World Vision Magazine // Blog

The Autumn magazine marks the 9/11 anniversary by explaining what stayed the same for World Vision despite the attacks.

"Christ of Peace" statue in Cochabamba, Bolivia. (Jon Warren/WV)

Many things changed after 9/11, including here at World Vision. Security tightened at our U.S. facilities and even more so at our offices in conflict-prone countries. Ten years later, like everyone, we’re more cautious and vigilant.

But the thing that never changed at World Vision is who we are as Christians in the world. God’s command to love our neighbors is no different; no caveats added—we are not to “love neighbors in safe places” or “love neighbors who believe the same things we do.” Instead, the call of Romans 12:21 became only more clear: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Dr. Ray Norman

One colleague who exemplified this was Ray Norman, who in 2001 was the head of our office in Mauritania, West Africa. I remember hearing, just weeks after the terrorist attacks on the U.S., that Ray and his daughter had been shot. This fresh horror suggested that some places had become too dangerous. But World Vision’s Mauritania office remained open, and once Ray and his daughter recovered, they met with and forgave the Muslim man who had attacked them. Ray shares his compelling story in our Autumn magazine.

This weekend’s 9/11 anniversary was in our minds six months ago as we started working on this issue. It struck us as an opportunity to talk about what it means to be “Christ’s ambassadors” to families and communities living in poverty around the world (2 Corinthians 5:20).

In this Autumn issue, Rich Stearns echoes past World Vision presidents in his passion for our Christian commitment, and his January trip to Bolivia inspired him to tell stories about what that commitment looks like in sponsorship communities. Marilee Dunker adds the historical perspective about how God used her father, World Vision founder Bob Pierce, to invest in and influence a young Indian Christian who went on to become a powerful witness in his country and beyond. This kind of seed-planting continues today.

I remember where I was when 9/11 happened. But what’s more important is where I am now—serving in a ministry deeply committed to overcoming evil with good.

Sponsors from across the United States share how they pray for the children they support.

A few months ago, we asked a question on Facebook. How do you pray for your sponsored child?

More than 100 people responded, and we chose a few to run in our print magazine (see image above).

But we still want to hear from more of you. Tell us how you pray for your sponsored child in the comments section below.

Sponsor: Melissa Turi / Shorewood, Ill.

Sponsored Children: Ana and José / Guatemala

“I pray God keeps [Jose’s] belly full and his bed warm at night and that he will live in a town with a school someday; for [Ana] I pray she keeps enjoying school and is blessed with food and shelter and that both sponsored children are loved every day.”

Sponsor: Janice Krug / North Plainfield, N.J.

Sponsored Child: Sumitra / Bangladesh

“I keep [Sumitra’s] picture on the refrigerator as a constant reminder to pray for her. I pray that she learns to love the Lord and lean on him and know he loves her.”

Sponsor: Joshua Legas / Des Moines, Wash.

Sponsored Child: Moteng / South Africa

“I have an orange World Vision rubber bracelet … that I wear 24/7. Whenever I glance at it or am aware of it, I say a prayer for [Moteng] and World Vision’s work: I pray for safety, health, and courage as he grows up being the oldest man of the house to his mom and siblings. Most of all, I pray that he will continue to hear about God and strengthen his relationship with him.”

Sponsor: Karla Foster / Jefferson City, Mo.

Sponsored Child: Edwin / Bolivia

“I pray for God to meet [Edwin’s] physical needs and help him grow strong and healthy. I think my main prayer now is that as he prepares to be a young adult and leaves being a sponsored child, that he will continue to walk with God and be a man of God for his family.”

Sponsor: Jeanie Smith / Sagle, Idaho

Sponsored Child: Michel / Lebanon

“I pray that God will guide [Michel] as he enters adolescence, and that he and his family will be protected by God as they live in a conflict-prone area of the world.”

Sponsor: Jettie Hathaway / Howell, Mich.

Sponsored Children: Dio / Indonesia Nas hka / Haiti Betengwa / Rwanda

“My 5-year-old daughter always sweetly prays that [Dio, Nashka, and Betengwa] would have ‘food, water, and clothing … and that they would come to know [God] more.’ ”

How do you pray for your sponsored child? Tell us in the comments section below.

The latest World Vision magazine puts the world’s most critical crises back on the agenda.

Devastation in Haiti far exceeds that experienced in other recent natural disasters. (Jon Warren/WV)

The Summer issue of World Vision magazine will be hitting your mailbox soon. On the cover is a little girl I met outside a World Vision health clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Two-year-old Ellerenchise is one of about 800,000 Haitians still living in makeshift camps following last year’s devastating earthquake. She was brought to the clinic after suffering from diarrhea—in the developed world, usually a minor complaint; in Haiti, possibly the first signs of cholera, which can kill a child within hours. The plight of little Ellerenchise illustrates just how far Haiti has to go to recover.

But why are we still talking about Haiti? After all, it’s been more than a year and a half, and the world has seen more recent quakes in Japan and New Zealand, where World Vision is also responding.

Our Summer 2011 cover

It has to do with scale. More than 220,000 died in Haiti—a figure 20 times the number killed in more recent disasters. Additionally, Haiti is one of the most poorly equipped nations to cope. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this when more recent calamities dominate headlines.

Writer Julian Lukins picks up this theme in another feature “Still Suffering”—a snapshot of conflicts in Darfur, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries seldom lead news bulletins, but millions continue to suffer. It’s easy to let these situations slide off our radar screens. But hope comes when concerned people stay informed and engaged.

Sound all rather serious? Well, yes, but this issue features some fun stuff too. A former sponsored child becomes a top broadcast journalist; Casting Crowns’ lead singer does something amazing with his magnificent “Star Wars” collection; and a former drug dealer becomes an on-fire evangelist. I hope you enjoy the Summer issue as much as the team did putting it together.

What are those funny-looking boxes in your magazine?

In our upcoming issue, you can use your phone to find videos and extra content. (Ryan Smith/WV)

In our summer issue (mailing next week!), you’ll notice some small, strange-looking barcodes. These are called Quick Response codes, or QR codes—a way to use a smartphone to immediately connect with information online. How do they work, and why in World Vision magazine?

Let me share my experience. When I read magazines, I’m usually sitting on my couch. If I see a web address for additional content, I’m often curious, but getting up and logging onto my computer gets me distracted. I usually wind up checking my email and not looking at the site I intended to visit.

This is where QR codes help. I usually have my iPhone sitting with me on the couch. Scanning the code in a magazine takes me directly to what I want to see: videos, photos, extra stories.

In this upcoming issue of World Vision, we’re using QR codes to share things that can’t be translated to the printed page. You’ll hear the passion in Rich Stearns’ voice as he describes a scene in a Haitian church as “one of the most moving things I’ve seen.” You’ll see the joy on the face of a woman in her newly constructed home in Haiti.

As editors, we want to continually improve the way we present our stories—both on the printed page and online. I think these codes are a good way of bridging the gap. Do you agree? We’d love to hear if you liked using the codes, disliked them, or if you have a better suggestion.

If you’re not familiar with QR codes or how they work, check out these instructions for the iPhone and Android phones. And whether you own a smartphone or not, we’ve created wvmag.org as an easily remembered location for all the links in each issue.

An obituary many years in the making allowed me to share Lorraine Pierce’s wonderful story.

Lorraine Pierce (right) and Jane. (Greg Schneider for World Vision)

When Lorraine Pierce, the wife of World Vision’s founder, passed away last week, our magazine staff barely had time to include a memorial in the almost-on-press Summer issue. We had been aware of her failing health, however, so we had a piece ready to go.

I started writing this tribute nearly nine years ago. In spring 2002, Lorraine became very ill, and her daughter Marilee Dunker asked someone from my team to fly down to Arcadia, Calif., to interview her—for the last time, we feared. I was honored to go. After working on the 50^th anniversary magazine, I was fascinated by the Pierce family, and I’d read Marilee’s honest and poignant book about her parents, Man of Vision, Woman of Prayer (original 1980 edition, 2005 edition)

Click on the image to see page 1 of the story Jane wrote about Lorraine.

Lorraine didn’t feel up to seeing me the first few days. I’m from Arcadia, so I stayed at my parents’ place and waited. Finally, Marilee arranged for me to take Lorraine to a doctor’s appointment. I found myself chauffeuring her in her Cadillac sedan along the streets of my childhood. We chatted while waiting at the doctor’s office and later at her gracious ranch-style home, the one she once shared with Bob Pierce. Those first conversations were off the record; she was not at her best. But eventually she geared up for an interview, during which I saw glimmers of the great lady she was.

Soon after I left, a pacemaker and better medications gave Lorraine a new lease on life. Back in Seattle, as I transcribed my notes and delved into her previous interviews, I was deeply moved by her faith, humor, and transparency. And I started feeling uneasy about simply waiting to write Lorraine’s obituary. I wanted to celebrate her in her lifetime. In 2004, I found an opportunity. The magazine did a feature about people who embodied the qualities listed in the Beatitudes, and we selected Lorraine for “pure of heart.”

Click on the image to see page 2 of the story Jane wrote about Lorraine.

My past journalism professors might say, “You blew it—you got too close to your subject and strayed from your assignment.” Maybe so. But at World Vision, we writers look at our work a different way. We become guardians of people’s stories, stewards of their voices. If in the process we lose a little objectivity, I’m OK with that.

I was privileged to steward and share Lorraine Pierce’s voice. What she talked about, always, over and over, was love—God’s constant love, which alleviated everything that went wrong in her life. Hers was a beautiful love story, surely one of the best I’ll ever tell.

Jane Sutton-Redner’s memorial essay about Lorraine Pierce appears in the Summer 2011 magazine, mailing later this month.

Shaping the print magazine to reflect breaking news.

This was our original design for the Summer issue. But breaking news forced a change.

It’s standard fare, in magazine publishing, to make changes to an issue up to the last minute, as the world changes around us. For the last few weeks, we’ve been finalizing our Summer issue, with its feature on Haiti. Right on schedule.

Then, Japan. Earthquake. Tsunami. Nuclear threat.

Needless to say, we’ve been making some changes.

Go back with me to early February. At that point, we were wrapping up a two-page spread of infographics, comparing the January 2010 Haiti earthquake with two other quakes that followed soon after: February 2010 in Chile and September 2010 in New Zealand. Our goal was to convey the compounding factors that affect the extent of devastation.

Then, on February 22, when the second quake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, we quickly changed our infographic [see our first draft above] to reflect this more deadly crisis.

Before we knew it, the morning of March 11 was unfolding with news from Japan, whose otherworldly images kept us glued to our screens. In tandem with the world, our anxiety over nuclear disaster grew, as did our confusion over conflicting reports, and our grief over the absolute nothingness left behind.

We told you about our editor-in-chief’s tough decision, but we also knew that our quake graphic needed to change yet again. As I type this, the ending is not yet written for Japan and its present, let alone its future. How many are still lost to the sea’s fury? What will happen at the nuclear plants? How high will the death toll rise?

We should never become numb to numbers that mark lives lost, regardless of how one crisis compares to another.

And yet, and yet, we still come back to Haiti, to this country built upon such extreme poverty and shaking foundations, and its astronomical death toll.

Diane McDougall

Stay tuned for our Summer issue, to see what we did. (And follow breaking news on www.worldvision.org.)

And please, keep each of these countries in your prayers.

Diane joined the World Vision magazine team in February 2011 as interim managing editor. She serves as editorial director at Journey Group—a custom-publishing firm in Virginia.

Yesterday was World Water Day, and to mark the occasion Kari Costanza appeared on the local television show New Day Northwest (see the segment above) to talk about her experience with water in Kenya, which shared in the story “In Sabina’s Shoes” in our Spring 2011 issue.

Kari also created a documentary about her experience of hauling 70 pounds of water for two miles—a feat that Sabina completes twice per day.

Running out of Christmas gift ideas? Ben Weber, 10, might have the inspiration you need.

Ben Weber (Courtesy Tammi Weber)

My wife is hugely excited at the moment. Apparently, she has found me the perfect Christmas gift. Naturally, I’m dying to know what it is. But so far many subtle, and not-so-subtle, enquiries have not yielded the smallest hint of what it might be.

My wife is good at gifts. She knows exactly the right thing for the right person. I’m more of the unimaginative socks-and-gift-card school of present giving. Though I did once give my dad a small model truck that he appreciated so much it brought tears to his eyes. The truck bore the logo and tagline of the Yorkshire Evening Post, an English newspaper he had worked on for more than 20 years. It was a replica of the kind that used to deliver the paper to newsagents. The only thing that exceeded my father’s joy that day was my mine—seeing his reaction to the gift. Truly, it is more blessed to give than receive.

I was reminded of this last week, when I chatted with 10-year-old Ben Weber from Firth, Neb. This Christmas, he is giving the biggest gift of his life—more than $13,000 to buy a deep-water well for a water-starved community in Africa. Ben got the idea after perusing World Vision’s Gift Catalog two years ago and set out on a personal mission to raise the cash. He started an “Agua for Africa” campaign and began speaking in churches—often handing out wide-necked water bottles and asking his listeners to fill them with loose change. When Ben got to about $9,000, I wrote a brief story about him in the Summer 2010 issue of World Vision magazine.

Ben may never get to meet the people who will benefit from his fundraising effort. That’s a shame, because I’ve personally visited African villages that recently received a well, and they invariably speak of the day they got easy access to clean water as the most significant and joyful in their lives.

For many Africans, the day water comes to their village is the greatest in their lives. (Dana Palade/WV)

Nevertheless, Ben has already got to see how his efforts have inspired others. The pastor of two small rural churches in Virginia had the magazine story read out in church one Sunday. The congregations of mostly retired people chipped in a little over $400 to help Ben toward his goal of $13,700. Sometime later, an anonymous donor, who happened to be visiting one of the churches on vacation when Ben’s story was read out, sent Ben a card. Inside was $1,500 in $100 bills. A few other big gifts in recent months have meant Ben has exceeded his target by $2,000.

Ben says his confidence has grown enormously as a result of the project, especially in public speaking. I can vouch for that. When I got him on the phone, he was just about the brightest and most articulate 10-year-old I’ve ever spoken to. He’s now wondering if he can bring his message about water to a wider audience and perhaps one day set up a humanitarian organization to further the goal of access to clean water for all.

So if you are stuck for a Christmas present for a loved one this year, you could do worse than take a look at the Gift Catalog as Ben did. It’s not often that you get the chance to give something that can literally change someone’s life for the better. And let’s face it, that’s got to be better than socks.

A well-timed trip enabled photographer Abby Metty to boost the “Red Shoes for Rwanda” campaign.

Sheridan Ellis and her red shoes. (Abby Metty/WV)

I have a thing for red shoes. It wasn’t intentional at first—found a pair at a thrift store, another pair of $10 knock-off sneakers in South America, and then when I got TOMS for Christmas last year, they were red, too. Before I knew it, I had quite a collection.

But it was nothing compared to “the red shoes lady” I heard about one day at the office in April. One of the magazine writers, James Addis, had interviewed Sheridan Ellis, who was raising awareness and money for World Vision’s work in Rwanda through a campaign called “Red Shoes for Rwanda.” Sheri was gaining some attention in her small-town Washington community by wearing red shoes every day in 2010 (and keeping a blog about it). James asked if I would go take pictures of Sheri for the magazine story.  Of course I agreed, and I was amazed to meet Sheri and see her hundreds of pairs of red shoes, many of which have been donated for her cause.

Interestingly, I had been asked that same week to go to Rwanda in June with Casting Crowns, who support World Vision’s work and speak about it at their concerts. So I went to meet Sheri with extra excitement that April day, thrilled to meet someone who cared so deeply for Rwanda, a country I would get to see for myself. I like to give prints to people after I take their picture as a way of saying thank you, so I told myself that day that I would send Sheri some of my favorite shots once I returned from Rwanda later that summer.

(Abby Metty/WV)

Fast forward two months to June, after I had spent 10 days seeing and photographing World Vision’s work in southern Rwanda. My heart was so moved by what I experienced there. The pain of the genocide is deep and still raw, but World Vision’s work in peace-building and reconciliation is bringing healing, especially to the younger generation. I met so many beautiful children and thought of Sheri and her heart for them.

Rwanda is widely regarded as one of the most promising countries in Africa, politically and economically. It has taken major strides in the years since the 1994 genocide to rebuild and create a stable government and prosperous economy. World Vision began work there following the 1994 genocide, so the programs are young compared to our work in places like Ethiopia and Uganda, but they are already making a noticeable difference in communities. Orphaned children are being trained as beekeepers and tanners, opening their own salons and grocery stores and then training and hiring other orphans. Farmers are banding together to create cooperatives, combating malnutrition in their own families and in the community. Local churches are partnering with World Vision to provide care to vulnerable children and families. The work is transformative, and it gives me so much joy to think what can happen in another five or 10 years in Rwanda.

Upon returning to the States, I ordered some prints of my photos for Sheri—just a few of the children and landscapes. I put them in the mail and forgot about them. Then one day I looked at her blog again, and she had received my prints and written about them! Evidently they reached her on a day when she was feeling discouraged and tired of wearing red shoes every single day, wondering if it would really make a difference. The photos and note I sent her lifted her spirits, reminded her that her faithfulness is not unseen, and gave her hope that the children in Rwanda would be blessed by her year of red shoes.  On her blog that day, Sheri (who has since moved to California) wrote, “Thank you Abby for writing what must have been impressed upon your heart at the exact time God was working and pruning mine. Your photography is AMAZING and I will remember you always.”

Abby Metty, fourth from right, in Rwanda with Casting Crowns—and wearing her red shoes. (WV staff)

I’ve been at World Vision a little over a year and have heard the term “mutual transformation” several times—the idea that as we do outreach with those we minister to (and sometimes to our donors!), we also are touched and changed by our encounters with them. This was my first example of that principle in action in my own work, and I’m so thankful. Thank you, Sheri!

The Winter magazine, arriving in homes this week, delivers children’s art as good as what you see in any gallery.

A drawing from Andrei, 9, in Romania. Can you guess what he likes to do when he's not painting?

By Jane Sutton-Redner, Editor-in-Chief

Art lovers, the Winter issue is for you. We’ve devoted 10 pages to paintings and drawings from children in Armenia, Romania, Vietnam, and several African countries—a selection whittled down from more than 80 pieces created by artists younger than 18. This is the issue that encompasses Christmas, and it was truly a gift to have a wealth of beautiful works to present. The young artists in Romania were particularly prodigious; we will tell you more about them in an upcoming web feature.

Although art is thoroughly integrated into World Vision’s programs around the world—don’t all of us sponsors have drawings on the wall from our sponsored children?—it is a rare move for this magazine to focus on it. In my 17 years here, I remember only one other time we’ve featured children’s art. But it’s worth doing. The artwork is a feast for the eyes, thanks especially to Journey’s gallery design. And it’s compelling to hear through the accompanying quotes what the child artists are thinking, given that they are all in some way hampered by poverty. They’re dreamers hoping for a better life than their parents have. They’re critics, too; as they express what their communities need to nurture children, it’s a pointed commentary on what’s missing or failing them now.

There are reasons why art is encouraged among children in World Vision programs, and we delved into a few of those in our sub-features. Art is a form of participation in community planning, as an experiment in Sierra Leone shows, and it can be an aid to emotional healing for abused and exploited children, says an expert in behavioral therapy.

This angel almost made the cover.

For the cover, we very nearly chose an art piece (it does appear on page 14). It would have been appropriate for the issue, seasonal, surprising, and fun. But in the end, we went with the photo of the joyous Romanian girls because it conveys children’s beauty and emotion while also engaging the reader, consistent with World Vision magazine covers (and a tall order for a child’s art piece).

Other gems in this issue include the story of a former sponsored child, now a married mom and professional woman living in Bethlehem (how’s that for seasonal?), which came to our attention because the sponsors, a couple from Florida, found her themselves during a visit to the Holy Land and wrote to us about their experience. Also, for women who love shoes and wish there was a way to link that to helping the poor, there’s a story about a woman from Washington state who has figured out how to do just that—more proof, if you need it, that compassion has unlimited means of expression among those with willing hearts.

Enjoy this issue! We’d love to hear what you think.