Comments on: Chosen Ones

By: Brianna

Brianna — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:22:11 +0000

I was asked by a friend to participate in a Compassion Sunday table at our church. As we stood there looking at the packets, little Christ-Darline from Haiti kept grabbing my attention. I had not planned on sponsoring a child at that point in my life because I was a college student with little money, and knew I would be pursuing grad school in two years.

Still, God was pulling on my heart strings, and although I didn’t know anything about Haiti, I told myself that if no one chose to sponsor her by the end of our time, that I would step out on faith and trust that God would allow me to find the funds to sponsor her.

I continue to sponsor her today, two years later.

It’s become such an incredibly enriching thing for me. I carry a picture of her in my wallet, and I’ll tell you why. Living on a budget, trying to repay my college loans, with no long term work in a bruised economy, it provides me the opportunity to think about everything I am about to purchase.

When I open my wallet, and see that picture, and know that I might need to choose between a new outfit or a nice meal, and the opportunity to put a smile on her sweet face by sending a little extra at Christmas or her birthday, the decision becomes much easier. Putting someone above myself – putting her NEEDS above my WANTS – has enriched my relationship with the Lord so deeply, and I am so blessed to sponsor her.

Down the road, I would love to sponsor a second child, but I won’t do that until I know I can sponsor two children FULLY, for the long haul. I’ve had people suggest that $38 a month would be the logical place to curb my expenses, but I knew when I made the commitment that I would trust the Lord through ALL circumstances, and not give up on her if times were a little rough for me.

I have a roof. I have 3 meals a day. I have a family that loves and supports me. I have JESUS. I have all I NEED.

So, I can have Compassion…

By: annabelle

annabelle — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:49:29 +0000

Because he was the oldest available child. It also happened to be his birthday when I made the decision.

By: Danae

Danae — Sun, 02 May 2010 02:13:17 +0000

i was curious to see if there were any children available in peru with my birthday and i found mirella.

i chose peru because every january i visit a small city in peru with a team from my church and i have absolutely fallen in love with those people. also, since i go there once a year it’s more likely that i will be able to visit mirella. and hopefully more than once.

i also was hoping for a child with my birthday just because it’s something we can share. something we have in common. and it’s extra special this year because she is exactly half my age.

By: Kees Boer

Kees Boer — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:44:41 +0000

Annie, is your second child Annie from Peru?

By: Annie Garcia

Annie Garcia — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:15:08 +0000

Oh, also, my second child, Annie, had her hands on her hips in her photo, sort of like she had an attitude. I couldn’t help but sponsor her after that!!

By: Annie Garcia

Annie Garcia — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:10:05 +0000

I have 3 girls that I sponsor and 3 correspondence children. Obviously, the correspondent children were a gift from God and I did not choose them. My other 3 girls all have a story, though.
The first child I sponsored is a joint sponsor with our praise band. We chose her at a Compassion Sunday 2 years ago and her birthday is the same as my brother’s, who is also in the praise band.
That next summer, I felt like God was telling me to sponsor another child. So I went to the website and found a little girl from Peru that had the same name as me – Annie! I sponsored her right then, of course!
After I became an Advocate, my first event to work was a Bebo Norman concert in my hometown. As I was browsing the child packets during the concert, I found a little girl from Mexico who only had a mother. Her birthday was also the same as my husband’s! And my husband is from Mexico. So I also sponsor her now.

By: Karolina

Karolina — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:57:30 +0000

… because it was unbelivable that someone so cute and who`s name is Lucky had been waiting for sponsor over 6 months!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:05:29 +0000

While choosing a sponsor, I knew I would like to chose a child from an AIDS affected area in Africa. My heart has always been broken for those children. I also wanted to make sure that the child was 13 or so years old, hoping that he could be a leader to the younger children in his village. Also, I wanted to see the glory of God shining through in his smile. I narrowed it down that way. Then Bingo! I have found such a sweet 13 yr old boy in Kenya w/ a smile that could light up the whole world!!! That smile alone made me realize that he was the one I should sponsor. He is so full of the Lord and asks to remain in His will. I’m so proud of him!

By: Karina

Karina — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:16:14 +0000

I chose my child because his birthday is the same date (11/15) as the due date of twins that I miscarried. Our child is a year older than our twins might have been. I also chose him because he was from Kenya and my friend Jennifer McKinney was on a Compassion blogging trip in Kenya at the time.

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:07:15 +0000

I chose my first sponsored child (from El Salvador) when his picture was the first to show up on the website and he shared the same birthday as me. Plus, he was wearing a shirt with my favorite colors, orange and blue. It was as if God was clearly saying, “This is the one.” I sponsored him for 4 years. We shared a very deep bond after many letters and 3 visits. Sadly, he moved away in 2008.

I’ve since chosen two other boys from El Salvador, and each one just jumped out at me from their pictures. I just couldn’t put their packet down.

I believe God moves in very specific ways…and child sponsorship is no different.