Help Kids Escape Poverty

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Five years ago, a group of bloggers went to Africa on a Compassion International trip. I was a follower of two of them – one being Kristen Welch, Mercy House founder. Each day I read their stories and looked at the photos they shared, with tears in my eyes. By the end of the week, I knew I wanted to sponsor a child. I’d read the stories to my family and they were on board, too.

Help Kids Escape Poverty

At that time in our lives, committing to a regular monthly sponsorship meant a willingness to sacrifice some luxuries that we take for granted – like a dinner out for our family of five – but we were willing to do it.

I scrolled through the children’s pictures on the Compassion website. And there was Nathan.

Nathan

Brian and I had always said if we had another boy, we’d name him Nathan. This was the one.

Nathan is now 12 and we have sponsored him since he was 7 years old. We’ve watched him grow and mature through photos and letters. Each time we receive a letter from him, I’ll call out, “We got a letter from Nathan,” and everyone immediately gathers around to see what it says.

More than one of us may have cried just a little bit the first time we got a letter that was clearly written by his own hand. And the drawings he includes? We treasure those.

We pray for Nathan and he prays for us. He tells us his hopes and dreams. He shares how he’s doing in school. He thanks us for sponsoring him because sponsorship means an education, medical care, and provision for his family.  For less than it would cost my family of five to go out to dinner one time, we can provide all of this for precious Nathan and his family.

By U.S. standards, my family isn’t wealthy, but by global standards, we have an abundance and I am so thankful for the opportunity to give out of that abundance to support Nathan, along with Scarleth, a little girl we suppport in Honduras.

During the month of September, I have committed to personally securing sponsors for 3 children through Compassion International. It’s only $38 per month. Please consider sponsoring one of these beautiful children and/or sharing this article with your friends and family in order to help me match these kids with the sponsor family that’s out there somewhere waiting for them.

Compassion International

This beautiful little girl is Pearl. She is 4 years old and lives in the Philippines in the Barangay Tabao Rizal region with her mother. Pearl is responsible for washing clothes, making beds, and running errands. There are 3 children in the family. She is not currently of age to attend school, but enjoys singing and playing house.

Your sponsorship allows the staff of Heaven’s Dream Child Development Center to provide Pearl with Bible studies, food, medical and dental care, outdoor activities and fields trips, along with academic assistance and counseling.

Compassion International Child Sponsorship

This handsome young man is Toussin. He will be turning 6 years old soon. He lives in Burkina Faso, Africa with his father, mother, and two siblings. Toussin helps at home by gardening, caring for his siblings, and running errands. He enjoys playing soccer and hide-and-seek.

Toussin is not currently attending school. Your sponsorship would provide an education, medical care, and hygiene lessons, as well as income-generating activities for his parents.

Child Sponsorship

This little cutie-patootie is Domingo. Domingo is 5 years old and lives in El Salvador with his father and mother. He is too young for school right now, but enjoys soccer, playing with cars, and running. He helps in his home by caring for animals and running errands. Your sponsorship would provide Domingo with Bible teaching, medical check-ups, nutritious snacks, and academic support.

The staff at Oasis de Garcia Student Center will also provide parents’ school and parents’ committees for Domingo’s parents.

As a sponsor through Compassion International, you will provide monthly financial support. You also have the option of sending funds for a birthday and Christmas gift for your sponsored child. The gifts are purchased in their home countries and given to the kids.

You also have the option of giving a family gift. The local centers work with the families to choose the best way to use the family financial gift. In the most recent letter we received from Nathan, he told us that his family had purchased two cows with the family gift we sent. Tears, y’all.

You are also encouraged to write to your sponsored child regularly and pray for him or her. You can send little flat gifts that will fit in an envelope, such as bookmarks, coloring pages, or stickers. We sent Nathan an entire deck of Pick and Draw cards over the course of a few months, just a few cards at a time. He really enjoyed that.

If you would like to sponsor Pearl, Toussin, or Domingo, leave me a comment with some contact info or email me. I would love to match you with one of these beautiful babies!

If you can’t sponsor a child right now, will you please pray with me that families would step forward to sponsor each of these children? Share this post with your friends and family. Let’s find sponsors for Pearl, Toussin, and Domingo!

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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4 Comments

  1. I just wanted to encourage you, Kris. It is wonderful that you are using your platform this way!

    We started sponsoring after Kristen Welsh’s first Kenya trip too, and follow Mercy House with joy. We have two of our own sponsor children and four correspondent children (writing to children whose sponsors don’t write to them).

    I have a small blog on which I’ve written about Compassion numerous times in the last five years, and the posts just aren’t read or responded to, compared to other types of posts. It is hard to keep writing about it as I feel like I’m bugging people, but I think it just takes time to change people’s perspectives.

    Americans need to be rescued from their abundance as much as these kids need to be rescued from their poverty, but it is a major transformation and a realization that our money is God’s money. I am sharing this post and praying that you stay encouraged and keep doing it. Have a blessed weekend!

    1. Thank you so much for your encouragement, Christine! It truly means so much. “Americans need to be rescued from their abundance as much as these kids need to be rescued from their poverty…” Wow. Yes, this. Thank you for commenting, sharing, and most of all praying.

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