My Sponsored Child Taught Me....

We received mail from our Sponsored Children today.   A letter from India and a letter from Honduras.   Our correspondent child in India has been very responsive as of late.   We have received two letters from him this week.   In a previous letter, I asked him about the source of his water.    This week we received the answer to that question.   His water source is 656 feet away from their house.   They take drums and other utensils to get the water.   The kids and I mapped out the distance and talked about what that means for him to get his water.   At first E thought it was not that far until we started talking about carrying a 5 gallon bucket full of water that distance and that the water in the bucket was your water for the day, there would not be a faucet to turn on to get a glass of water or to wash dishes.  

Our child from India has taught us what it is (in a very small way) to have the water source that we do.


When we began sponsoring her a year and a half ago, her brother was just born.  In the year and a half that we have been corresponding, I asked about her brother and what his name was.   She responded with his name this past summer.   I have been praying for both children by name.   To my wonderful surprise, in today's letter there was a picture of our sponsored daughter holding her brother.   She wanted us to have a picture of her and her brother.  This is also the first picture of our daughter that she is smiling in.  It brought tears to my eyes.   What a gift that she would want to send us a piece of her life as we share pictures of our life here.

Our daughter in Honduras has taught me the importance of investing in a life, even if it is just by letter.

By investing in letter writing and collecting a few photographs, I have gained so much more than I ever thought I would.   I started sponsoring children as a way to make a difference in a child's life.   I hoped that it would help with their education, health, and their relationship with God.   Little did I know when we made the choice to sponsor children that it would affect my life in so many ways.

I did not know when I began sponsoring children that:
I would enjoy writing letters as much as I do. 
I would come to love a child through writing letters.
I would be so excited when a letter in a cream colored envelope is sitting in my mailbox.
I would gain a new appreciation for the different countries and cultures on a new level.
I would love searching for the appropriate gift that can be sent to the children.   
The desire that would become so strong within me to visit these children and give them a hug.

My Sponsored Children have taught me what it is to give and what a gift it is to be the one giving.