I'm Waiting - Shaun Groves

It’s late. I’m in a conference room, my rolling chair pulled up to a serious looking wooden table. Muzak plays overhead. Mothers with Macs, faces lit by pixels, are tapping away, trying to condense the last twelve hours of laughter and tears and cross-species flirtation into a blog post.

My job as leader guy is to sit and wait now. Wait for them to ask me questions about…How many children did that guy at the Compassion office in Manila say were cared for by Compassion in the Philippines?…Where’s that page where people can give money to fight sex trafficking?…How old is a child when they graduate from Compassion’s program in the Philippines?…Has anyone posted that picture of Shaun with his new girlfriend so I can link to it?

And I do my best to answer, to give them what they need.

56,000. That’s how many kids Compassion serves in the Philippines.

People can give to the Highly Vulnerable Children Fund to help combat sex trafficking in the Philippines…among other things.

Kids can stay in Compassion’s program until age 21 here in the Philippines.

And here’s that picture of my new girlfriend you wanted. Her name’s Jenny. And she digs my five o’clock shadow.

Do you have a question about Compassion or this blogging trip? I’m waiting.

45 comments on “I’m Waiting”

Judy says:

Wow! What a great pic to start the trip!

Jolanthe says:

Best part of this picture…the monkey is wearing Crocs. Love it!

Jacki says:

I know God led me to your blog! I will be traveling to the Philippines in August with a youth team from my church! Thanks for sharing and helping to prepare my heart. Praying for you and your team!

Amanda says:

Ha ha! Nice!

We are THAT family says:

I love it. Excited to follow along!

Laura says:

You already listed some excellent questions and answers! Cute girlfriend. 🙂 Looking forward to more pictures and stories!

Carisa says:

ahhhhhh, I LOVE it!!!!!

Rick Orrell says:

From the cropped pic at the top of the post, I was WONDERING who the incredibly hairy person was wearing the crocs…… 🙂

Praying for you and the bloggers……

sara varghese says:

I see she digs the European standard of shaving….

Aimee says:

*LOVE* the crocs! It was great reading the first blog posts from Manila this morning…

Tracey says:

She is rockin’ those purple pants with the Crocs!

How many children are waiting for sponsors in the Philippines?

May 30, 2011 at 6:05 pm

Shaun Groves says:

Great question. Just under 6,000 are without sponsors at the moment. But not for long ; )

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Lindsay says:

🙂 Thank you for being there to open eyes and answer questions: for them and for us.

Johanna says:

What are the main reasons a child enters the Compassion Program in the Philippines? Poverty, of course, but generational poverty? Sudden poverty through the death of the caregiver? Are the children orphans?

May 30, 2011 at 6:26 pm

Shaun Groves says:

Great question, Johanna. We heard a Compassion member touch on this yesterday at the country’s office. In short, Compassion aims to serve the poorest of the poor in every community in which it operates. Because Compassion views poverty as being physical, social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual, the reasons each child is selected by Compassion will differ.

Factors that are weighed here when selecting a child for Compassion’s ministry include things like how many children are in the home, the education level of parents, the employment opportunity of parents, the age of a child (younger children are generally chosen before older here), the vulnerability of a child to exploitation, the health of children and parents. This week, as we visit children served by Compassion and meet their families in their homes, you’ll see through stories the types of children selected here in the Philippines. I hope by the end of the week those stories provide you with a more complete answer.

Most of the children served by Compassion in the Philippines are not true two-parent orphans, though I can’t say for certain how few actually are at the moment.

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Jason says:

The best part of that picture is the look on your face.

Every time I see mission trips that deal with children being forced into sex trafficking it breaks my heart. Well, that’s not entirely true. It p-words be off. How anyone can do that to children is beyond me.

Ericaj says:

That top picture where you only see the feet…I was wondering who had such hairy ankles…haha

Thomas says:

What is the average time from the moment a child becomes part of Compassion to the time they are sponsored? Is there a correlation between how quickly a child gets sponsored and how long they remain with Compassion?

Thomas

May 30, 2011 at 6:06 pm

Shaun Groves says:

Great questions. I don’t know that we have numbers for that second question. Let me ask and get back to you.

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JessicaB says:

Everyone digs your five o’clock shadow.

Kelly Stamps says:

I saw that first picture and could not figure out WHAT that was – I didn’t remember your feet being that hairy?

I had no idea Compassion had a special fund to help sex trafficking. That’s awesome! I will be sure and share that and share about the trip this week! Excited to read along! Praying for big things!

P.S. I heard someone else cried at the Compassion office. Those darn staplers will do you in! 🙂

bendedspoon says:

56,000 — wow thank you! 🙂

Christine says:

Shaun, my question is this…does it ever get easier FOR YOU to witness the conditions in which these kids live? Having seen it first hand and following the last several blogging trips, I find myself reduced to a puddle of tears again! Maybe, ‘getting easier’ isnn’t quite the way to put it but do you find yourself able to absorb it better? The reason I’m asking…I sponsor several kids and I’m an advocate but want to know how to respond now. Other than prayer and advocating, how do I channel this that I’m feeling today…wanting to do more.