Articles:
| Testimonial |
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| Wednesday, 19 March 2008 19:58 |
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I first started sponsoring a child through Word & Deed USA in the spring of 2003, shortly after learning about its mission work. I soon came to realize how easily—and cheaply, in my opinion—I could help. It was not long before I added two more children to my growing “family,” one that summer and another the following year. For me it wasn’t quite as simply as it seems—pay support money, get a profile and picture of a child and maybe receive occasional correspondence. I wasn’t satisfied with this. They were my “kids” and I wanted to do whatever I could for them. I’m sure it’s not the same as having your own child, but even through pictures and brief messages, a bond is developed. Due to the distance, correspondence doesn’t come nearly as frequently as I’d like, but I eagerly rip open every envelope from Word & Deed, looking for something. (Unfortunately, not every letter contains new about my “kids.”) My favorite items are the homemade cards the children typically send around Christmas. Due to the mail delays, I get my own “Christmas in July” when the cards arrive! And I can enjoy them more then, since there’s no holiday rush to distract me or detract from the specialness. I purposely picked three different locations for sponsoring to give me an idea of similarities and differences between the children, their families, and their living conditions. I sponsor an 8-year-old Christian boy from Colombia, a 10-year-old Muslim girl in Burkina Faso and a 10-year-old Hindu boy in India. Aside from sending the sponsor money to keep them clothed, fed, and educated and to purchase an occasional small gift, the only thing my husband and I can do for them is pray. But it’s hard, because we often don’t really know what to pray for-how can I (here in the U.S., safe and sound, happy and well-fed) really know what they need? I found it especially rewarding to send a personal package to my boy in Colombia when a group from my church went there on a mission trip two years ago. It was fun putting the packet together, trying to pick things he’d like based on note I’d received from him. But the best part was hearing the stories from the group members, getting a picture from them, and receiving a thank-you note from him. (In his note, he specifically listed every item I had sent!) It amazes me every time I write my child sponsor check to Word & Deed just how much I can do for so little. My husband and I feel truly blessed that we can contribute to the spread of the Word in this way. Laura DeJong is a mechanical engineer for a plastics company and a member of First Free Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan. |