What if you don’t make it? But I will.

And if you don’t? All my efforts and expectations are focused on LDP. I know I will make it.

“She was not the only one of my children to have the opportunity to attend high school, but she was the only one to have the will and opportunity to attend college. I thank God for her life,” says Mrs. Maria, a 54-year-old widow who raised her five children, including Ana Cláudia, by herself.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” – Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV)

Ana Cláudia’s father was murdered during a holdup at the company where he used to work as a sentinel. She was only 15 days old.

Compassion became part of Ana Cláudia’s life when she was 9 and was enrolled at the child development center near her home.

“The child center was and still is a reference in my neighborhood. Here where we live, children have so many options of wrong things they can choose to do. They have no orientation or hope, and many times no respect or love.

“For this reason I see my former child center as a shelter offering to the children a healthy life in many ways. Just like it happened to me.”

Most of Ana Cláudia’s childhood friends are pregnant or have already had babies.

Ana Cláudia used to be a very present child. Every day after school she was there, anxious about lunch – sometimes the best meal of her day – and play. Ballet, arts and guitar were her favorite classes.

“Sometimes I had to ask her to come back home. Otherwise she would live there forever!” laughs Mrs. Maria.

It was also there where Ana Cláudia had a meeting with Jesus, accepting Him as her Lord and Savior during a youth camp. She was 14 when it happened.

Talkative, kind and funny, this young woman leaves home every morning at 6 and goes to the university by bus. On her lap are books about education and leadership. On her heart are many plans and dreams about the future – she makes checklists about her next conquests.

After classes, Ana Cláudia goes to work at an informatics school where she started by giving advertising pamphlets to people on the streets. Now, 1 1/2 years later, she is the pedagogical coordinator there.

“My child center used to have a partnership with an informatics school. So, when I turned the right age to attend a course, I started it. After three months when I finally finished it, they invited me to work there. It was one of my goals for that year – get a new job. And I knew would get it.

“I think people see leadership qualities in me because I am responsible, involved in whatever I am doing, besides being a very determined person.”

Ana Cláudia earns about $300 a month, and with her wage she joined her 23-year-old sister, the last single sibling besides her, and bought brand-new furniture for their kitchen and living room. But her day-to-day life is not easy, and to give herself and her mother a better life, every night after work at about 9 p.m., Ana Cláudia returns home taking three buses. She could take only one, but the way from her job to the bus stop is very dangerous.

“It takes more time, but doing this way is safer for me. The first bus takes me in front of the informatics school, and the last one leaves me five minutes by foot from my home.”

It’s almost 12 a.m. and only some boys smoking marijuana are on the street when the leader of the future arrives at home. And to ensure she is really safe, Mrs. Maria is there at the bus stop, waiting for her child.

“It is worse when I am on my tests period at college and have to study until 3 in the morning. Sometimes I just sleep over my books.”

With so many tasks, attending church is only possible on weekends, when Ana Cláudia takes part in the child ministry.

Ana Cláudia may have lost her father, but according to her she has now a great family that she can count on. Her classmates from the LDP are seven other  students taking the same course. She loves the books on leadership that they read and discuss together.

“Everything I know about leadership and teamwork I have been learning through LDP meetings, books and the relationships I have there. It is so amazing!

“I am becoming a better person each day – learning more with my mentor and classmates. I just admire each one of them.”

Her next goal is to achieve a higher position at her company and share Jesus’ love with children. She already has the determination and appropriate tools to achieve it.

Right now, we have more than 150 LDP students waiting for sponsors. These students have been handpicked as future Christian leaders. They have excelled in high school, proven their leadership abilities, and demonstrated strong Christian character.

Will you sponsor a leadership student?

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Magline is deeply engrossed reading the sponsor letter she has just received from the student center.

Magline, a bright young girl from Park Circus Child Development Center, is an example of what a sponsor’s love and affection can help achieve in children who never get to paint a future for themselves because of poverty.

Magline comes from a poor family. She has been through many ups and down since childhood.

Her father was an alcoholic and did not have a job when Magline was brought to be enrolled at age 5. He would beat up Magline’s mother to get money from her to meet his thirst for wine.

But in the midst of all that, Magline’s mother was steadfast in her faith in God and kept praying for her husband’s change of heart. She toiled hard, working as a maid servant to bring up her children.

It was about the same time that Magline’s sponsorship also started, but she was far too young to understand the love and concern her sponsor had for her.

“I had no dreams for the future because I hardly understood what sponsorship meant for me,” says Magline.

However, Magline’s transformation from a shy, introverted girl to someone exercising her God-given potential today, was made possible only because of the inspiration of her sponsor.

“My sponsor helped me to dream big and dream of becoming a teacher, for which I will remain ever grateful.”

Magline has been very active at the student center from the time she was enrolled even until today, with the stage set for her to graduate from the sponsorship program.

Despite her struggles back home, she complained of nothing. Instead, she would run back to the development center every day because of the love and affection she got from her caregivers. She attended all the student center activities regularly and faithfully.

Now Magline is pursuing her Teacher’s Training Course (TTC) with help from Compassion.

“My dream of becoming a teacher is now a reality. If it wasn’t for my sponsor who supported me until now and a big-hearted donors who is paying for my course, I wouldn’t know where I would be today.

“I cannot thank my sponsor enough, for they have been more than a sponsor to me … they have been my source of encouragement, and it was for their love and affection I am lifted up.”

Magline’s sponsor came from a church named Assemblee Protestante Evangelique in France. During her 14 years of sponsorship she received many letters, but the ones that motivated her most were those that were personal and informative, communicating a lot to Magline about the French culture and faith, lifestyle and beliefs of her sponsor.

Life has not been smooth sailing for Magline at all. Just when everything seemed right for her to take admission into her TTC, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Life came to a halt and her hopes for future seemed shattered.

She had just finished high school and was getting all set for her teacher’s training course.

“This day that I waited for so long was now slipping away from my hands and I could do nothing but cry out in anguish.”

Lying on her sick bed, Magline remembered the prayers of her sponsor, the love and concern for her. It gave her strength to fight her ailment and stay focused in fulfilling her long-awaited dream of becoming a teacher.

Magline wants to be a teacher for a noble purpose: She wants to stand in the gap for poor children in her community by offering free education and support for them, much in the same way she received help from her sponsor.

“That way, I know, I can be a living witness of God’s unconditional love to people living around us.”

Magline’s presence of mind and leadership in handling critical situations have made her the first choice to be delegated with responsibilities at the child development center. She was made leader of the youth group at her student center.

She not only exercises exceptional leadership qualities but is also a multi-talented girl. She teaches music and dance to children at the student center. She has outperformed at every level – be it at the center or in school.

Mr. Simson, child development center accountant of Park Circus, says with a nod,

“Seeing Magline grow from a 7-year-old shy girl to how she manages her responsibilities today, really amazes me of how much she had been influenced by her beloved sponsor.”

Magline is involved with the youth ministry of Assemblies of God Church, Calcutta at present. The most important thing she feels she has learned from her sponsor is waiting on God and to trust only in him without a shadow of doubt.

Her sponsor was instrumental in building up her confidence in God through the scripture references mentioned in the letters, to help her overcome the fear she faced of exams.

Today, Magline stands firm in her faith as she leads a youth group at her church. She is filled with gratitude for the love and concern her sponsor showed her.

“I enjoyed reading my letters word by word until I actually memorized them completely.”

The letters gave her a special sense of belonging, one that she doesn’t have words to express. She was simply delighted to know how much she was loved and cared for, despite the great divide separating them geographically.

“Without help from my sponsor I wouldn’t have achieved anything.”

Magline’s mother feels indebted for the generosity, without which it would have been impossible for her to give Magline the education she received.

“I knew that God had a definite purpose for Magline, and her sponsors were a great channel of blessing for her and us all these years.”

With a loving sponsor, who cared and loved her dearly, and a mother whose faith was grounded so strong in the word of God, Magline would not have as bright a future.

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