Matthew 19:14 - "Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Greg and I were at a concert in 2003 when we first heard about Compassion International. This is a Christian organization out of Colorado Springs, CO, that pairs you with a child in need. You can choose a child of any age and you are asked to commit to sponsoring that child with a monthly pledge until they graduate from the program. After hearing about Compassion, there was no question that God was asking us to sponsor a child. We went out into the hallway and started looking at all of the children in need. It's sad that we didn't even notice this table of children on our way into the concert.
This is John, our first sponsor child. John lives in Kenya and he was 12 years old when we started sponsoring him in 2003. Over the years we got many letters from John and we were able to write him many letters in return. It was amazing to see him grow over the years as his schooling progressed and his love of the Lord progressed. A few weeks ago, we got a call from Compassion saying that John had completed their program at 20 years of age. It was a bittersweet day. We are very proud of all that he accomplished, but it's hard to just stop "taking care" of someone after 8 years of contact. We pray for God's best over John, his family, and his life.
In 2005, we were given another opportunity to sponsor a second child and we did not hesitate to accept. This time we found our child through World Vision, which is another Christian organization very similar to Compassion International.
This is Samuel, our second sponsor child. Sam lives in Malawi and he was 11 years old when we started sponsoring him in 2005. World Vision has more uniform letters that they give you to fill out so it's structured a little differently than the letters you write through Compassion. We are still able to write multiple letters a year to Sam and we receive multiple letters as well. We will continue to sponsor Sam until he granduates from the World Vision program.
My purpose in writing this post is to make you aware of these two amazing organizations that will link you directly to a child in need in another part of the world. I know that we have blessed John and Sam over the years with our financial support and gifts, but, in return, we have been blessed beyond measure as well. If you have any questions about these two organiziation, please let me know.
Compassion International - http://www.compassion.com/default.htm
World Vision - http://www.worldvision.org/home.nsf/pages/home.htm#/home/main/world-vision-family-1-1459
