A Message From Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado
Dear Prayer Partner,
You may have noticed that this month’s prayer calendar looks a little different. Each year, we try to think of new ways to bring a freshness to the requests we share with you.
This year, I want to spend time sharing about something close to my heart, and hopefully close to yours — hymns. Hymns were literally the soundtrack of my childhood. My family moved a lot because of my father’s work, and hymns were the melodies that remained the same, regardless of the language.
And hymns have more to do with prayer than you might imagine. Many hymns were the actual prayers of the men and women who wrote them. They give us words when we don’t know what to say.
I can still remember the first hymn I learned — “How Great Thou Art” — at a family service with my parents. When we relocated, the same familiar hymns were sung in the churches my family attended, and the words and music kept me grounded.
That memory has inspired me to pray that the children we minister to together will feel at home in the churches we partner with around the world. That even if their home lives are tumultuous, hymns will bring them peace. That when they don’t even know how to pray, the words they sing will plant seeds in their precious souls.
I’m excited to spend this year finding a new, rich meaning behind these beautiful songs, as we let them inspire our prayers.
In Christ,
Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado
President and CEO
Compassion International