Compassion International

Waaay back in June of 1998, while my husband and I were on our honeymoon, we came across a Compassion International flier in a little Christian shop we were browsing through. We picked one up and once we got home, the Lord laid it upon our hearts to begin sponsoring a child in need. Fast forward 13 years later, and we are still sponsoring that same child. Her name is Eanjill.

She is from the Philippines. We began sponsoring her when she was 7 years old. Now she is close to turning 20 and in her 1st year of college. We have a binder full of letters and pictures throughout the years. It is truly amazing to look back through them all and see where the Lord was drawing her closer to Him. This is what I love about Compassion International! They not only meet these children's physical needs, but their (and their family's) spiritual needs as well. Once my kiddos were older, they began taking an interest in drawing pictures and even writing letters to send to Eanjill.

The other night, as I was writing to Eanjill, my children said, "Mom, we want to help sponsor someone too...kids like us." My husband and I thought this was a wonderful idea! Jason pulled up the website and before long, each of our children had found other children they'd like to become "pen pals" with. 

Meet Debabrata from India. He is the same age as my son and likes to do many of the same activities as him, including playing marbles and reading. J said, "He looks like a boy I would really have fun  playing with."

And meet Marthe-Kencia from Haiti. She is also the same age as my daughter and enjoys playing dolls and hide-n-seek just like her. A loved all the bows she had in her hair. At one time, my daughter used to love having her hair fixed just like that too. 

Sponsoring a child is a long term commitment. (It is also tax deductible, if that matters to you.) Typically, you stay with that child until he/she leaves the program or they reach the age to where they 'graduate' out of the program.

If sponsoring a child is not something you feel up to at the moment, then I still encourage you to take a look at their website. There are infant/children survival programs, disaster relief programs, disease intervention programs, one time gift or occasional gift programs, the list goes on...   

I like the fact that the majority of the money (over 82%) sent in goes straight to these children and less than 10% is spent on administrative type costs.

I hope my children are able to develop as deep a friendship with their 'pen pals' as we have with Eanjill over the years.   

Do you sponsor a child? If so, I would love to hear a little about them. Or have you ever thought about sponsoring a child? If so, I would encourage you to visit https://www.compassion.com/