On the outskirts of Mexico City, on one of suburban Chimalhuacán’s many unpaved streets, it’s Saturday morning and the community is still.
No one is out and about out except for some children in a Compassion Child Development Center class. They have played with friends and sung songs, and now it’s almost time for class to end.
Unlike many groups of children, this bunch sits nicely, waiting patiently and quietly. On the teacher’s desk there is a big package. It’s time to deliver sponsor letters.
Every week at the end of class, children receive sponsor letters. Besides delighting the kids, they are a way for sponsors to express their love and concern while showing how much the youngsters are valued.
Letters are inspirational and motivational, and as one sponsorship coordinator says,
“They are a reflection of the love we want our children to understand from God.”
Every Saturday morning, when children meet for class, the sponsorship coordinator delivers a stack of letters to each classroom. Most of our centers receive their letters on a monthly basis, but the Chimalhuacán program values letters so greatly that it sends someone to pick up letters every week.
“The grace of receiving a letter is such a gift to our children,” says Sister Vero, the center director. She says of children who aren’t sponsored or do not receive sponsor letters,
“These children are children who are constantly looking for affirmation. They desperately need someone to relate to and to tell them they are special. We normally tell our children how important they are to us and to God, but the additional spark that the sponsored children get through their letters makes a significant impact on them.”
Sister Vero has seen children working harder at school in order to tell their sponsors they are doing better. She has also observed children who are trying to behave well and starting to obey their mothers because their sponsors told them to be good.
A sponsor’s positive effect wouldn’t surprise author John Drescher, who says in his book, Seven Things Children Need, that youth thrive when they feel important and loved, are accepted and recognized and know God. Sponsors encourage these things through their letters.
Itzel and Jesús holding their sponsors’ letters.
Eight-year-old Itzel believes the most important thing she received from her sponsors was support when she needed prayer for peace.
Chimalhuacán is one of the most dangerous suburbs of Mexico City, and for young and tenderhearted Itzel, the dangers of the area caused her to lose sleep.
One night, when she was already in bed, she heard a man’s voice pleading for help.
He was being robbed outside her front door, and after a difficult fight, the man was alone in the dark, badly beaten and bleeding. He cried out and Itzel’s parents called the police and his family.
Itzel was afraid the next morning when she went out and saw the many bloody marks the man had left on the street. She had nightmares and was afraid every time she stepped out her door.
Itzel told her sponsor about the situation. A couple of months after she wrote about the incident, Itzel received a beautiful letter from her sponsor assuring her that God cares for her and is looking after her. The letter also said that her sponsor would be praying for her safety.
Itzel’s mother says that after receiving that letter, she and her daughter started praying every night before going to sleep. After a few months, Itzel stopped having nightmares.
“I was scared and I asked my sponsor to pray for me so that I would be OK and so that it would never happen again. She prayed, and it made me feel better.”
Eleven-year-old Juan Jesús says that he likes to receive letters because he enjoys hearing stories and details about his sponsor in England.
Jesús lives in a small house with his parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives. More than 25 people share the home, including other children, and there is one bathroom, table and stove for all.
In the middle of a huge family with lots of children everywhere, Jesús desperately needs to feel special. The greatest thing that his sponsor has taught him through her letters is prayer.
“My father used to fight with my mother very often, and I shared that with my sponsor. She helped me pray for them. Now they do not fight that much.”
Almost every night before going to bed, Jesús reads a couple of his sponsor’s letters and looks over the photos she sends. He repeats the Bible verses she sends and prays for the needs at home.
He also prays for his parents and younger brother, and for his sponsor too.
“My sponsor is like a mom to me. She gives me advice and tells me to obey my mom and not to complain about what she asks me to do. She tells me not to wander outside in the streets, and I feel like she is always close to me.”
Sadly, not every child in class is called up front to receive a letter. Some of them are handed a Bible verse on a small piece of paper that the center staff prepared for them.
Children know the difference, and although they value the encouragement they receive through their teachers, most of them hope they’ll receive a letter next week.
They will sit and hope to hear their teacher call their name out loud.
We originally published this post on Jan. 4, 2013.
32 Comments |Add a comment
I would like to be a correspondent sponsor. Actually I would like to sponsor several children but just can’t financially commit to more than the one I started sponsoring this year. ? My sponsored child is just one year old so it will be a while before I am truly corresoonding with him although I am writing him and his mom regularly. Anyway, how can I go about seeing if there is need for other children who need someone to write letters to them?
Hi Ann! Thank you so much for your heart to become a correspondent for a Compassion child! We would be delighted to have you write to a kiddo. The correspondent role is a very important aspect of our ministry. Experience has shown us the power of a letter is tremendous, and for an impoverished child to know that someone from across the globe cares about them can make the difference that helps release that child from poverty. We assign correspondents for sponsors who do not have the time or desire to write, and as soon as an opening becomes available, we can assign a child to you. At that time, we will send you an information packet for the child, as well as writing instructions. The requirement to be a correspondent is a commitment to write at least three times a year. In turn, you will receive three letters a year from the child. However, the more letters you write the more you will receive from your child. I have placed you on the correspondent waiting list, and I hope we are able to give you a kiddo very soon!
I have only heard from my “son” twice. I immediately write after getting his letter. After reading this article I am going to send him a letter every other week to encourage him.I didn’t know how the mail was distributed. Thank you for this information.
Joyce, thank you so much for blessing Jonathan with another letter of encouragement! Please know that each and every letter makes a huge difference in lifting your child’s confidence and bringing hope in the midst of poverty. I pray that you will hear from him again soon too.
I have just become a Correspondent Sponsor to a little girl in Honduras. I have only been sponsoring her for a little over a month. But already she found a special place in my heart. I had been trying for over three years to become a sponsor. But money problems were holding me back. But when a friend suggested Correspondent Sponsoring. I was so excited that I was finely going to get a child. God has blessed me in an amazing way by giving me my little girl. I am so happy that now she will be getting called to get letters along with the other children 🙂
All these letters are inspiring! I have come to love my sponsored child and am so excited when his letters arrive. He has told me twice his dream is to be a pastor and he is only 10 yrs old. The staff at the Compassion center in his village must be awesome to have inspired him or his pastor must be very special. Do the children or their families have Bibles? If not, would I be able to send money designated for the purchase of one?
Hi Sandy! I want to encourage you that every child in our program receives an age-appropriate Bible and is instructed from God’s word. Younger children may receive a picture Bible and learn from scripture passages and stories. As children grow, they receive scripture appropriate for their age and ability to read. The funds for purchasing Bibles come from the Bibles For All Children Fund if you ever feel led to donate towards purchasing Bibles for the projects we work in :).
The best thing about sponsoring is the letters. Writing and receiving, both. 🙂 It’s encouraging to hear how the monies and prayers impact the families of the children. What a blessing to be able to take part in such an awesome ministry!
This article made me cry! I have been very lazy about writing my child. I can’t imagine her waiting to be called to receive a letter and not getting one! I am inspired!! I plan to be more committed to writing and praying for my sponsor child.
I wrote my little girl haven’t heard anything I really hope she’s ok. And she likes my letters. Maybe I will here from her soon.
Hi Carlene! Thank you so much for investing in your little girl’s life and sending her letters! It takes about two to four months for the first letter to come in the mail. Hopefully, you’ll receive a letter very soon. If you have been sponsoring for more than four months, please email us at [email protected] so that we can make sure that everything is alright.
Hi my name is carlene just sponsored a child work at Walmart.i think I should ask to send food. Walmart gives a lot local. But I think there is a lot of service in America for the hungry. I think the should send a truck maybe ever 3 to 6 mouth. Should I ask them I should.
Hi Carlene! I so appreciate your care and concern and willingness to help the children in our programs through your job. Regrettably, we would have no way to transport food from the US to the countries where we work to be given to sponsored children and their families. I am so sorry but we wouldn’t be able to accept a donation like this at this time.
I have just become the sponsor of two children, and wrote them both a letter right away. Then I read the blog on what happens when a child receives a letter. Since I have written, I find myself thinking of them very frequently, and wanting to write to them again. How often is too often? I feel like I could write at least two letters each per week!
Hi Emily! I love your heart for these children! You are welcome to write to your children however much you would like. 🙂 However, I recommend once or twice a month to avoid overwhelming the children and translators.
It it hard for me to write to someone I haven’t met, but this has inspired me to write more often. I’ve sent 3 and only received one. I should understand that I’m a grown man and it’s hard for me, so it must be immensely so for an 8 year old child.
I just began a 2nd sponsorship of a 5 year old, and I need to remember that it’s MY responsibility to write to them and to do so until they’re old enough and comfortable enough to write back more.
It’s not what I get out of this relationshp, but what the children receive and all for the glory of God.
I can’t begin to tell you have excited I get when I receive a letter from my girl!!! i can’t imagine what it must feel like for her. What a blessing!!!
While I cannot afford to sponsor another child at this time, could I send letters to some of the children who do not have sponsors?
You can Deborah. Just give us a call at (800) 336-7676 and let the rep know that you’d like to be a correspondent sponsor. You may have to be placed on a waiting list but you will get paired with a child eventually. It’s awesome that you want to do this!
Hey, Jacquie!
I know Deborah might not see this note, especially since it’s been more than a year since this was first posted, and since you replied to her question. But I’ll leave it, just in case.
She was asking to write to unsponsored children, and unless something has changed in the last four months, the only time we can do that is leading up to Christmas. And then we need to keep those letters generic, because we have no way to know which child will get what we’ve sent.
The information you gave her might still have filled her desire to write to children that no one else is writing to, but I thought I would leave this clarification, anyway. Blessings!
I just began my sponsorship and already feel so much love for my child. I am happy I already wrote him a letter and this will remind me to continue frequently. I am also glad to know that some centers do not have the means to get letters weekly… So maybe I will not write every week. I wonder if we are able to send letters to the class?? and gifts??unsponsored children???
Is there anyway to send additional letters to the children even if they are not sponsored? I am not currently in the position to sponsor additional children at this time, but I would love to send letters!
Hi Renee! There is no way to send letters to unsponsored children but you could become a correspondent for a child who already has a sponsor. It is an excellent way to impact a child’s life, without the financial commitment. The sponsor has indicated that he or she does not wish to write, but does want to sponsor a child. You would send and get all correspondence to and from the child (or children). We are looking for people to write a minimum of three times a year, hopefully answering every time you receive a letter from your child. If you are interested in being involved in the correspondence program, please email us at [email protected]. -Susan
Would like to correspond with other children I have one that I am sponsor but would love to write letters to more children.
Hi Linda! We would love to assign you a child to write encouraging letters to! Please email us at [email protected] and we would love to set you up with a correspondent :). -Emily
what a wonderful way to bless these children. So many people out here need the opportunity to be blessing them.
The kids should know we feel the same way when we receive THEIR letters. I wish they would write more often.
This article inspired me to always remember to write to my sponsored children and encourage them. May all of us sponsors consistently write to our children, knowing that the letters of encouragement make a huge impact for eternity!
It is always good to hear again how much children need letters from sponsors. It encourages me to keep writing, and not forget our sponsored children. And especially always tell them they’re loved and valued by both God and me.
I am not currently looking for another child to sponsor, but if I were I would be very inspired to choose one from this program. Perhaps it would be a good idea to post the center name and ID. I’m sure I’m not the only one who will have this inclination!
Sure! This post is about ME927 or the Capacitando Campeones Student Center. -Susan
This piece welcomed a big smile to my face. Thanks! What a privilege and blessing it is to send letters of love and precious words of affirmation to our sponsored children.