We matter to them.
I don't know how many of you sponsor a child or a few children. I don't know if you think it is important (if you do sponsor) to stay in touch or not...is it just a few dollars a month and that's it?
Well, a while ago I did a post on "A Goat For
Christmas" and I talked about the teenaged boy in Kibaale Uganda that I absolutely have a heart for and really connected with. I actually don't sponsor him as he is already sponsored....BUT I treat him as though I sponsor him. I write to him regularly. I send him gifts and baskets of food for his family. Get this....he "thinks" I am his sponsor. (This shows him playing soccer, he is an awesome soccer player.)
I am not saying all this to say..look at me..aren't I great...NOT AT ALL.
I am saying that these kids really love having regular communication and building relationship with people. You are SO SPECIAL to them if you sponsor (or in this case with me, if you take the time to build relationship) It is such an important
responsibility. Am I preaching? Don't mean to be, but let me tell you a couple of stories that will get my point across without being annoying:) Hopefully. :)
As Erin was just in Kibaale, she was able to play, laugh, dance, walk alongside, and visit them homes of her sponsor kids. Erin has two sponsor children and she adores them.
She has fundraised for them in order to build them new houses, get pit latrines built for their families, provide essential food baskets etc etc In these pictures, you can see Erin beside the vehicle with her little kids (a girl and a boy...all the kids have their heads shaved) before she went and visited them in their homes.
Erin said that as she entered Jackie's home, there was not much in it, nothing to decorate etc...except a little picture on the wall. They all pointed at the picture smiling and as she looked, she saw that it was a picture that she had sent of... our family. In pride of place. In a home made frame made out of banana leaves, up on the wall. She started to cry. Thousands of miles away in the middle of rural Africa, there is a little family living in abject poverty
that has our family picture framed up on the wall.
We matter to them.
They pray for us.
That is incredibly, overwhelmingly humbling.
There is another picture here of Erin stood with Jackie as she recieves a gift that her mother sent for Erin . Jackie walked all the way back to the school
with a basket on her head with some fruit in it for Erin. On another day, Jackie's mum walked to the school, sat waiting for Erin and gave her a home made craft.
We matter to them.
It is so humbling.
Back to "my" boy. Actually, my group of boys. Erin is stood with two of them here in the picture. I see that they are holding the letters we sent and their t.shirt gifts.
When we were there, we really connected with this little gang of teenaged
boys, we are under no illusion that they are angels, but we love them and we believe that they love us back.
Here are a couple of excerpts from the letters that they gave Erin to bring back for us:
"I am so happy that you love me, I will be very happy when you come back to Kibaale. That will be a fun day. I pray you are happy."
"I thank you Auntie Lesley and Uncle David for sending me gifts, you are
my special friends. I pray for you"
"My life is Ok, but every day I remember when you here and I cry. I thank God for you. Thank you for your gifts to me, It makes my mind know that you love me so much"
"I do not have anything to send to you but let me send my heart to you. Always on my mind. I love so much" this letter was signed with the boys name and then
he put our name after his...he associates himself with our family.
We matter to them.
They pray for us.
It is so humbling.
Oh I love getting their letters, their English and grammer are actually funny, but their love shines through. As I said, we do not officially sponsor any of them, (we sponsor other kids there ) but we have such a relationship with them.
Isn't that what it's all about?
Of course, Erin came home with a new little sponsor daughter for us, how could she go and not come back with another little girl for us to love? Here she is playing with some Duplo blocks that were sent over for the Primary classes from the Primary classes of P.A.
So, hopefully, if you don't sponsor, you will maybe think about it?
If you don't know where to start, may I suggest Kibbaale Community Centre?
The link is www.paoutreach.net and then click on sponsorship.
100% of your money goes directly to
the project. It really is worth it.
We matter to them.
