili is also ethnically Chinese!
Alyssa began sponsoring this little one in 2016, out of a desire to make a difference in the lives of girls in Thailand.
Lay, Philippines
Alyssa started sponsoring Lay in 2016. Fun fact: Lay is from Cebu City, hubby's and my birthplace! Her Compassion centre is down the road from where hubby and I got married!








And last, but not least --- the child God used to propel us into this lifestyle of justice and compassion...

Annu, our very first Compassion child (India)
Annu came into our lives just after Christmas 2009 in a very special way that changed our lives forever --- damaged us, really. We haven't looked back since!
Just less than one year later, we had to say goodbye to her... yet I will always remember her as our very first Compassion child, the one God used to propel us into this lifestyle of justice and compassion. 

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