Close your eyes.
Come on, play along!
Close your eyes and picture the child you sponsor opening your last letter. Pulling out that piece of paper. Reading your words. Smiling at the pictures you included.
That’s what Mary Harms does when she writes, Winner, the boy she sponsors.
“We try to imagine what it must be like for Winner as the Compassion worker in Togo reads and translates our letters to him,” says Mary. “Although we may not be able to hug Winner or see him in person, it feels like an expanded connection to be able to write him.”
I love the idea of imagining what it’s like for the children I am investing in to open their letters. But here’s the amazing thing. Our imaginations barely scratch the surface.
Because the reality of Mary’s letters is more than she can fathom. She can’t imagine the comfort her letters bring to Winner and his family as they have dealt with his father’s death, which happened just months before Winner was registered with Compassion.
Winner (far right), his mother Afi and his siblings.
Mary never imagined Winner’s mother, Afi, reading those letters too. But she does. And when she reads Mary’s words, “My entire family loves you,” she can’t stop the tears.
“When my husband died, I thought we would die too,” says Afi. “Thank God Compassion is here. I was so comforted by the words in the letter Winner received from his sponsor. These letters are a powerful source of encouragement to me and my children.”
When Mary writes her letters, her purpose is simple, yet profound. She doesn’t write pages of poetry. She writes sentences of hope.
I always pray for you and your family.
Your future is bright.
You are a member of our family.
“It’s our hope that communicating our care for Winner in our letters will demonstrate God’s love and care to him and his family,” says Mary.
That’s all of our hope when we write the child we sponsor, isn’t it? That our words will demonstrate God’s love.
So close your eyes. And picture the moment that he or she opens your letter. The moment he shares it with his family. The moment she rereads it because she just needs a reminder that she is loved.
Now open your eyes. And pick up a pen. And write that letter.
Write sentences of hope today ›
Our monthly Compassion Letter Club is designed to give you inspiration for your #compassionletter. And you can share your own letter ideas on Pinterest on our Compassion Letter Club Board. Check it out. Write those letters. Share your ideas with other sponsors.
2 Comments |Add a comment
I wonder if my girl’s family loves my letters/pictures/etc. like she told me she does. <3 Maybe I should ask her at some point. 😉
In 1993 when my wife and I visited our sponsored child in Brazil we were brought to tears when he opened a shoulder bag that contained ALL the letters and cards we had sent him the past 5 years. Establishing a relationship with sponsored children is a part of God’s plan for these children. He loves these children through us. We are the jars of clay filled with the greatest treasure the world has ever known, a treasure to be shared.