I’ve been home from Guatemala now for 48 hours.
I don’t know what I expected.
Maybe I thought I’d have processed things a bit more by now. In some ways I definitely have, but I have a feeling this is something I’ll be unpacking for years to come.
Maybe I expected there to be such an overwhelming response to the stories the team and I shared about our trip that all of the children in Seoguis would be sponsored before our plane touched down in Houston Friday afternoon – that there would be people emailing, asking if they’d missed their chance to invest in this community – wondering what other ways they might be able to help. Several children in Seoguis have been sponsored (thank you!), but fewer than I would have hoped. (I hope high for that village, though, let’s be honest.)
The truth is – it’s really hard to know how to respond to really hard information. It’s hard for me as a writer. And it’s absolutely hard as a reader.
I was talking with another blogger one evening last week and we remarked how natural and breezy it felt to comment on someone’s “What I Wore Wednesday” post or a crock pot recipe, but it’s hard to know how to respond when someone’s telling you that children’s brains aren’t developing because they don’t have the proper nutrition. It’s hard to know what to say – or do.
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I feel like I need to stop here. Please hear me when I say that I am not writing to make you feel uncomfortable. So if you feel uncomfy – please do not.
Instead – here is what I really want: I would love to hear from you.
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I have talked enough for now about my experiences with child sponsorship – from committing to Kendy in Haiti 2 years ago (he’s getting so stinking tall!) to meeting Olga and her family in Guatemala last Wednesday. It would mean so much to me if you would share your own child sponsorship experiences!
- I’m sure many of you have been sponsoring and communicating with your child(ren) for much longer than 2 years – what has that been like? Has anyone been able to see their child into adulthood?
- How frequently do you communicate with your child?
- What kinds of gifts do you send, if any?
- What do you talk about with them?
- What has surprised/excited/disappointed you?
- Has anyone else had the opportunity to meet their sponsor child face-to-face?
(this is not a horn-tooting session, but I’d love it if you’d share! I also know that sharing something like this may feel too private and that’s okay.)
And what about those who are not child sponsors? (Please, please don’t feel funny sharing!). Would you mind sharing a little bit about the why not? (There are so many things – tight budgets, not knowing how the money is helping exactly, afraid to commit to a child only to let them down, waiting until your children are older, been meaning to pull the trigger but just haven’t yet…)
And finally (I swear this isn’t some kind of 3-point close!), I’d love to open up the comments for questions. If I can’t answer your question, I will do my best to find someone who can.
Y’all have seriously always been so gracious and respectful in the comments here (I love that!), and you have also been awesome about knowing my heart in a conversations like this. I’m not trying to talk you into child sponsorship here (though, honestly, I absolutely encourage you to consider it!) – I would just like to provide a platform (even just for my own benefit) for discussion about thoughts and experiences in this area.
All photos taken by Jessica Taylor for FH.
[If we ever made a SRT trip to Seoguis, would you be interested in coming?]
Yes, I would definitely be interested!
Thank you for sharing your heart. Yes, we are child sponsors. It first started through World Vision over 20 years ago. We also sponsor a boy in Guatemala through another ministry. I think the disappointing part is the abrupt end to some children's support. We receive a notice saying they have left the program, but here is a new child. What happened to my girl? Was she married off at 13? One of the blessings has been to see one of my sons sponsor children too. Two of my children have met our boy in Guatemala. My daughter took down Lego and a quilt I made for him because the nights can be chilly. Blessings on you. You can't know the difference you have made totally, but there will be ripple effects. Rest assured : )
Yes, I would be interested!
Many times, the hardest part of obedience is not getting exactly the results we want out of our commitment. I have struggled with this many times as I have tried to inspire others in joining me in a bible study or to serve my local community and gotten a lot of resistance, even from believers. Even though our plan might be great and full of the best intentions ever, it is still OUR plan and doesn't necessarily mean it is HIS. Not only are we called to obey regardless of outcome, but many times we are not able to see His doings immediately nor directly. Many times he works extensively on the roots before we are able to see the tree and the branches grow.
I have prayed for you and all the FH bloggers since the start of your mission and will continue to do so, as I am just so glad to see all the seeds you guys are planting and that HE is at work.
My only experience with sponsoring was for a boy in Dominican Republic through World Vision and got to meet him once, it was a really good experience.
I'm just becoming really aware of the vast needs of kids around the world. And now God is burdening my heart for girls in India. My hubby is Indian (from the US via Fiji) and his sister brought my attention to the need in a country where baby girls are often killed by their parents if they cant afford an abortion after an illegal in utero sex determination. I believe God is leading us toward adopting at least one of these girls. We've discussed adoption before but God has already blessed us with 3 biological children. It will take time to prepare, and more work and emotional and financial investment than I can imagine, but if God is in it, it will happen.
I sponsor three children through Compassion International — one being a full sponsorship (Alejandra) and the other two being what is called correspondence sponsorships (Hira and Anise). For some reason, the people who pay to sponsor Hira and Anise cannot commit to or choose not to write to the children as a part of their sponsorship. Since Compassion values the relationship aspect of sponsorship so much, they have “correspondence sponsors” who write to the children but aren’t paying the $38/month. Anise, who is in Haiti, is actually about to graduate out of the program! It’s been such a blessing to watch her grow over the past 3-4 years. I’ve been sponsoring Alejandra and Hira for about five years. My favorite letter I received was from Hira (now 14) in India, in which he wrote something like this…”I was telling my friend about you, and he said ‘You are so lucky to have a sponsor who loves you, I wish I had that’, so I told him ‘Don’t worry, my sponsor loves you too!'” Such a sweet moment shared between teenage boys, and a testament to the power of correspondence and prayer :)