Recent Posts

Report: U.S. poverty rate at highest level since 1993

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Phillip Neal, World Vision U.S. Programs in Causes

For some time now, the struggling U.S. economy has dominated headlines and shaped conversation among Americans. New data released Tuesday in a report from the U.S. Census Bureau, “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States (pdf),” paints an even starker picture of the challenges our nation faces: The U.S. poverty rate rose to 15.1 percent in 2010 — up from 14.3 percent in 2009, and to its highest level since 1993. About 46.2 million people are now considered in poverty — 2.6 million more than last year. That’s nearly 1 in 6 people. More Americans were living in poverty in 2010 than at any time since at least the 1950s. The situation has hit black populations the...

5 tips for encouraging your friends to sponsor a child

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Elizabeth Esther in Child Sponsorship

Tips for encouraging your friends to sponsor a child | World Vision Blog

From now through September 30, you can enter for a chance to win a trip to Peru with World Vision to see our work firsthand. It’s as simple as finding new sponsors for just five children. But we know very well that asking friends, family, or colleagues to sponsor a child isn’t easy. In fact, it can be difficult — even intimidating. That’s why we asked Elizabeth Esther, World Vision Bolivia blogger, for her tips as an experienced writer and child sponsorship advocate. Our Facebook fans had lots of tips to offer, too. * * * From Elizabeth Esther: When I first started asking my readers to sponsor a child, I was apprehensive. I wasn’t sure how people would...

Is Jesus more than a “sprinkle” blessing?

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Guest blogger in Christian Witness

Is Jesus a sprinkle blessing? | World Vision blog

I’m excited to welcome Mark Hall — the lead singer and songwriter for Casting Crowns, a long-time World Vision artist — to the World Vision Blog. When I received this post from Mark, the source of the passion in his songwriting became immediately obvious. They’re words of experience and depth from his heart. Thanks, Mark, for guest-blogging today and for giving us a peek into Casting Crowns’ newest album. Don’t forget to order the pre-sale of the album online at FamilyChristian.com. —Lindsey Talerico-Hedren, managing editor, World Vision Blog When we went to adopt Hope and bring her home with us from China, she didn’t want me to hold her. I was told that usually when the orphaned children there see...

Rethinking America’s place in the world: How 9/11 changed me

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Rich Stearns in Conversations

Christianity Today asked me, as an evangelical leader, to reflect on how I’ve changed since 9/11. It was an appropriate question and one worth considering, as we approach the 10-year anniversary of that fateful day in which many lives were lost and many more were changed forever. * * * The September 11 attacks jolted Americans into realizing that our nation was no longer, and never again would be, an “island” protected from the senseless brutality of terrorism. The world became smaller that day, and the person who could not find Afghanistan and Pakistan on a map suddenly wanted to learn more about those and other Muslim countries. From the standpoint of international development, the attacks were a catalyst for...

Operation Seasweep: A 32-year story of God’s provision

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Eugene Lee, WV publications in Stories

Thirty-two years ago, World Vision reported the rescue story of Operation Seasweep, the boat Mr. Vinh Chung was on, in the August 1979 issue of World Vision Magazine. Mr. Chung recently retold his story at our headquarters office. I spoke with him afterward for a fuller picture of his life after Seasweep and the miracle of God’s provision for his family. Two very different parts of Vinh Chung’s life meet when he walks on a beach. In an instant, the smell of sea salt takes the 36-year-old skin cancer surgeon back to his 1979 exodus from Vietnam. Just four years old at the time, Vinh recalls fleeing the southern city of Ca Mau by boat from the Mekong River Delta...