Sponsor a Child

This subject has been on my to-blog-about list from the beginning.  Just haven't gotten around to it yet.  I was reminded today as I wrote a letter to our Compassion child and sent some money for a Christmas gift.

We have only been involved with Compassion for a few months now.  We've known about these organizations for years and have felt some guilt about not helping out, but never felt like we could afford it.  Our daughter has been sponsoring a child for around a year now.  That was certainly a reason to consider it.  I think the turning point was when I read Randy Alcorn's book, Money, Possessions and Eternity, and especially when I taught a Sunday School class from that material.  A main point of that teaching was, God blesses us so we can bless others!

We made the decision to get involved and then went to Compassion Canada online to see how to go about it.  Once you see those faces and the need, the tough part is trying to decide which child to sponsor.  Some children are labeled as Priority Children, meaning they have already been waiting several months for a sponsor.  We decided to go that route.  The other criteria we used made it much more personal to us.  We decided that we wanted a little girl who was born the same year as our first grandchild, Kadence.

Kadence went to be with Jesus when she was just four and a half months old.  We barely got to know her.  We barely got to spend any time loving her, encouraging her, or buying anything for her.  We decided to honour her memory by finding someone  the age Kadence would be now.  We do not see this in any sense as replacing Kadence.  We have five other grandchildren to love, encourage and buy things for.  But we thought it would be fitting to send some love and help to someone in need, in her honour.  

So we chose Silvia.  Silvia is a nine-year-old from El Salvador.  Even though Silvia is from another country, culture and language, for us, she is  a sweet reminder of Kadence and something of what Kadence might be like now.  It is a privilege and a joy to get to know this little girl and have a small part in her life.  We have received one letter with hand-drawn pictures from her.  We look forward to getting to know her better over the coming years.

Such is the privilege of being involved with a needy child through Compassion.  I recommend it to you.  There is great joy in knowing that God can use us greatly for so little effort.  We have found Compassion to be well-organized, reputable and committed to Christian teaching as well as material aid.  

However you look at it, this is an investment in eternity--for the child and for yourself as you lay up treasure in Heaven.  Especially with the way the economy is going, this is a far better investment than you will find on the financial markets.