In January of 2010, I opened an email about Compassion.
I had never heard of the organization up until that point, but I remember that night as clear as a bell. It was freezing outside, and I was sitting on our mattress in our bedroom- checking my email on our laptop. The bedroom door was closed, but our room was warm thanks to an electric oil-filled radiator my Mom hooked us up with that Christmas. (Our HVAC was broken at the time…brrrr!) The woman who sent me the email was encouraging me to check out a website called Compassion.com, so I clicked on over and spent the next good-while taking it all in. I was so moved by everything I read.
After that, I scoured Google in search of blog posts about people’s experiences with Compassion. And after that, me and my teary-eyes got up off the bed to go find Kevin, so that I could show him everything I had discovered.
Long story short, that night ended with a lot more tears, and a sponsorship commitment to a little boy from Thailand named Wat. We received a photo of him in the mail about 2 weeks later…
Since then, we’ve received several letters from him (he’s too little to actually do the writing right now, so a project worker asks him questions and writes the letters for him), and we get so excited when we open our mailbox and find an envelope from him inside it! He loves playing, walking, and art (my kinda kid!), and he always includes a color crayon drawing with his letters. And lemme tell ya- Mr. Wat can rock the Crayola!
We received an updated photo of him this weekend, and I can’t believe how much he’s grown over the past two years!
Our sponsorship allows the staff of the Mae Um Lo Child Development Center near his village to provide him with Bible teaching, medical exams, recreational activities, academic support, hygiene supplies, and nutritious meals. But after reading a post called Lame Sponsors of the World Unite by Lisa-Jo at Gypsy Mama, we realized that it’s our words (not our $38/month) that are probably the most valuable to Wat. Lisa-Jo said, “We can literally change the course of a child’s history by investing in the person, not just the payment plan“. We want Wat to know that he matters. We want to encourage him to keep creating his amazing art, and we always remind him that we’re praying for him and his family.
When we feel like sending him an email (as opposed to a handwritten letter), we can log into our Compassion account, pick a letter template (there’s all kinds of cute ones!), attach a photo to it right from our computer, and Compassion will print it out and mail it to Wat for us. SUCH a neat service!
Sponsoring a child through Compassion will definitely change the life of a child living in poverty, but I have to tell you- your life will change too. You’ll be inspired to build a meaningful relationship with your sponsor child through letters, photos and prayers- and you can even visit them, too!
This isn’t a Compassion-sponsored post, and I’m sure most of you have already heard of or are already working with Compassion- I just wanted to share our experience with them. And who knows, maybe there’s someone reading this that hasn’t heard of them, and just found this post by Googling Compassion blog posts, like I did back in January of 2010.
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* We’re not sponsored by Compassion, we just think they’re an amazing company and our experience with them and Wat compelled me to write this post!
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Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
compassion is an incredible organization. we have sponsored children for years. there’s nothing better than receiving a letter from them:)
your post was a good reminder to me to write a letter back. thank you!
Never underestimate the power of a blog post! It was Compassion bloggers who got me off the fence and into action! I have an “empty nest” now, but sponsor a little girl who shares my daughter’s birthday (Sruthi, from India); and a little boy who shares my son’s birthday (Breynor, from Guatemala). Our Sunday School class (I teach junior high and high school girls) also recently became Compassion correspondents — some kids are sponsored by businesses or individuals who are not interested in corresponding with them. I also read Lisa-Jo’s post about the importance of words, and our kids are now corresponding with Roubenson from Haiti, and letting him know he’s loved and prayed for! It’s a wonderful ministry opportunity for those who can’t afford the sponsorship but still want to make a difference in the life of a child! I LOVE Compassion!
I’m so excited you posted about Compassion!! They really are an awesome ministry. We have sponsored a little Brazilian boy for a few years now. If you have time, I also HIGHLY recommend a book written by their current CEO, Wess Stafford. It is called “Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matter Most.” It is part his life story, which is incredible, and part what God has to say about children. It is an incredible book!
Thank you again! I really enjoy your blog and I probably will even more now that I know y’all are fellow Compassion supporters!! God bless!
This is the way to demonstrate faithfulness,love,trust to God.Kind Samaritan story give us the light to serve whom.
We are very blessed that Jesus is our ever living God,Father,Friend and Provider.Source of all Sources.
I’m fortunate to read this blogs’ comment about a sponsor and his feeling.We are ensouraged when we see the great attention to a child who is in poverty.As a Compassion field office staff this kind of sharing gives us alternative ways of thinking about holistic child development.
I just wanted to let you know that I sponsor a compassion child and I have visted a compassion school in Peru. The investment in these children and their families are worth every single penny. Seeing the ministry in action first hand solidified my commitment to this organization.
We sponsor a 13 year old boy from Africa. His name is Noaga and my own boys call him their brother and love to share his info with their friends. We too get lots of drawings from Noaga and LOVE to receive them. I love the fact too that Compassion sent us a recent 5×7 picture of him (which we have framed in our living room) and wallets. It is such joy to receive his letters and for him to personally ask about my boys. Compassion is a great opportunity to help those in need and to help my family as well.