Flipping through the pages of the black photo album with colorful pages full of pictures, there was one in particular that stood out. In the midst of numerous family photos from tropical vacations was one of a sweet young boy with a half-smile and big brown eyes. It wasn’t a picture of their children at the beach or a family holiday photo. Instead, it was a picture of their extended family halfway around the world . . . their sponsored child from Uganda.
We have seen so many sponsors send unique letters and gifts to their sponsored children . . . many on a monthly basis. Some have sent photo albums, sharing their family memories in an effort to make their sponsored child feel like part of the family. Others have shared that they keep their child’s photo on their fireplace mantle right beside the rest of their children’s school photos. These sponsors are showing their sponsored children that they are truly part of their family.
Coming from various backgrounds, each of the children in our sponsorship programs have faced many difficulties, and the encouragement and love they receive from their sponsors really does mean the world to them. By showing these boys and girls that they are part of a family all the way in America, you are ensuring that they know how much they are truly valued and loved by others . . . even from someone they have never met.
These types of gifts and letters are what enable sponsors to build relationships with their sponsored child. It is what gives them a face and a family behind the word “sponsor.”
Entire families can invest in sponsorship together by praying, sending Christmas and birthday gifts, and writing letters often. It’s an investment that can bring greater awareness of the great needs around the world to your own family, while also having the opportunity to personally impact the life of an individual child. Sponsored children love to receive correspondence from their sponsors and look forward to writing back whenever possible.
“I have many friends, but the best friend I have is you,” said Philip from Kazakhstan. Even these simple words from a child to their sponsor express the love and friendship that has formed.
For some of these children, they have faced tragic circumstances leaving them without a mother, father, sister, or brother. So having the opportunity to build a relationship with their family in America instills love and acceptance within . . . it gives them a second family to love. Sponsors are someone they can confide in, share prayer requests, someone to express the joy they feel when they’ve accomplished something at school . . . and even someone to share their dreams with. The bond that is created through sponsorship is life-changing for all involved.
Sponsors, thank you for making these children part of your own family and showing them an abundance of love and support. You are truly impacting their lives eternally.