compassion

Dear Diary,
They told me I got a sponsor, some family from the United States. The workers at the center seemed really happy, so I guess I should be, too, but I really don't know what to think. What in the world is a sponsor?

They say this family cares about me, that they want to see me go to school and stay healthy. The question I want to ask someone but don't really know how to is this: Why?

Why does someone on the other side of the world care what happens to me? What does it matter to this family whether I eat today or not? I mean, I've never met these people--why did they choose me?

My parents were so excited when they found out. They started hugging everybody and smiling really big. They told me that this is proof that God is watching out for me, that He cares about my future.

Can that be why these people have sponsored me?

Maybe they are God's way of showing me that He knows the hard times my family is going through right now, and that He has a plan for the future with a role only I will fill. Maybe that dream in my heart, that dream of going to college and doing something big with my life--that dream I've never told anybody--maybe that dream is more than just a dream. Maybe it is a desire God has given me.

I don't know these people, but the workers at the center say I'll get to know them. They say I'll start getting letters from my sponsors soon. I hope that's true. I have a friend who has had a sponsor for almost a year now, and he hasn't gotten a single letter. I hope my sponsors aren't too busy to write to me. I've read some of the letters the other kids have gotten. Sometimes they have bookmarks or stickers or pictures in them--that would be really great if I could get something like that.

I wonder what my sponsors look like. I don't know anything about them, not really. I have their names, but they aren't like anything I've ever heard before so that doesn't really tell me very much. Do they look anything like me? Do they know how to pronounce my name, or does it look as strange to them as theirs do to me?

I wonder if I'll ever get to meet them. Some sponsors came to our center last year, and some of the kids got to actually see and talk to their sponsors. Maybe mine will come visit some day. Maybe they'll want to really know me--wouldn't that be neat?

I'm going to be writing a letter to my sponsors next week at the center. It is going to be really strange writing to somebody I've never met. What should I tell them? What kinds of things do they really want to know about me? Should I tell them that my favorite color is green because it reminds me of how God takes care of us when He brings the crops? Do they care that my goat just had a kid? Do they want to know how I'm doing at school?

Do they care about my dreams?
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This post , if you didn't notice, is a work of fiction. As part of the Blog Month for Compassion, I was asked to write from the perspective of a sponsored child...this is my idea of what that might be like.

If you aren't familiar with Compassion, you should really check them out. They are an organization dedicated not only to taking care of children physically and mentally, but spiritually as well. We started sponsoring a boy from the Philippines named William earlier this year. To be honest, I just wrote our first letter to him last week after reading a few posts on how important letters are to sponsored kids.

If you want to help make a difference in the life of a child--and the rest of his family--consider sponsoring a child through Compassion.