Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 2:32PM In the coming weeks you should receive a Christmas card from your sponsored child, and on it will be Christmas wishes in their own hand. We love this time of year because you can see the anticipation of Christmas in the children's heartfelt wishes.
But very few of the children in our programs speak English -- so what do their Christmas wishes look like?
In most of the countries in which we work, the language spoken does not use a Latin or Roman alphabet such as what we use in English or what many of the countries in Africa or Central America use above.
Yet the result is just as beautiful. Several countries, such as the Philippines and India, have regions that use different languages or dialects, which are represented below.
And then there's the Middle East, where Christ and the Christmas season was born. What wonderful wishes!
It's a bit early to wish you a Merry Christmas, but we can't help getting in the spirit!
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 5:53PM 
When we are in a country that has values different from what we believe in, we need to begin to understand our purpose: to serve, to be humble and to be compassionate. To all. Regardless.
Bangladesh, Medical Mercy Tweet Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 4:00PM 
In the upcoming months, we are going to be focusing on getting you more information about the countries we serve and the work we do there. We want to be able to give you a clear picture of what life is like for your child -- and we don’t mean facts that you could get out of an encyclopedia.
Since the Medical Mercy team is in Bangladesh this week, it seemed very fitting to start there…
Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 11:02AM 
How bad does it have to get for us before we throw in the towel?
When people have so little, how do you know if you made a difference? Is it in the first aid training, the water filter, the medications? Or is it something else entirely?
Bangladesh, Medical Mercy Tweet Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 12:35PM Today was a sucessful day for the medical team in Bangladesh. The medicines finally arrived and what's even better is that they were able to get them into the country without paying any fees! Isn't it amazing how God always comes through for his people?
The internet is slow and inconsistent, but Dr. Beyda was able to send us a short update on how today's clinics went.
Six vehicles, 30 people, one and a half hour ride and a river crossing by ferry, is how we started the day today. Chalna is an isolated community that hasn't seen medical care in over 15 years. The children were malnourished, some sickly, but all were laughing and smiling nonetheless. Prayer was the order for the children. 
It was for us as well. A Hindu woman came to Christ, others heard, and wondered if we really were who we said we were. Servants. And we served. 200 medical patients, 19 dental patients (it takes a while to extract teeth; Dr. Bob and Diane were at it constantly). Public health education, dental hygiene, water filtration system training, first aid training, nutritional assessments, medical examinations, and dental work were all being done simultaneously with the team taking on all facets of health intervention and training in a distant remote village in the southern part of Bangladesh. A ballet of sorts, one continuous act, and an encore.
We came to a village and within 6 hours left them with a chance for a better life. A bold, ambitious undertaking, and perhaps a little glorified, but it worked. There is nothing better than the see the smile after something is given freely and taken freely as well, no strings attached. Unconditional love I believe it's called.
In all things give thanks,
David
Thank you for your prayers for the team so far- keep them coming!
Monday, October 17, 2011 at 8:19AM 
Please keep the Medical Mercy team in your prayers! They are having a very rough start as they begin their work in Bangladesh this week. Dr Beyda shared the following on his blog:
So much for blogging good news. This will be short just to give you an idea of what has happened, what is happening and what will happen. Short synopsis: we left Phoenix for Chicago, picked up the rest of the team, left Chicago for Abu Dhabi, drained the fuel tanks on the plane there due to head winds, stopped in Kuwait to refuel, got to Abu Dhabi late, missed our connecting flight to Dhaka, got a flight to Karachi, Pakistan in order to catch another flight to Dhaka, (or we could of stayed in Kuwait overnight...who wanted to do that-not!), got to Karachi, connecting flight to from Karachi to Dhaka delayed, spent 10 hrs in a transit area in Karachi, finally getting to Dhaka after leaving Phoenix 42 hours earlier, and got all our luggage but none of the 15 boxes of meds and supplies (almost 800 lbs of needed stuff). That's it. Done. Nothing we can do about it.
The team spent the night in Dhaka and left early this morning for a 6 hour drive to the first clinic with the dental stuff, public health education stuff, nutritional assessment stuff, a few pills here and there that team members had in their personal belongings and stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs. They are going to run a clinic as best they can. I on the other hand am still in Dhaka waiting to go back to the airport this afternoon to see if the meds come in on the next flight. If they do, I make an 8 hour drive to the south of Bangladesh to catch up with the team sometime very late tonight. If the meds don't arrive....well, I don't really know what I'm going to do. The troubles we've seen. The anxiety of it all. The unexpected. The not knowing. It is what it is. And with all that I still say, in all things give thanks.
David
Monday, August 29, 2011 at 12:36PM 
Muslims around the world are preparing to celebrate the end of Ramadan. If you sponsor a child with a Muslim background, what does that mean for daily life?
Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Jordan, Lebanon, child sponsorship, holidays Tweet Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 5:10PM One sponsor shares how committing to help a young Muslim girl changed the way she wrote letters... click here to read more.
Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, child sponsorship, letters Tweet Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 4:48PM 
Trying to keep all of your group members engaged in child sponsorship can be tricky. And yet with a little creativity, you can find ways to include everyone – including your sponsored child – in this unique ministry.
Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 4:26PM 
Does your sponsored child live in Asia? If so, they may live in homes like these...
Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 4:25PM 
How does your sponsored child celebrate Easter? Some of the traditions are more familiar than you'd think...
Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Philippines, holidays Tweet Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 4:39PM 
Water affects so much of your child's life -- is there enough to wash up before school? Is it safe to drink? Can I go out and play? What season is your sponsored child experiencing right now, and what does that mean for daily life?
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Honduras, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand Tweet Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 5:13PM 
Children love games – this is no secret. Often in letters from your sponsored child, you’ll hear that your child loves to play a particular game or sport. But what do those games look like?
Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, child sponsorship, letters, sports Tweet Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 5:34PM A Sponsor's Journal dives into the sports' world. Here are some great suggestions if you sponsor a boy. Or a sports fan in general!
Monday, January 31, 2011 at 5:11PM 
If you sponsor a child in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, or India, don't miss this opportunity!
Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 4:11PM 
The goal of any Mission of Mercy program is to equip children in developing nations to reach their God-given potential. So how does that work in our schools?
Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Nepal, Sri Lanka, child sponsorship, education Tweet Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 12:45PM 
If you sponsor a child, especially a boy, odds are you’ve read that his favorite sport is football. Is that the same as soccer? Why do we call it soccer, anyway?