Many of the children in our program think about their sponsor as an extension of their family. Maybe you feel the same way about the child you sponsor. You know you want to pray for him or her daily and write letters often. And through those actions and your financial gifts, you’ll no doubt make a powerful impact on your sponsored child’s life.
But … you feel the need to do more. You want to incorporate your sponsored child into your daily life as much as possible. The question is: How?
To answer that question, let’s turn to the Compassion family. Some of the stories that inspire us most are about the incredible dedication and commitment of our sponsors. If you’re looking for ways to further incorporate your sponsored child into your family — or even just ways to remind yourself to think about and pray for him or her on a daily basis — look no further.
We’ve reached out to sponsors to see how they make their sponsored children part of their daily lives. Here’s what some of them had to say …
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t pray for these children. Their letters and drawings and photos are everywhere, with so many of them. And their birthdays are on the calendar. They have truly blessed me, and I have realized over the years that God has used my letters to them in ways I could never have imagined.” — Jan
“I tell my sponsored children that they are always in my heart, and I take them with me everywhere I go. I try to take photos of my either holding their picture or a special sign for them in different places. For example, I am an MD/Ph.D. student and took a photo for one child from the research lab.” — Emily
“Besides taping their most recent photos and letters to my fridge, every day I make one of my sponsored kids the background photo on my phone. That way, anytime I see a notification or check my phone, I’m reminded to pray for them. I also frequently check global news sites and Compassion’s Crisis Updates page to learn more about what might be impacting them and how to pray for their countries.” — Katie
“For me, it’s crucial to involve my son in the process of sponsorship, so he often draws them pictures or picks out stickers to send them in the mail. We have thrown a little birthday celebration to show our sponsored child how much a part of our family he is.” — Kristen
“I home-school my kids, and when we’re studying an area of the world where we have a Compassion child, we write to that child. Also, when my kids find folktales they love, they narrate them into letters and we send the stories with artwork from my kids to our sponsored children.” — Hannah
“I have a collage of all my sponsored children (past and present) displayed on my desk and in my Bible. I incorporate traditional holiday foods from their countries into my family’s holiday celebrations, such as tamales for Christmas, and send them photos of it. I also send them photos of big life events so they can feel included.” — Megan
“I put their names on a map and seek out books and YouTube videos that help me better understand the countries and areas where they live.” — Sarah
“My daughter and I pray for our sponsored children’s food when we pray for ours. Their photos are on our refrigerator and all of their letters are saved in a binder. I use a bookmark from Compassion to pray for them daily.” — Christy
A Fuller Daily Life
We pray these ideas from some of the most dedicated sponsors will encourage you to also include your sponsored child in your daily life in new and powerful ways. And in doing so, we pray your relationship with your child will continue to deepen and bless you both in ways you never imagined.
International photography by Eric D. Lema and Lina Marcela Alarcón Molina.
8 Comments |Add a comment
I love writing hand written letters to my sponsor child in Uganda. She is so sweet and precious. I love her so much. I pray God use me to inspire her to surrender her life fully to Jesus Christ and that she will be born again.
I would love to go meet her in Uganda one day. I will need pray for God to provide that opportunity financially to me. I am praying for it to unfold in Jesus Name, and in His timing.
I also love writing letters to my correspondent child. I would like more children to correspond with also.
Hello Ashley! As a sponsor and correspondent myself, I too love writing handwritten letters to my kiddos! It is such a joy to know them and love them! Although Covid has impacted international travel for the time being, Compassion typically has the opportunity for donors and sponsors to travel abroad internationally to meet their child, face to face! It is such an amazing experience to meet your child. Once the pandemic risk is lower and travel is reopened that will definitely be an option you could do! I am joining you in prayer that the Lord makes a way for you to meet her someday in the future! We would love to assist you with getting more children to correspond with. Please feel free to email us at [email protected] so that we can discuss the next steps! Blessings!
How do I send a letter?
Hi Ellen! 🙂 Thank you so much for asking! You can write a letter to your sponsored child through your My Account online. You can also write a physical letter and send it to this address:
Compassion International
Colorado Springs, CO 80997
Please include your sponsor number and your child’s number on the letter. We will process it through for you and make sure your kiddo gets it. 🙂 You can also read more about letter writing here: https://www.compassion.com/for-sponsors/write.htm . If you have any other questions, please send us an email at [email protected]. We are happy to help!
I listen to Family Life Radio every time I get in my car. I heard of this sponsorship and they said nobody had signed up for Verlin (08441452). I heard God say Sponsor Verlin❤️ I am excited and HAPPY to get to know Verlin. I have been telling everyone about this PROGRAM ???
Virginia,
Thank you so much for listening to your heart and for choosing to sponsor sweet Verlin! It is an honor to have you in our Compassion family! We appreciate you have also chosen to advocate for other sweet children who are still in need of a loving sponsor! You are awesome!
Thank you so much for this article. It is inspiring and helpful!
I am thinking of doing a hand-drawn map showing where we are in relation to where they are, with a photo and heart for each location.
I teach fine art to children. It will be fun to send instructions for a simple drawing, like a flower, that can be done beautifully with either colour pencil or crayolas.
Again, thank you for this excellent article.
Sinitayehu’s picture ( both of them, age 5 and age 15) qis on a shelf of my computer desk…just to the left, about eye-level.
I may not pray each time I look up, but I do think of him, 0pray for him often.