I'd like to introduce you to Shelda, the little girl we just began sponsoring through Compassion International. Shelda is 8 years old and lives in a rural area of Haiti with her mother, father, and three siblings. Shelda was considered high risk because she had been waiting for more than six months for a sponsor!I'd had the feeling for some time now that we were meant to sponsor a child, but our own financial need for the adoption kept preventing me from doing it. When the tug to do it finally got so strong that it was undeniable I decided to take the plunge. Hey, I can cut corners somewhere to come up with the tax deductible $32 a month to give this sweet girl new opportunities to learn and grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. And as a friend recently reminded me - it's all God's money anyway.
I'd love to hear if you are involved with any child sponsorship ministry and about your sponsored child. If you don't currently sponsor a child please take time to pray and see if you are being called to.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.
Proverbs 31:8-9
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This is great, Stephanie! And God will totally take care of the $32 a month. If I've learned anything through our adoption it's that our money really is His, and He has unlimited funds! Thank you for sponsoring Shelda. I am so encouraged because not only will more of her physical needs be met, but I know you & your family will be praying for her and her family- and prayer moves mountains!
I don't sponsor from compassion but i do sponsor from our orphange and it's a beautiful thing.The kids are involved and write letters to the little girl and we get so see her so it's awesome..
That's awesome Stephanie! We've been sponsoring a girl from Indonesia through Compassion since she was 5. She is now 14 & it's been an amazing journey with her. We are very concerned about her right now though because there has been major flooding in her area which destroyed her house & last week there was a "small" tsnunami (sp?) in her area where 52 people were killed. I pray that she's okay.
We've decided that when she reaches the age of graduating from sponsorship we will sponsor a child from Haiti.
We have been sponsoring a little girl named Naanyu from Kenya for the last 4 years. When we began our adoption process I wasn't sure if we had enough money in our budget to put some aside for adoption expenses AND continue sponsoring Naanyu. But God made a way, for both the adoption and Naanyu. I feel so blessed to get letters from her telling our family that she is praying for US!
She is so beautiful!! I have 5 sponsor kids- two through World Vision (Tsehay in Ethiopia and Dieujuste in Haiti), 1 through Mayan Families (Sara in Guatemala) and 2 through Christian Upliftment (Rebecca and Kate in Uganda). I actually got to meet Tsehay in February when I was doing work in Ethiopia. It was really amazing to meet her and see how my sponsorship has affected her life. Almost everything that she and her family owned came from me or World Vision... I am not sure how they would be living if it weren't for sponsorship. I am filling out the forms now to go meet my little guy in Haiti!
I try to send my kids a package every month- with a letter, photos, fun things, and important things. I send toys like toy cars, dolls, stuffed animals, skipping ropes, bouncy balls, crayons, etc. But also try to send things they can benefit from- soap, toothbrushes/toothpaste, childrens' vitamins (as long as it can be explained to them how to use it), books in their language, etc. I do send extra money each year to my WV kids to use on something to benefit their family's business- Tsehay bought a cow and Dieujuste bought an ox.
Nikki
His Hands for Haiti- http://www.hishandsforhaiti.org/
and Christian Upliftment-
http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/
are great options that are a bit less expensive!
And don't forget about Three Angels Christian Academy sponsorship-a deal at $27/month. Go here to read about the need, the school and the students.
http://www.threeangelsrelief.org/christian-academy/sponsor-a-child/
Our sponsorship story pre-dates our adoption. At one of the planning meetings for my first mission trip to Haiti, the leader mentioned that if we wanted to meet our sponsored child while in the country, we needed to sign up at least a month before the trip. So I did. I said 'match me with whomever, boy or girl, any age' I did not specify anything.
We got matched with a beautiful little girl named Christelle (Christ with us). I did not meet her on our first trip, but on my second, and have spent time with her on every trip since. Amazing. Fun. Wow.
She also 'happens' to be the older sister (bio) of the boys we are adopting. We did not know it for several months after we decided to adopt the boys and were approved.
Evidence to us that God put our family and the boys and their birth family together.
God is great.
Oh, and God's been teaching me that it's all His money for a bit now. I think I might be starting to get it. :-)
Hi Stephanie!
How wonderful that you can sponsor a child from Haiti. We sponsor a child through World Vision. This is actually the second child we have sponsored in the 7 years since we began doing it. I'm glad we had this opportunity even before we began the adoption process.
We have sponsored 2 kids through Mission of Mercy in Bangeldesh. 9s.p.) I have also wanted to sponsor in Haiti.....
Fantastic!! What a wonderful blessing you will be to each other...
i, too, am sponsoring through Three Angels. my little boy, Berlens, might just be the cutest kid ever! it is great to be able to see him (well, and of course, i can see him quite frequently at the moment!).
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