Compassion International is one of the two programs we sponsor through. We were introduced to it in a very unusual way.
My husband was in Ethiopia in 1993 and met a pastor. They became pen pals.
In 2002 he told us about a US based Christian program his wife worked for and how it made a difference in the lives of the children. We did some research and were impressed with what we found about Compassion, so we asked for a child in the town our friends live in -- knowing one day we would visit there.
One day came in 2003 when we vacationed in Ethiopia.
OK, years earlier we were "burned" by a major child sponsorship organization and I was a bit cynical and cautious. So when we went to Ethiopia I did not tell Compassion. I wanted to see the site without them having the opportunity to hide anything because they knew we were coming.
We showed up at the gate of Mulu Wongel. The rep took us to the office, looked at our passports and called the Compassion country office in Addis to make sure we were still sponsoring Sintayehu. After that was all cleared up, they opened everything to us. Even the accounting books were laid out for us to see how every "birr" we sent was spent. We then walked over to Sintayehu's home, which was -- that very day -- being rebuilt with the 'family money' I had sent that spring! Poor grandmother Getti about fell out over having American visitors on such a day! Sintayehu was in vocational class and they pulled her out to come see us. We had a wonderful afternoon of visiting.
My "surprise inspection" exceeded my hopes for what I would find. Once I got back to the US, I called Compassion and told them what I had done...promising to never do it again. But they were delighted to hear such a glowing report.
Sintayehu has left the program early this year on her own accord. She decided it was time for her to start working to earn a living. We had sponsored her for 6 and a half years.
At this time, we sponsor three children.
There is Ntikoisa is Maasai boy from Kenya. He was my Christmas present in 2003. Deane and I were working the Compassion sponsor table at a Michael W Smith Christmas concert in Nashville and I saw his packet. I have had a life-long fascination with the Maasai people and "NT" just captured my heart. I put his packet under the table to look at. When I showed him to Deane, he said "we can't afford another child." All thru the evening I kept looking at the packet and had decided when the after-concert "flood" hit the table that I WOULD find him a sponsor.
Just before the concert ended Deane asked to see the packet. He looked at it for a moment, and then handed it to me saying "Merry Christmas."
We visited "NT" in 2006, plus a boy I co-sponsor with a friend.
Mwayi is a girl from Tanzania. This time we were working a Compassion table at an Evie concert in 2007. We were both taken with her bright smile and decided we could work one more sponsor child into our "family".
Sundar is a boy from India. Just a few days after we received notice that Sintayehu had left the program, we got a phone call from Compassion to let me know that my favorite little "writing buddy" had lost his sponsor. Did I want to take him on? It didn't take long to answer that query with a "Yes!"
I have been asked why my sponsor kids are so important to me. The reason is that in this scary, messed-up world they bring me HOPE and a feeling that maybe, just maybe, I can have a wee role in making it not so messed-up.
That's how Compassion International feels too.