California Time
Larenda and Hope
This past week ~ a group of bloggers traveled to Kenya with Compassion International to document the hardship and lives of children of poverty. Each day ~ I read moving testimonies about days visiting remote villages, and time spent with children who are in Compassion’s programs. The goal was to bring attention to the plight of these vulnerable children and find willing hearts to sponsor a child for only $38.00 a month. Each day I read. Each day I did nothing. Read, that’s all.
Last night, as I blogged about missing my kiddieGrand [Nathan] who spent the weekend with us ~ I felt compelled to do something. I felt so fortunate to have a happy and healthy child just for the weekend. Why can’t all kids be as happy as he is?
I didn’t want to just turned to the website and pick a child. I wanted a connection of some sort. I kept praying. I knew one of the bloggers on the trip and sent her an email asking her if by chance she could pick a child for me to sponsor. I woke up this morning to an email with Larenda’s information and a hopeful message. It was all I needed. Larenda is 8 years old and is in the same project as one of the children already being sponsored. I didn’t think twice about taking her in.
In exchange for the monthly gym membership I’m paying for and am not using. That’s now canceled. $38.00 a month. My pup gets groomed every 3 weeks at $60.00. That’s now cut in half. What is $38.00 a month?
To a child in Kenya, I can only imagine what that will mean. A brighter future and hope. A chance to dream of what she wants to be when she grows up? Perhaps clothes and shoes and books to read. My understanding is that she has been waiting for over six months for a sponsor. I can’t imagine waiting that long for Santa. It seems so unfair and it’s heartbreaking.
I will be receiving a packet with Larenda’s information and we will be able to write letter to her. I can’t wait to connect with her. I imagine she will be changing my life as well from here on out. We will exchange pictures. She will know someone will be loving on her.
Today was when I stopped just reading. I finally opened my heart and took one little girl in. Now ~ Larenda is ours. It’s about time!
If you are able to help, please check visit HERE. It’s an amazing feeling once you make that ‘connection’. God bless.
2 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Do you have a photo of your sponsored girl yet?
I did see her photo from the link that was sent to me. Then, I had to call to get us set up with her. When I went back to retrieve and print her picture, the site told me she was already sponsored (by US ~ so she was off the list). We will be getting all
her information in the mail as well as how we can communicate with her. I can’t describe how good it felt to not just ‘read’ about it but to do something for one of them. I had my grandkid all weekend enjoying being
a boy. I have a puppy and I wipe his feet when he comes in from outside. It’s such a small amount that can make a big difference for a child. When we get the packet I will post her photo. My kids are thrilled and
are considering doing the same.