Today’s post is about giving you an inside look at how we, the third-largest producer of mail in Colorado Springs, handle the letters you write to your children.

To start with, allow me to introduce you to Joe Cammaroto. Joe is the correspondence supervisor in our Global Ministry Center in Colorado Springs. His team is responsible for processing all the letters you write and all the letters your sponsored children write back to you.

“Since implementing the new online letter writing tool, we receive about 7,000 web letters each day compared to the 1,000 or so we received daily before the tool was implemented.”

To put those numbers into perspective, at least a little bit, here’s a glimpse of what Joe’s team sees everyday.

A portion of one day’s mail, ready to be sorted by country

Sorting bins for East Indonesia and Indonesia

Sorting bins for all 26 countries

Letters packaged and ready to be sent to our country offices via DHL. Letters are mailed once each week to our country offices, every Thursday. We send about 4,000 letters to each country office every week.

As Joe mentioned, we receive approximately 7,000 sponsors letters each day. It takes his team about 5 days to process a letter and get it ready to be shipped to a country office.

Contrast that with the 12,000 letters we receive each day from children to their sponsors. A year ago, it took us 14 days to process a letter after receiving it in-house. Now, after some major process improvements, it takes only about three days.

Before the letters arrive, a lot of work goes into getting them to Colorado Springs. Here's some insight from Abraham about what happens when your letters arrive in Bolivia.

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

Leadership Development Program student Lia Anggraeny is working on a degree in economics. Through all of her studies however, the greatest thing Lia has learned is that God is more than a friend or a counselor. He is her Father.

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

We are taking steps forward — one at a time — to ensure that the work of this ministry grows with the needs of the countries we work in. One step we’ve taken in Indonesia is to work in unified teams to better serve our Implementing Church Partners (ICPs).

Our staff and church partners in Indonesia benefit from the collaborative effort between Partnership Facilitators (PFs), Sponsor Donor Services (SDS) and Training Specialists. By working together in unity, we help one another succeed in our individual roles, as this video from our Indonesia office explains.

Project Facilitators have a huge responsibility and the team model helps them know that they don’t need to “do it all” by themselves.

As Sarah Rahadja, Program Communications Director in our Indonesian country office, explains,

“The cross-functional team approach is beautiful for the Project Facilitators because they are not superman or superwoman.”

To illustrate this point, the staff made a fun video we hope you’ll enjoy!

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

Compassion began its ministry in Indonesia in 1968 with the Child Sponsorship Program. Between 1984 and 1985, because of financial integrity issues we terminated our largest partnership which resulted in the closure of most of our child development centers in the country. But in 1988, the Child Sponsorship Program was expanded once again.

We started the Leadership Development Program there in 2005 and the Child Survival Program in 2009.

Country Director

Handoko Ngadiman became the Indonesian Country Director in 2010 and comes to our ministry with more than 10 years of leadership experience.

Handoko has served in high-level roles, including as the Vice Executive Director of the Institute for Community and Development Studies in Jakarta, and as the National Director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia.

At present, Handoko is also Chief Operating Officer of the nonprofit arm of Abbalove Ministries, a position he’s held since October 2008.

In addition to his professional background, Handoko holds two master’s degrees. He has a Master of Arts degree in Mission and Development Practices from the Oxford Center for Mission Studies and Wales University in the United Kingdom.

He also has a master’s in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, the Philippines.

Implementing Church Partners

Implementing Church Partners are local churches in Indonesia with whom we work to deliver child development programs and ministry in the field.

• Spiritual Climate
  Indonesia is primarily Muslim, with 86 percent of the population being Muslim and just a little more than 5 percent being Protestant, although many believe the number of Christians is actually much higher and they are gaining in influence.

  Our Implementing Church Partners don’t usually face any opposition. But in some highly concentrated Muslim areas, churches have difficulty gaining legal status.



• Unique Challenges
  Because Indonesia is primarily Muslim, it affects how we approach ministry and minister to the children. We have to be sensitive about how we teach Christianity to children from different religious backgrounds.

  In some areas, such as Timor, Sumba, and Nias, we face poor infrastructure, compared with Java Island. This creates challenges in how to minister in the area, including having fast communication.

• Contributions
  Implementing Church Partners provide rooms for child development center activities, human resources, and support from the congregation.
• Partner Development Activities
  We provide training for pastors and child development center workers.

Child Survival Program

• Caregiver Literacy
  Typically classes are held once a week. Caregivers engage in group discussion, presentations and seminars.
• Income-Generating Skills
  Skills taught are baking, cooking, knitting, handicrafts, breeding and farming.

  Classes are held every week, or in some programs, quarterly.



• Health Care
  We encourage mothers to receive prenatal care and immunizations at local clinics. The Child Survival Program reimburses them for these costs, including delivery.
• Nutritional Support
  Through the Child Survival Program we teach caregivers about balanced diets. We also give mothers additional nutritional groceries every time the implementers visit their homes.
• Involvement of Fathers
  There are parents’ meetings for fathers to attend, as well as a Child Survival Program parents’ community.

  To encourage involvement of fathers, we ask the mothers to write a letter to their husband about what they have learned in the Child Survival Program.



• Transitioning Out of the Child Survival Program
  To determine whether or not children are ready to transition into Child Sponsorship Program, our staff assess whether or not families have met the desired outcomes of the program.
• Areas of Expansion for the Child Survival Program
  We would like to expand into west and eastern Indonesia because the needs are great there. Maternal and infant mortality rates are high, as are rates of malnutrition.

Child Sponsorship Program

Your sponsorship of a child in Indonesia provides a variety of benefits.

School children are busy with school during the week days. Each child development center arranges their schedule according to when children go to school. Typically they meet in the afternoons after school.

• Meeting Times
  • 3 to 5 year olds: 6 to 8 hours per week
  • 6 to 8 year olds: 6 hours per week
  • 9 to 11 year olds: 4 to 6 hours per week
  • 12 to 14 year olds: 4 to 6 hours per week
  • 15 to 18 year olds: 4 hours per week
  • 19 +: 2 to 4 hours per week

  

• Nutritional Support
  Children are given meals once to twice a week. Meals might consist of rice, meat, vegetables and fruit. The children also get a snack at least once a week. A snack might be cake, bread, a donut and milk.

  Typical Indonesian foods that are rich with protein, such as “tempe” and tofu, are widely provided for the children.

• Vaccinations
  The child development center arranges for groups of children to go to the nearest community clinic for basic medical checkups, dental checkups and vaccinations. Some child development centers are visited by a medical doctor every six months.
• Extracurricular Activities or Community Service
  Children participate in a sports activity at least twice a month and they attend a spiritual camp at least once a year. Cultural activities, such as traditional dance, painting, singing and music, are held at least twice a month, especially for children more than 12 years old.

  For community service, children participate in art ministry, music ministry and vocal performances in Sunday services.



• Vocational Activities
  We offer relevant activities, such as computer training and English courses, and practical skills training, such as automotive repair and sewing.

  Formal schooling provides activities like this, but on a limited basis. These skills are useful to prepare children for work when they are older, so we make sure they have more time to learn them.



• Parent Involvement
  Parent meetings are held monthly or bi-monthly. These meetings focus on sharing practical parenting advice, trainings and workshops.
• Areas of Expansion for the Child Sponsorship Program
  We hope to continue to expand in Sumatra and plan to expand in areas where Christians are concentrated, where we have potential church partners. These areas are also known for having a high concentration of poverty, drunkenness, child neglect and crime.

Leadership Development Program

• Universities Attended
  Leadership Development Program students attend government universities.



• Location of Universities
  Most the universities are located in the capital city or in other large cities, spread throughout West, Central and east Java, as well as Bali.
• Working Students
  Most students do not work while in the university.
• Service Opportunities
  Students engage in Leadership Development Program campaigns to help Implementing Church Partners motivate children to focus on their education.

  The Leadership Development Program students give their testimonies to challenge the younger children to have dreams and plans for their own future.

• Leadership Development Program Meetings
  Leadership Development Program students meet all together twice a year, in January for a New Year’s camp and in August for a summer camp.
• Specialty Curriculum Topics or Resources
  Leadership Development Program curriculum topics include time management, study skills, effective communication and public speaking, conflict management and reconciliation, as well as interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence skills.
• Mentors
  We connect our Leadership Development Program students with the Navigators student fellowship in the university to find mentors. We also facilitate the students to have one-on-one mentoring with our staff.
• Career Placement Assistance
  We do not offer any formal career placement assistance, but we share information about job openings and opportunities in the marketplace.

Complementary Interventions

Our core child sponsorship program, while comprehensive, does not address all obstacles to a child’s healthy development. The Complementary Interventions program was created to work with our holistic child development model to provide additional services, such as our AIDS Initiative, Bibles for all children, disaster relief and water projects.

Complementary Interventions in Indonesia include nonformal education and provision for major medical and health needs.

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

Andis’ father walked out on his wife and son when Andis was in second grade. Andis prayed daily for his dad to return. When his father didn’t come home, Andis became angry and tried to forget him.

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

Have you ever had a monumentally bad week? I’m not talking about running late, forgetting to turn off the sprinklers sort of bad, but an epic week that shifted your normal and changed everything? Last September, I had one of those weeks.

My very bad week began with the worst kind of phone call. One of my college roommates died in a car crash that morning. It was just months before her wedding.

Days later in my newly married community group, I watched a dear friend and Air Force officer weep as he looked deployment square in the face while holding his two-week old baby girl.

And then I got a letter from Compassion.

Weeks before, I learned that one of our Compassion kids, Kevin, had been removed from the sponsorship program. His mom had a good job, and he didn’t need us anymore.

We rejoiced with him and with his mother who was finally able to provide for her son, and we prayed for the new child who would greet us in the mail and take a place among the photos on our bulletin board of Compassion kids past and present. When the letter arrived that week, we met our new little guy through a cartoonish worksheet he had filled in about himself with crayons and pen.

Ezra indicated he was from Indonesia, average height, average weight, enjoyed school and loved his family.

In the last section of the sheet, tucked on the back page, he got to ask us something. There was just room for one question to these strangers on the other side of the world.

“Do you get to eat every day?”

There it was. A punch in the stomach. The ache for him. The knowledge that he had seen hunger. He had known it. The understanding that he got a chance to ask us anything, and he chose that question.

Three great tragedies – death, separation, poverty – all in one week.

I was down for the count, lost and overwhelmed. The world was too filled with grief, and my contribution wasn’t going to make a dent in it.

But in the days that came after, I saw friends and families swarm my college roommate’s grief-stricken family. People helped meet her family’s needs, provided council and casseroles, and sat through the long, tear-filled silences.

In all sorts of ways, they were the bringers of compassion, loving on parents who had lost a child, sisters who had lost a sibling, and a fiancé whose whole life changed.

We rallied around our friend who was to be deployed. He left knowing his wife and daughter had a dozen families ready to lend a hand – a dozen men to call for plumbing emergencies, a dozen girls to have movie nights with, a group of moms to turn to for mothering tips, and a lawn that would be faithfully mowed every week so his wife never looked like she was temporarily husbandless.

And then there was our Compassion child.

Yes, Sweet Boy, we get to eat every day, I whispered to his little kid handwriting.

But still, compassion comes at a cost.

My husband and I drive old cars. We only go to the dollar theatre, and we don’t have cable TV. The realities of our budget elicit an occasional pity party when I see a friend’s new family-friendly SUV and am reminded that we don’t have a nest egg big enough to start a family.

But we eat every day.

Is the cost to sponsor a child a sacrifice? Yes.

Will it break us? Nope.

But without our monthly commitment, Ezra could be the one to break.

For me, sponsorship means less grande, three-pump, no water Chai Tea Lattes. For him it means an introduction to Jesus, clean water, a belly full of food and a head full of knowledge from school.

Or as Christ said it – hope and a future.

We live in a world of blistering hurts and festering, generations-long injustices. God, in his sovereignty, lets us help ease suffering and right wrongs, and in the process, we’re changed too.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed and to be sure that nothing you do will make a dent. When I was in that place, God used the question of a little boy to remind me that only He could save the world, but in the process, He would use my little contribution to make a difference in the world of one child.

It was an awful week of tragedies followed by months of hope as God brought a community of people around the hurting and reminded us all that we get to be used by Him. The sacrifice becomes the gift, and amid the suffering, we can be the bearers of compassion.

I hope that someday when Ezra becomes a father, and his child gets to ask just one question to people on the other side of the world, it won’t be the same one we were asked.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sarah Warren is a writer who works in public relations for a university. She is also a newlywed who lives in Oklahoma with her husband, Kevin. When Sarah learned that Kevin sponsored several Compassion kids, she decided it would be nice if he asked her to marry him.

If you’re interested in writing a guest blog post, we are happy to consider publishing it. Read our guest blog post guidelines.

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

An old Indonesian proverb says,

“As the tree, so the fruit.”

This means that what parents do and say will affect what their children do and say. Whether direct or indirect, intentional or unintentional, what parents live out every day will influence their children. This is seen in the life of Nado.

Born into a modest family on Sangir Island as the youngest of three children, Nado asks to help his father, Sapta, fix small boat engines almost every day before going to study with friends at the Sesawi Student Center, the child development center where he is registered.

Sapta, is a mechanic who earns his living by repairing boat engines. He is gifted at what he does and his services are highly sought after. Many people travel more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) just to have Sapta fix their boats.

“I love working on machines and I have loved that kind of work since I was in junior high school.

“Not many people know how to fix machines, and I am thankful that I am blessed by this talent to help others who need their boat repaired, although it does not make a lot of money.”

Sapta’s life-long love of mechanics has not just blessed others; it has also affected his youngest son, Nado.

“Nado started by just accompanying me and now he helps me fix the machine.

“Nado loves to find out what makes a clock tick and he is curious about what made a little car run.

“He started to take apart every supporting tool that made something move and then gathered it again as one complete piece. He loves to try to find out how it works after he assembles it again.

“We were angry at Nado the first time because we thought he would break all things, but after we saw him assemble it again, we knew that he is only curious with it and wants to see what he could do if he separates the parts inside it.”

Nado’s curiosity to learn more about mechanical things is getting stronger day by day. Nado not only learns from his father, he also learns from the activities at the child development center.

Julian, Sesawi Student Center coordinator, explains further:

“We let children do everything that they love. If they love to play soccer, we let them develop it. By letting them do what they love, we actually help them to find their talent. We have seen it in Nado’s life. He loves mechanical things.

“We haven’t any program to let children learn about such things [now], but we plan to let children learn about computers in the future.”

Nado’s curiosity has resulted in a significant accomplishment for someone his age.

After watching something on television about a flood detector, Nado imagined how he could make a similar detector to track tidal waves.

“I dreamed about making something that was shown on television. I imagined how I could change a flood detector into a tidal wave detector. I started making it by using simple tools that could be easily found around my house.”

Nado felt that if he could make some modifications to the flood detector, it would be useful for people in the area where he lives, especially fishermen.

“This area rarely has floods. We are afraid of high waves from the sea that sometimes we can’t predict.

“I thought that if I can do some modification in the flood detector, then I can help others by telling them if the sea level has risen.”

Nado found a small jar, Styrofoam, cable, wood, rubber, small balls, batteries and other tools to help him make the tidal wave detector.

Julian shares further,

“We are all amazed with the creativity that he has. We never thought that his routine with his father and the simple activity in the development center will bear something that will bring benefit for people in this area.”

Julian and other child development center staff have supported Nado in developing his talent by teaching mathematics more specifically.

Julian knows the little boy who loves math has a big opportunity to make other tools, which could become an inspiration for other children.

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

I had dinner with a group of our Indonesian staff members and met a new member of the local leadership team. She told me about her many experiences working with the poor before she came to work for our ministry, and I was truly amazed at all the things she had done.

I asked her to share her best advice for someone who wants to work with the poor, and she had four words for me:

“Bring an empty cup.

“Most people come to help the poor with only a full cup.

“Their cups are full of all the things they want to do for the poor, all the things they want to give to the poor and all the solutions they have for the problems of the poor. These things can sometimes be very good, but if people only bring a full cup, they can’t accept anything in return. They can give, but they can’t receive. They should bring an empty cup.”

I was humbled by her comment. How many times had I visited some of our church partners with only a full cup? How often had I spent time with the poor assuming that I had all the answers for their problems and that I was the only one who had anything to offer in the relationship?

As we talked, I began to realize that my heart needed to change about the work I was doing. While my intent had always been good, I had to admit that I thought the poor needed me more than I needed them. I have since come to appreciate just how much the poor can teach me if I come prepared to receive from them.

When I come with an empty cup, the poor teach me about the faith required to truly depend on God rather than for me to try to solve all their problems by reaching for my wallet. When I come with an empty cup, the poor teach me how to get the best use of the resources around me instead of wasting so much.

When I come with an empty cup, the poor teach me about the joy of giving to others even when I can’t “afford” to give. They teach me about the beauty of simple living, about the importance of relationships and human contact, and about finding God in the little things.

Working with the poor isn’t about doing things FOR them; it’s about doing things WITH them. Those of us in developed nations might have the financial and material resources, but the poor are often rich in spiritual and relational resources. This is no accident.

I believe that God has arranged things so that we can both benefit when we work together to address the needs of the poor, but it won’t happen unless we are intentional. We’ve got to bring an empty cup.

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

The poor need hope.

My initial question for Samuel, a worker at the Kasih Abadi Student Center in Indonesia, is:

“What is the most relevant thought you have about your work?”

Samuel tries to think of the answer. Silence occurs and it creates a funny, awkward feeling.

I was interviewing the child development center staff for a church impact story, and these interviews sometimes bring an uneasy situation. To get an answer to a question like this may lead to an odd situation. It’s normal though.

“The poor need hope.”

To my surprise Samuel’s few words will become the focal point as he begin to shares his story of ministering to the poor.

Community development and growth is not just about numbers and statistics. Somewhere in the corner of real life, there is always a group of people who are missed.

They are stuck without any options.

For these people, community development becomes a hostile environment. They are silenced by the failure to see a better way out of their current life. Their children will soon believe that their future is already set.

They are not able to speak for themselves, and dream of a better way of living.

That has happened in Ngandong. This remote village has somehow been cut off from the outside world and for one reason – the road structure there is severely damaged.

This has been a problem for years, ever since the village was established.

And not because the government avoids building street access, but because the roads are easily ruined by rainwater and river streams within a few months after they are finished, leaving a huge potholes and big rocks blocking the only access in and out of the village.

This situation is affecting the education level in the village. The people in Ngandong have not enjoyed the privilege of advanced education like the other villages nearby.

Mr. Pandono is one of the few educated members of the village who has survived this hardship. He is a member of the church committee for the Kasih Abadi Student Center in Ngandong.

“In the 70s there was only six elementary students in my class from the whole village. I’m the only one who was lucky enough to continue to study through junior high school.”

Ngandong’s situation is now better than in the 70s, with four elementary schools available in the village. This has given villagers the ability to send their children to elementary school without worrying about walking a long distance.

But after the children finish elementary school, the village doesn’t have a junior high school for them. Only a few of the children dare to go to secondary school, which requires an 18 kilometer walk back and forth to reach the school. We are talking about the 21st century, and yet the people of Ngandong still have no access to a better education.

For most parents, the trip to the school may seem death defying, but those trips usually only consist of a quick drive or a walk to the school gates. But the families of Ngandong village, in central Java, Indonesia, take their lives in their hands every day walking to school. These trips involve navigating a narrow road through the forest for hours just to get to a secondary school.

The nearest junior high school is a local private school, and the public school takes at least two hours for the children to walk one way to reach it.

The nearest senior high school is 30 kilometers away in the town of Kudus, which because of the distance will reduce the number of children who can afford to go that far.

In the past only a few children from wealthier families in Ngandong have had the privilege to further their studies.

Villagers have been trying to rebuild and maintain the road structure, but their limited efforts feel like hitting the air. The road remains severely damaged. The last government intervention that the villagers can remember was seven years ago, and did not make a difference. Seems the government is also tired of dealing with these roads.

As soon as we enter the road leading to Ngandong village, white limestones replace the asphalt surface. Village officials feel helpless about repairing these roads every year. Their efforts to provide a decent road get wiped away as soon as the rain pours.

Big holes will get worse during the monsoon. Villagers try their best to fill in the gaps with smaller rocks and soil, but this fix may only last for a week. Trucks are the only reasonable vehicle that can navigate these harsh road conditions.

Trucks are mostly used by farmers to bring their crops from the village to the market. The richer farmers have their own trucks, while many other farmers have to carry their crops on their shoulders to the market.

Those who have money can rent a truck for the day. Sadly, none of the truck owners are willing to dedicate one of their trucks to be a local public transport.

The road conditions in Ngandong are a concern for the child development center in Ngandong. The center’s staff notice that teens have difficulty maintaining their attendance at the center. This is because they are too tired after the long walk to and from school.

When the center staff noticed that three of the secondary school students got sick after a long walk to and from school, the church in Ngandong stepped in.

The church committee knows that the lack of attention to Ngandong’s roads from local government is far from improving.

“The children cannot wait until the roads are fixed or public transport available. Therefore we want to take measures to prevent these children from ending up hopeless.”

A discussion between the church and Compassion staff concluded that we need to provide a way to fix the transportation problem.

Hiring a truck owner to provide the school transportation seemed to be the best choice. The church staff agreed to negotiate with the truck owner about the fees. We would use the truck not only to transport secondary students, but also other students along the way.

This requires an agreement from the community, as they will have to agree to contribute separately from what the church gives to the truck owner on monthly basis.

With God’s grace, one truck owner is willing to let one of his trucks to be used as school transportation in the morning and after school. The truck owner’s only concern — and why he never made steps to make one of the trucks available for public transportation before – is because there was no guarantee for monthly income and maintenance fees.

Samuel shares,

“We finally agreed to cover the basic expense of transport on monthly basis, while the truck owner also has the benefit to collect money from the other students who want to use the truck along the way.”

The church in Ngandong will pay 3 million rupiah a month (U.S. $300) or 130 thousand rupiah (U.S.$13) a day in fees to rent the truck. This will bring all of the sponsored children in secondary level to their school for free, every day. And the truck owner will earn additional income from other students who want to ride along the way.

The church’s action to subsidize transportation fees for sponsored children is part of a strategy to mitigate the high cost of transportation in the poverty-stricken village of Ngandong.

Samuel tells us,

“This move will benefit all the sponsored children who attend secondary school.”

Offering this transportation is a big ministry to Ngandong. So far, the church has established a good relationship with the villagers, but through this transportation intervention, the church once again has become a source of good will in the community.

The villagers notice the initiatives that come from the church. These initiatives have benefited them, and they no longer worry about how to provide transportation for their children.

This action is not only bringing benefit to the children from the church, but also to the entire community. Samuel shares again,

“The benefit is real. It will boost the motivation of children in Ngandong to further their studies.

“The poor need hope.”

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

Matthew never stopped smiling as the children swarmed around him and wanted to shake his hand. Even though he was not their sponsor, the children were thrilled to meet the very first sponsor to visit their child development center.

“Matthew! Matthew! Look at my picture!”

The children called out enthusiastically in Indonesian as they ran to Matthew, carrying pieces of paper in their hands to show off their artwork.

Matthew responded in English, a language they had never heard before, and smiled warmly at them, causing them to laugh.

Although the children could not understand what Matthew said, they were delighted with his presence.

Matthew is a young man from the United States who, since January 2009, has given from his heart to support one of the registered children at Sangihe Evangelical Church in Kolongan Beha, Sangihe Island.

He sponsors Mariana, a child who lives in East Indonesia on Sangihe Island, where her child development center is located.

Although their communication before Matthew’s visit was only through letters, Matthew and Mariana enjoy sharing many things as they write to one another.

They understand that mail can seem slow because it first has to be processed and sorted through our Global Ministry Center before it is sent to Mariana’s home country. Our office in Indonesia then processes the letters by dividing them according to area, then sends them to each development center.

Although Mariana and Matthew have to go through a long process to send and receive letters, they never stop writing about their day-to-day lives.

This includes sharing information about their family members or their favorite things.

Mariana wrote in one letter that she learned about Jesus Christ.

“I like to share anything that I experience with Brother Matthew because he loves to hear what I am doing every day.”

As their friendship grew, Matthew wanted to meet Mariana face-to-face and interact with her directly. Matthew took a big step: He decided to go to Indonesia and visit his sponsored child.

So along with a friend, Matthew traveled to Indonesia. In addition to meeting Mariana in person, he touched more lives than he had ever imagined. Matthew had not realized that his decision to visit Mariana would impact other children, parents and community members who at times had doubted whether their “invisible” sponsors actually existed.

Pastor Leopold Tamalawe of Sangihe Evangelical Church shared,

“People in this area did not believe that children have sponsors. They thought sponsors were just in a dream and they thought we lied to them.”

Because a sponsor had never before come to visit the Ikhtus Student Center, this belief is not surprising.

Sangihe Island is one of the remote areas of East Indonesia that can be reached only by an eight-hour boat ride or by plane, and it is not well known to foreigners. Not many people, especially from abroad, visit this island.

“It is very rare to see people from abroad come here, especially sponsors of our children.”

When Matthew arrived at the center, the children surrounded him to shake his hand and hug him. Children everywhere long for their sponsors to come and meet them personally, and as the first sponsor to visit the Ikhtus Student Center, Matthew demonstrated to the children and their families the reality of sponsors and their love for the children.

Matthew’s first opportunity to see Mariana in real life came when he and a translator picked her up from school. After meeting the school principal and asking about Mariana’s academic progress, Matthew and the translator then visited Mariana’s house. Mariana smiles as she describes her first experience with Matthew,

“I took Brother Matthew to play and took cassava that we planted behind our house for our lunch. He even liked to eat it. We ate it together.”

Matthew spent several hours with Mariana and her family, trying local dishes like cassava. He also tried pineapple, fried banana, and panada — fried local cookies filled with vegetables or meat. Matthew even went to see the sweet potato tree.

Fransin, the development center coordinator, shares,

“Matthew loved to try anything. He not made difference between Western people who has to eat Western dish with Asian people like us.”

During their short time together, Mariana and Matthew really enjoyed interacting in person. Although they could talk only through the translator, they communicated through actions such as holding hands and sharing one coconut with two straws.

They encouraged each other and promised to continue upholding one another in their daily prayers.

“Brother Matthew promised to keep praying for me, so I can reach my dream one day. He also asked me to pray for his ministry so he can help others to know Jesus more.”

Matthew’s visit was not only a special moment for Mariana, but it was also special for the other children who felt their sponsors’ love through Matthew because he was very welcoming to all the children. Fransin told us,

“After Matthew’s visitation to our development center, we can see that children and their parents realized that the invisible sponsors that they thought were a lie all this time have great love for them.

“We also got acknowledgment from local government in Sangihe because the development center impacted tourism sector in this area. Many foreign people are getting know about Sangihe Island.

“Even though we live far away from North Sulawesi capital city, but we believe a step of a sponsor has changed everything.”

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