Sad, Angry, Upset, Worried, Pissed Off...

I am all of those tonight. I don't know whether to cry or scream or hit something. And if I'm feeling this way, I can only imagine how my sister feels. I have told you about the children I sponsor in Haiti and Honduras & how much they mean to me. My sister also sponsors a child, Daisy. She is a seven year old little girl in Columbia and my sister has been sponsoring her for three years. She loves this child just as much as I love my little Rose. Tonight my sister got a phone call. The school Daisy goes to will not be participating in the sponsorship program anymore. There are not any other schools in the area that participate in the sponsorship program. Which means my sister can no longer sponsor her little girl. She gets to write one last letter and then that's it. No more contact. No watching this child grow up from afar. No more school pictures. Nothing. They asked if she'd be willing to sponsor another little girl from a different area in Columbia. She told them, "I don't want a different little girl, I want MY little girl!" My sister was assured that, if by some miracle, her little girl ends up back in a school that participates in the sponsorship program they will call my sister immediately - even if it's several years from now. I do know that this is true from talking to other sponsors who have lost their child when the child moved away from the program and were later contacted when the child re-entered the program and asked if they would like to sponsor that child again. Of course, my sister agreed to sponsor the other little girl. She is six and also lives in Columbia. And my sister will grow to love this little girl as much as she loves Daisy. It doesn't make losing the seven year old little girl who owns a huge chunk of your heart any easier though. Please, if you are the praying type, keep Daisy in your prayers. My sister's sponsorship pays for her to go to school and for her medical care. Prior to being sponsored, Daisy was working - cleaning houses with her mother at 4 1/2 years old because they couldn't afford school tuition. The past three years have been a struggle between Daisy's aunt and her mother - the aunt wanting Daisy in school and the mother wanting her to work. Without her school tuition being paid for, we are worried that Daisy's mom will win this battle. Unfortunately, there will not be a way for us to know what happens to this wonderful child. I know that God has this under control. However, it would make me feel better if you all help me remind Him to continue taking care of Daisy.

I got a very special letter today!

I went to the post office today and as I pulled the mail out of the box I noticed a cream colored envelope. For the past three years, every time I get a cream colored envelope I start to get excited. Sure enough, this one was from Compassion and the front of the envelope had the big blue letters stating, "A Message From Your Sponsored Child." YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!! Let the happy dance begin!!!

So happy!!!! But, which child? I love both of the kids I sponsor and a letter from either always puts a huge smile on my face for days. BUT... Tonight I found myself hoping and wishing that this particular letter be from seven year old Rose in Haiti. It takes three months for letters to get back and forth between here and Haiti. I haven't heard from Rose since September and that letter was several months old by the time I got it. Normally I would have gotten another letter by now, but with the cholera epidemic the schools have been closed & that's where she writes her letters to me. I've been so worried about her and her family with all of the turmoil in Haiti and them living right in the middle of the worst of the cholera epidemic. Yes, I really wanted that letter to be from Rose.

It made me pause and think. What if the letter is from fifteen year old Jairo in Honduras? Letters only take six weeks to get between here and there, so I hear from him more often than I hear from Rose. I just got a letter from him two weeks ago, but this envelope could be another letter from the young man that shares my birthday. As much as I love the two kids, would it disappoint me to have the letter be from Jairo instead of from Rose? 

The answer was, yes. I would be disappointed if the cream colored envelope did not contain a letter from Haiti. I love getting letters from my teenage boy in Honduras. It's so great to be able to read and understand letters he has written himself (I can read Spanish). He understands concepts that little Rose just doesn't get yet and I can talk more naturally when I write to Jairo. However, I learned tonight that I do have a favorite child. Little Miss Rose is an overly enthusiastic bundle of energy with a never ending list of questions about everything under the sun. I've been sponsoring her for three years - since she was four. And she owns a huge piece of my heart. I am completely wrapped around her little finger. I would never let the kids know that I have a favorite. But I wonder, is it bad of me to care for one more than the other?

The letter was from Haiti, written last October. AND IT INCLUDED A PICTURE OF ROSE'S WHOLE FAMILY!!!!!! Mom, sister, aunt, two male cousins around ages 9 & 11, and most important of all Great Grandma. Great Grandma is the reason the girls are enrolled in the Compassion program. She told her rather unenthusiastic granddaughter that both girls would be going to school whether Rose's mom liked it or not. I'd love to give that woman a huge bonecrushing hug for caring so much about her great-grandaughters' future! Rose and her sister went to stay with an older brother in a neighboring town for the summer and had a wonderful vacation. The birthday money I sent her was used to buy two turkeys - she was very happy about this. Her mom (at the time the letter was written) was very sick and from the description given it sounds like she might have cholera. I am hoping she is well now. Rose got the world map and addition flashcards I mailed and she has been practicing her numbers with her older sister every day so that THIS TIME she'll pass second grade (she failed last year due to her lack of math skills). Lots of people in her town have been sick, but the school has given them pills to make their water safe and all of her family (with the exception of Mom) has stayed well. She always asks how my mom, sister, and all of our animals are doing (she names each animal). And she drew me a lovely picture of her church and some flowers.

Well, that's her three page letter in a nutshell. I hope I haven't bored you all. I just get so excited over letters from my kids, I had to share. :)

Sponsoring a Compassion Child

Yesterday I sponsored a child through Compassion International.  It's $32 per month.  I don't have an extra $32 a month.  But, Rose and her family don't have $32 period.  So, I've told God that I'll trust Him to help me find the money while still paying my bills.  Because Rose needs that money a whole lot more than I do.  She lives in Borel, Haiti with her mom and will turn 5 years old on July 27th.  She is in pre-school and her mom tries to make ends meet by farming.  Rose had been waiting for a sponsor for over 6 months.  It was so hard to choose.  There are so many little ones that need and deserve sponsors.  I wish I could sponsor them all.  But, for now, I will help this one and pray that she grows up to help others.