“Sponsorship wasn’t really on my radar before I started working at World Help,” Donor Experience Team Leader Joy Thompson explained. “I saw the commercials, and honestly, I was very much a skeptic. But that all changed when I started working at World Help.”
As a part of the Donor Experience Team, Joy began assisting hundreds of sponsors with account management . . . and she was unprepared for just how deeply their genuine passion would impact her life.
“When talking to sponsors on the phone, I could tell how much they truly care. They adopt these children into their families . . . some keep their child’s picture on the mantel along with the pictures of their own children . . . some choose to sponsor children the same age as their own so they can grow up together. To see the sincere love these sponsors have for a child they’ve never met, I knew God was working in that.”
It was only a matter of time before Joy realized that the world of sponsorship was something she was going to be a part of.
“I wanted to make an impact in a child’s life just like I was seeing so many other sponsors do,” Joy explained. However, instead of choosing a child by country or gender, Joy chose a child based on the children’s program she most wanted to support.
“Gilgal Children’s Home in India is one of my favorite programs. The kids don’t have many opportunities in that area. It’s a very poor part of India. The Gilgal program gives them opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise. They have a very nice Christian school and a church on campus. World Help has built a [medical] clinic there too.”
After only a short time of exposure to the true miracle of sponsorship, Joy became the sponsor of a sweet little girl named Sophia at Gigal Children’s Home.
“She loves soccer . . . her favorite subject in school is math . . . and she wants to be a doctor,” Joy proudly relayed. “She loves rice and chicken, I love rice and chicken . . . it was meant to be,” she said laughing.
“I have to read this to you,” she said, holding up a letter in a child’s handwriting.
“Thank you so much for sponsoring me,” Joy read as her eyes began to mist over. “I am so happy there is someone who cares and loves me. I am in grade 1 and I love to study. I am also having good health. Thank you for your love and care. May God bless you. With lots of love, Sophia.”
“Just because you don’t know someone doesn’t mean you can’t minister to them . . . and just because you’ve never met doesn’t mean the relationship isn’t genuine. These children love their sponsors even though they’ve never met them. I think it’s very symbolic of our relationship with Christ—we love Him even though we can’t see Him.
“What I’ve realized is that it’s really not about money,” Joy said. “For the child, it’s about knowing there’s someone out there who loves them and cares about them . . . even if it’s someone they’ve never met.”
