So although I am finding/replying to this post much later than it was started, I just want to say thanks to all of you who have indicated the importance of the letters and personal correspondence with the children.

What got my imagination going and my heart aching is when I found out that centers kind of made a production out of handing out the letters…. some even read the letters out loud to the entire group. And then I realized how many months Ludis went to the center and was faced with NOTHING… because I didn’t put myself in her place and realize how important a simple letter was to her…. I felt so awful.

Now I am making up for it big time… but I hate that I wasted all that time in between and hurt her little heart.

So I think steering sponsors to this blog would go a long way towards getting more of them to write. But they have to be willing to weed through the posts….

I’m sure grateful though!!! )

You are so blessed to be able to be right there with the children. I’m just curious, what country are you serving in?

I’m not sure what to say about how to motivate the sponsors. Maybe the children can ask the sponsor to please write them, but I think the problem is that the sponsors sometimes don’t understand what the letters mean to the children. They could also get correspondents for those children, if they don’t want to write, but I doubt that most of them that don’t write even know of this possibility. I think the best ones to deal with this would be office of the country, where the sponsors live. Part of the problem probably is also, that the sponsors that don’t write the children, probably don’t read this blog. In other words, most of them probably think of the sponsorship as being more of a financial commitment than a commitment of their heart towards that child. (I know I’m generalizing here)

When I started sponsoring my first child about 4 years ago, I was very eager to write her, but then I remember doing an interview with Dr. Wess Stafford about 2 1/2 years ago and me asking him if the child that I sponsor knows who I am. Now, I think back on that question and, I sort of laugh, because I realize how little I understood the sponsorship even after having sponsored a child for over 1 1/2 years. It’s one of the reasons, why when I present Compassion to potential sponsors, one of the main topics that I emphasize is the personal relationship that I have with the children. That’s how I present it. In some of the presentations, the main issue is the poverty and that the sponsor can stop the poverty with their financial contribution. Of course, it’s not wrong, but I could see in a lot of sponsors their mind, their financial contribution is the sponsorship. I always tell the sponsors that it takes 3 things to sponsor a child.

1. Pray for them,
2. Write them a letter from time to time.
3. The financial commitment.

Then I tell them that that is the actual order of importance in the sponsorship. Then I also tell them that the 3 things are like ingredients of an applepie, in other words, if one of them is missing, the whole pie tastes bad.

I think it is a bit out of your realm of influence though. But I definitely share your passion for this.

Thank you so much for being there with the children!!!

Kees

Originally Posted By Philipei am a servant of some sponsord child,their sponsors send them money,but they dont want to send them letters,though the kids always send them,but they never reply
is there any verse from the bible or a word to write on the letters from the children to motivate the sponsors to write them back?

Hi, Philipe,

That is a great question and it is very important to me. As a matter of fact, I wrote a blog on that very topic:

http://blog.compassion.com/letter-writing

I don’t know if there is any ‘verse’ that would motivate them. I’ve talked with quite a few sponsors about this. One thing that comes up quite a bit is that many sponsors don’t know how important these letters are to the children. Whenever I find a sponsor for a child, I always tell them about it. As a matter of fact, I always say something along the line of to only sponsor the child, if they were going to write.

I know Compassion will try to remind them to write by mail. I think it would be great if on the form that the sponsors sign up on, that it would include a line that would show the importance of writing the letters. Most sponsors don’t read the inside of the child packet till after they get home. I’ve been to events where Compassion was presented and the need to sponsor children and sometimes, the importance of letters is not brought up. So, sponsors sponsor a child, not having any idea that writing letters is really an important part of the sponsorship.

I think what happens is that of all of the ministries, child sponsorship is different than other types of support. If I were to support a missionary or a mission organization with my money, it doesn’t really make too much difference if I write the organization or not. With child sponsorship, it is totally different. The sponsor actually gets to have an important part besides the finances in the ministry towards that child in the letter writing and prayer.

So, if I meet sponsors, the thing that I tend to tell them about is how important the letters are to the children and how they react to the letters. That’s always a huge eye opener for the sponsors. I think it’s extremely important. I’m as excited about a sponsor that starts writing as I’m about a new child getting sponsored.

Kees