We've been meaning to do this for years now, and I really have no good reason why it took us so long to get on board. There were the many excuses, of course, none of them worth the breath it would take to explain. There was also the innate distrust of child sponsorship organizations due to the handful of stories we've heard about less-than-scrupulous practices of some.
The pastor of the church we currently attend told us yesterday of a time he was flying back home from a conference. After grabbing his seat, he started up a conversation with the guy sitting next to him on the plane, and asked him what he did for a living. The man said, "I audit all the Christian Child Sponsorship Organizations." The pastor said, "Great! So who are the crooks?" He tried to get the information out of the man, but, as Bob is discovering as an auditor for the state, auditors are held to confidentiality laws like you wouldn't believe. An auditor can't breath a word of information about their projects to anyone. The man declined again and again to answer any of the Pastor's questions, but at the end of the flight he said, "I'll give you this: My wife and I sponsor several children, and we do it through Compassion International." In the words of the Pastor, "that's good enough for me."
He invited Compassion International to the church yesterday, and gave people a chance to sign up. Without hesitation, Bob and I jumped on board.
My new brother in India, as I like to think of him, is Karthik Sadasivan, age 12. He lives with his grandfather and mother on the plains of Malaicode, southeast of Trivandrum, India, almost at the tip of the country, near Sri Lanka.
I wrote him a letter today. Compassion encourages communication between sponsors and kids because those with "chatty sponsors" have a greater chance of success. There are guidelines, things you are encouraged to say, like questions about their family and school, and other things you just shouldn't - ie., the size of your house, how many cars you have, etc.
It's funny, it's been so long since I've written to anyone under the age of 20, and it's a first to write to someone who will have the language translated to them. I tried to make my letter basic, easy to read, but I'm afraid I ended up sounding just plain dumb. I'm a little embarrassed what the translator may think of Karthik's new sponsors.
Anyway, I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to do this. Do you sponsor a child? Tell me about your experience! I'd love to hear stories.
I love child sponsorship! We started when we were still dating, and we are hooked; we keep adding kids. We lost one child; we're not sure why, just that she moved out of a World Vision community. She's old enough that she possibly could have gotten married.
ReplyDeleteI put up all their photos on my filing cabinet at work, just to remember them, and so many people have asked about them. I feel like it's a great and very subtle way to share what I'm doing. One lady here has started sponsoring her own child, which is exciting.
I'm really terrible about writing, though. Your post is inspiring, hearing that it's actually supposed to be helpful. I need to be better about it.
Way to go! You will love it! It is so exciting to know that such a small amount can change someone's life. Really. This kid's life is going to be dramatically different because of you and Bob. That is fabulous!