Five years ago, my life changed in ways
I could never have imagined. One small step turned into another, and
then another, and yet another, and before I knew it I was running
against the wind in giant strides.
Five years ago, I sat down at my desk
and created a small lapbook. Made of folded scrapbook paper, I added
tiny coloring pages, stickers, and a short note that said "Isimbi,
have a nice day. I love you. Hannah."
Then I slipped it in the mail. Its
destination? Rwanda, a tiny country located in the heart of Africa.
The recipient? A little girl dressed all in orange, with a sweet,
serious face. My precious Isimbi.
And I waited.
And like many sponsors, I wondered. I
wondered if she would actually get my letter, if it actually meant
anything to her, if she would actually write back.
She did.
A couple of months later, I held her
very first letter in my hands. A thumbed, slightly crumpled letter
that had made it through the hands of office staff, translators,
mailroom staff, and finally to me, from all the way on the other side
of the world.
"Thank you so much for the
letter you sent me and the card of colors. It pleased me. Thank you
for wishing me a happy Easter. I liked your letter. Thank you so
much. Me and my family love you so much."
And I cried.
That was five years
ago. Since that day, I have written over three hundred and fifty
letters to ten children. That sounds like an insane amount, but
really it's not. It's just a product of a commitment to write to each
of my children at least once a month.
Why? Why are
letters so important?
To many people,
child sponsorship is simple... a monthly deduction from your bank
account, and a little face on your fridge. But to the child you
sponsor, your support is literally life changing.
I want to invite
you to take a few minutes, eight minutes and thirty-three seconds to
be exact, and watch this short video. The story of Jimmy Wambua, a
young man from Kenya who was sponsored as a child by a young college
student from America named Mark Hale. Please do have a few tissues
handy.
There's something you may notice about the above video, and that is simply that there is not much mention of the monetary aspect of sponsorship. It's all about the words.
Words are powerful.
They are reminders to a child living in poverty that they matter.
That someone cares. That someone loves them. That they are not alone.
That they can make it. Words that children who live in poverty simply
don't hear.
I've heard it said
time and time again.... sponsored children equate letters with love.
When they have been sponsored for ten years but never received a
letter, they wonder if something is wrong with them. Am I not good
enough? Are my letters not good enough? Is it because of my grades?
Why doesn't my sponsor write? Don't they love me?
And that's what
this blog is all about. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what to
say... what to write. What not to write. For me, writing to my
children is serious business... I have the awesome responsibility and
opportunity to speak into these young lives and combat the lies that poverty tells them: It's hopeless. You're alone. You will always be
poor. You're insignificant. No one sees you. No one even cares.
I
invite you to join me here as I share the letters, photos, coloring
pages, games, puzzles, and stories that I send to my sponsored
children around the world. I sponsor primarily through Compassion
International, but whatever organization you sponsor with, you are
welcome to find inspiration from the resources that I will share here
at Letters Mean Love.
I hope and pray that you will find yourself encouraged to pick up a
pen, or reach for your computer or tablet to jot off a quick note to
your sponsored child today.
Note:
Compassion International
offers a wonderful opportunity... for those who can't afford to
sponsor a child financially, or even for those who do sponsor but
want to do a little bit more, they offer the chance to be a
correspondent sponsor,
a "word sponsor." A chance to write to and build a
relationship with a precious child, totally free of charge. To find
out more about the Correspondent Program or to sponsor a child, you can contact:
Great start to your new blog venture.,
ReplyDelete