I am so excited! I wrote Compassion to ask for two more correspondent children to whom we can write. I didn't specify any country or age or gender, leaving it all to God. Compassion answered the next business day and gave me a boy from Colombia, age 10, and a girl from Nicaragua, age 8. They were both just sponsored so it must have been by a large company who doesn't want to write letters. In these cases the children are assigned a correspondent family who will faithfully write to them.
We are correspondents to two other children and sponsor two others, so we've been writing to four and it has been such a joy! Writing to these children makes all my sorrows and worries float away. I just feel so wonderfully blessed by the interaction and by being a messenger of Christ's love.
Last week I read heartbreaking stories of children whose sponsors do not write. It is heartbreaking for these children who already feel insignificant. If you would love to encourage a child but do not have the money to sponsor a child right now, please email here: ciinfo@us.ci.org
If you make this commitment, please write at least monthly.
Below is a sample letter that can be used as an introductory letter. I wrote it to both of our new children, just changing the names. If you write online you can write longer letters and easily upload photos. This letter used all the space available (I couldn't use paragraph breaks, however), allowing me to upload one larger photo and two small ones. Compassion's online letter writing program tells you what percentage of space you have left. It also gives you the option of duplicating the letter to another child. You just change the names and some details to fit that child's life and family and prayer requests.
Here are our new precious ones!
Dearest Abdi,
Oh, Abdi! We are so happy to meet you. We praise God for you. Jesus loves you and we will love you too, Abdi. We asked God for a child to write to and to share our lives with and He gave us you! Your picture is very pretty and I shared it with all of my family. My name is Christine. I am 48 years old. I live in the state of Ohio in the United States. I am married and we have four children named Peter, Paul, Mary and Beth. Peter is the oldest. He is 13. Paul is 11. Mary is 8. Beth is 6. Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are their names and ages?
Peter loves to garden and he loves animals and science. He wants to be a farmer and missionary when he grows up. Timothy loves math and games and basketball and football. He wants to be a teacher or an engineer or a writer when he grows up. Emily loves animals and science and she wants to work with animals when she grows up. Anna loves books and drawing. She wants to be a writer or a singer when she grows up.
What are your dreams, Abdi? What do you want to be when you grow up? God will make it possible. With God all things are possible. My husband is a custodian. I stay home and homeschool my four children. Before I had children I used to be a first grade teacher at a public school. When I had children they needed me so I began to stay home with them. I love homeschooling. We learn about Jesus, the Bible, and we pray together everyday. We read books, we write, and we learn about history, math, grammar, spelling and science.
Do you like school? What is your favorite subject? My favorite things are reading and writing. My favorite colors are purple and pink. My favorite foods are taco soup, strawberries, and chocolate.
Jesus loves you, Abdi! You are precious to him and to me and my family. God has big plans for you. You are wonderfully made by your loving Father. We will be praying for you and your family each day: that you will be blessed by God and do well in school, that you will have good food to eat, that you will be safe, and that you will learn more about Jesus and the Bible.
God wants us to spend time with Him by praying, by reading the Bible, and by singing songs to Him. When you pray to God just talk with him. Tell him you love him, thank him for everything, and ask him for what you and others need. Prayer is just talking to God like he is our best friend.
I want you to remember that you are very special, you are very loved, and you have a Big God who is going to work all things for your good. Romans 8:28 says: For God works all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
God is calling you, Abdi. He wants to be your Lord and Savior. He is going to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Abdi, God wants to love you and help you every day and be your Lord, your King, your loving Father. Please tell him you want all these things from Him. He wants you to say "Yes, Lord. I want you to be my Lord and Savior."
Abdi, we love you. We always will.
Love,
Christine
Some writing tips:
With each letter, I will build upon these concepts and truths, always using the child's name often and saying I love you. I will talk about keeping a blessing list, about gratitude, about forgiveness, about holiness, about making the right choices and obeying parents, about trying hard in school, about the importance of having dreams, about my joys and sorrows, and I will ask for prayer whenever we need it. I will ask questions and talk about our weather and our holidays and our daily practices. I will talk about a personal relationship with God, I will speak life, truth, love, comfort, wisdom, and prayer into the lives of these children, who are a gift.
Here again is the address to ask for a correspondent child:
ciinfo@us.ci.org
You don't have to send any money, ever, but if you do, it will bless these families and could give them more warmth, a roof that doesn't leak, clothes that fit, nutritious food, etc. A little money goes a long way.
You will be sent a packet in the mail with a photo and information about your child and about the Compassion Child Development Center he or she attends, as well as local cultural information and pictures. You will learn a little bit about the child's daily activities and about his or her grade and performance in school, and whether the parents are married and both living in the home.
If you already have a Compassion account, all this information will show up online as soon as they assign you the child, and you can begin writing immediately, before your packet even arrives.
You will enjoy this endeavor of the heart! I promise!
We are correspondents to two other children and sponsor two others, so we've been writing to four and it has been such a joy! Writing to these children makes all my sorrows and worries float away. I just feel so wonderfully blessed by the interaction and by being a messenger of Christ's love.
Last week I read heartbreaking stories of children whose sponsors do not write. It is heartbreaking for these children who already feel insignificant. If you would love to encourage a child but do not have the money to sponsor a child right now, please email here: ciinfo@us.ci.org
If you make this commitment, please write at least monthly.
Below is a sample letter that can be used as an introductory letter. I wrote it to both of our new children, just changing the names. If you write online you can write longer letters and easily upload photos. This letter used all the space available (I couldn't use paragraph breaks, however), allowing me to upload one larger photo and two small ones. Compassion's online letter writing program tells you what percentage of space you have left. It also gives you the option of duplicating the letter to another child. You just change the names and some details to fit that child's life and family and prayer requests.
Here are our new precious ones!
 |
| Abdi, age 8, Nicaragua |
 |
| Miguel, age 10, Columbia |
Dearest Abdi,
Oh, Abdi! We are so happy to meet you. We praise God for you. Jesus loves you and we will love you too, Abdi. We asked God for a child to write to and to share our lives with and He gave us you! Your picture is very pretty and I shared it with all of my family. My name is Christine. I am 48 years old. I live in the state of Ohio in the United States. I am married and we have four children named Peter, Paul, Mary and Beth. Peter is the oldest. He is 13. Paul is 11. Mary is 8. Beth is 6. Do you have any brothers or sisters? What are their names and ages?
Peter loves to garden and he loves animals and science. He wants to be a farmer and missionary when he grows up. Timothy loves math and games and basketball and football. He wants to be a teacher or an engineer or a writer when he grows up. Emily loves animals and science and she wants to work with animals when she grows up. Anna loves books and drawing. She wants to be a writer or a singer when she grows up.
What are your dreams, Abdi? What do you want to be when you grow up? God will make it possible. With God all things are possible. My husband is a custodian. I stay home and homeschool my four children. Before I had children I used to be a first grade teacher at a public school. When I had children they needed me so I began to stay home with them. I love homeschooling. We learn about Jesus, the Bible, and we pray together everyday. We read books, we write, and we learn about history, math, grammar, spelling and science.
Do you like school? What is your favorite subject? My favorite things are reading and writing. My favorite colors are purple and pink. My favorite foods are taco soup, strawberries, and chocolate.
Jesus loves you, Abdi! You are precious to him and to me and my family. God has big plans for you. You are wonderfully made by your loving Father. We will be praying for you and your family each day: that you will be blessed by God and do well in school, that you will have good food to eat, that you will be safe, and that you will learn more about Jesus and the Bible.
God wants us to spend time with Him by praying, by reading the Bible, and by singing songs to Him. When you pray to God just talk with him. Tell him you love him, thank him for everything, and ask him for what you and others need. Prayer is just talking to God like he is our best friend.
I want you to remember that you are very special, you are very loved, and you have a Big God who is going to work all things for your good. Romans 8:28 says: For God works all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
God is calling you, Abdi. He wants to be your Lord and Savior. He is going to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Abdi, God wants to love you and help you every day and be your Lord, your King, your loving Father. Please tell him you want all these things from Him. He wants you to say "Yes, Lord. I want you to be my Lord and Savior."
Abdi, we love you. We always will.
Love,
Christine
Some writing tips:
With each letter, I will build upon these concepts and truths, always using the child's name often and saying I love you. I will talk about keeping a blessing list, about gratitude, about forgiveness, about holiness, about making the right choices and obeying parents, about trying hard in school, about the importance of having dreams, about my joys and sorrows, and I will ask for prayer whenever we need it. I will ask questions and talk about our weather and our holidays and our daily practices. I will talk about a personal relationship with God, I will speak life, truth, love, comfort, wisdom, and prayer into the lives of these children, who are a gift.
Here again is the address to ask for a correspondent child:
ciinfo@us.ci.org
You don't have to send any money, ever, but if you do, it will bless these families and could give them more warmth, a roof that doesn't leak, clothes that fit, nutritious food, etc. A little money goes a long way.
You will be sent a packet in the mail with a photo and information about your child and about the Compassion Child Development Center he or she attends, as well as local cultural information and pictures. You will learn a little bit about the child's daily activities and about his or her grade and performance in school, and whether the parents are married and both living in the home.
If you already have a Compassion account, all this information will show up online as soon as they assign you the child, and you can begin writing immediately, before your packet even arrives.
You will enjoy this endeavor of the heart! I promise!
1 comment:
'A Love Letter, From God' - I'd never thought of it like that but you're right. How lovely!
I love writing to our Compassion child. I write once a month and like you I try to say all sorts of things about us and our lives and ask questions about her life and tell her how much she is loved by us and by God. Yesterday we received a new photograph. Oh she looks so grown up! I will make enquiries about writing to another child. What a blessing to think I can *do* something even when I'm not up to doing much otherwise. How wonderful. Thank you for this, Christine. You've put a smile on my face reading this :-)
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