The parents are often concerned that their teen will not be able to see the commitment to fruition. Sometimes the parents are upset that we would even allow their teen to sign up to be a sponsor.

My first experience with Compassion was as a teen. Even at an early age I had a passion for children in poverty, and Compassion’s ministry spoke to my heart while at a summer camp in South Texas. I chose a child to sponsor and returned home with his packet.

Regrettably, I wasn’t much of a sponsor to this child. I rarely wrote, and ended the sponsorship when I went to college a few years later.

Now that I work for Compassion, I check his file all the time. I feel so guilty over my broken commitment and am patiently waiting for the day to renew our relationship. Although I pray his current sponsor never stops sponsoring him, I’d be lying if I told you I wouldn’t jump at the chance to sponsor him again.

But not all teens are like I was.

On the other end of the teen sponsorship spectrum, you have Jordan Foxworthy, whose brainchild became our Bite Back campaign. Jordan has helped raise over half a million dollars for this fund, saving countless children and families from malaria. She was even featured on CNN’s “Young People Who Rock” list.

We also have many teens who serve as advocates — working concert tables, speaking at churches, and telling their friends about our ministry. Although I had passion, these teens have the drive and commitment I didn’t.

When I speak with a parent who is upset about his or her teen’s sponsorship, I try to explain our heart behind asking teens to be sponsors. This can be a very positive experience for the teen — instilling values of thoughtfulness and caring, as well as responsibility.

We don’t want to take advantage of the teens in any way — and ask each one to speak with his or her parents about the sponsorship before making a commitment.

Sometimes, a parent isn’t comfortable with their teen being a sponsor, and I defer to their judgment. As a parent, they know their child better than we ever could and should make that decision.

Even though I did not see my commitment to fruition, I still learned many lessons through the experience and feel that other teens would as well.

So what’s your opinion? Is teen sponsorship a good thing or a bad thing?

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

I guess when I started sponsoring and ended up at OurCompassion, it was no accident. I know most other organizations don’t have something like this. A place where we can go and really share our feelings about what is going on in the world. A place for those of us who can see beyond our own neighborhood. Knowing there are people in the world other than those who live in Haiti who will be changed in some way by what happened there.

Some of us have made attempts to post things about Haiti, or about Compassion in general on Facebook. Most of the world doesn’t respond. Most don’t even bother to say, “Wow! It’s great ‘you’ feel that way.”

Truthfully, though, a few months ago, would I have cared? I don’t know.

The other night at work I was telling my lunch buddies about Julie’s husband and son, and their trip, and got one comment about it being sad. That was it. No one else even said anything.

I can’t even imagine what they would say if they knew I have sponsored kids in just about every corner of the Earth, and that I actually love these kids. I mentioned once about sponsoring a young girl in Africa; I thought I was talking to someone who might have an interest in it. Nope.

I have spent the last few weeks questioning “things” in life. Not life, but “things.”

I have no problem going out and buying things I need, or paying for rent, etc., but it just seems like everything else I am questioning.

Do I really, really need this? Do I need that? Or is giving a few dollars to a kid across the globe who will hopefully grow in the Lord and become a responsible adult more important?

I can’t change the world. Too old to try. Being a missionary and going to a different country was never on my list of things to do. But the kids I sponsor can go out and do that. And I can sit here and pray for the all the people who are working in Haiti and elsewhere. My prayer life, which was sad for so many years has changed so much lately.

So, I just want to thank everyone here that we can write our true feelings and concerns, and that we can cry together or rejoice together and know that people here will understand our heart because they feel exactly the same way.

Reprinted from ourcompassion.org with permission by Debbie Tovar, child sponsor and OurCompassion member

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Well, she’s going to be interviewed on CNN.com Live today at 3:30 p.m. EDT. And if you miss the interview, it’ll be archived on CNN’s blog: Young People Who Rock.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates