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What Happens When Sponsor Meets Child

January 13, 2015 By Sandra Heska King

sponsor meets child

I woke up yesterday after only two hours of sleep. I’d been up until 5 a.m. trying to find words to tell you about Tuesday… about hanging out with the sweet moms and babes who are served by Compassion’s Child Survival Program, about sharing a meal with them, about winding our way across roughly paved streets and uneven, disintegrating sidewalks, to even more unsteady ground, twisting between narrowing alley ways to visit them in their homes. I was way more tired than I wanted to be because this was THE day I wanted to be most fresh–when tears would flow free, and sponsor and child would come face to face, when they would give and receive.

Over 40 of us have traveled here to the Dominican Republic to learn more about Compassion International’s work with the least of these, including three bloggers and Compassion staff on an “exposure” or “anniversary” trip. Most of us, though, are part of the 1% of sponsors who ever meet their children skin to skin. The air on our bus quivered with a mix of emotions.

sponsor meets child

 

We drove an hour and a half to Club Fiesta Campestre for a fun day. Children traveled from all directions. One told me she had to leave home at 5 a.m. to arrive four hours later. They arrived before we did, and our leader told us they were all about beside themselves with excitement or apprehension. Many had trouble sleeping the night before. Most of them came with their tutors. One teen’s mom came with her.

The sponsors lined up in a single file to wait until they were called one by one. Some passed off their cameras. I tried to read the emotions on their faces. Excitement? Anxiety?

sponsor meets child

There’s a mom and her kids, a son and daughter–two-thirds of a set of triplets–on this trip.There are couples, a mom and daughter, halves of married couples, single women–both younger and older. And there’s Luke. Let me tell you about Luke.

Luke is 45, single, and lives in Maryland. His parents, as well as his twin brother (with whom he’s run a landscaping business since they were 15) live nearby. He has a kind and gentle spirit.

Luke first learned about Compassion three years ago when the ministry was presented at his church. He purchased and read Wess Stafford’s book, Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most, and was inspired to sponsor a child for the first time.

He looked through hundreds of photos–kids from India and Africa and Central America. He decided to choose a child close to the United States because it would be an easy flight if he ever wanted to visit. He kept coming back to Aury, a then 11-year-old girl from the Dominican Republic.

“Why her?” I asked.

There was just something about her, he said, that seemed to call to him.

He didn’t know then that Aury had had a sponsor who’d dropped out of the program after four years. He didn’t know she had received no–or only rare letters–and was so sad about that. She’d been praying for a long time for s new sponsor.

sponsor meets child

Luke takes the winter months off work and was excited to discover a sponsor tour was offered this month. Aury told him she was very nervous about meeting. She’s 14 now and in the ninth grade. Luke described her as very sweet and very humble. She lives with both her mom and dad. Dad drives a truck when he can find work, and Mom stays at home to care for her 4-year-old brother and 11-year-old sister. Aury loves to cook, and she helps care for the family when needed. She brought Luke a mug with “Dominican Republic” printed on it. Luke told her he’d remember her and pray for her every morning when he drinks his coffee.

Luke took gifts, too. He gave Aury a gold cross on a chain and a bracelet with an angel on it and the words, “My guardian angel protects me.” He said her eyes “popped.” He also gave her school supplies and some other small things, as well as a soccer ball and matchbox cars for her brother and earrings for her sister. (Yes, he brought gifts for the siblings, too. I don’t think I would have thought of that.)

sponsor meets child

 

They shared photos of their families and took photos together. They talked with the help of an interpreter. They swam and played volleyball in the pool. She was afraid at first to go down the long slide because she was afraid of the height, but had the courage to try after Luke went down first.

“Vamoose, vamoose!” she laughed. And slid down a couple more times.

“How have you changed because of this trip?” I asked Luke.

He said because he’s had the chance to see first hand how Compassion works and to get to know some of the employees, he’s more confident about their work and integrity. He wants to build a relationship with Aury and her family–to invest relationally as well as financially. He said he might even sponsor another child.

Aury wants to be a movie actress or a model. Luke’s determined to cheer her on and encourage her in whatever path she chooses for her life, to help build her self-esteem, remind her how much she matters, and perhaps come back sometime if another tour is planned for the winter months.

Luke is making a difference in the life of this girl. And not just Aury’s life, but in the lives of her family. Who knows how many other lives Aury will touch because of him?

Who knows how many lives YOU can touch through sponsoring just one child? Especially if you write that child often. And if at all possible, put some skin on your relationship and spend some time face-to-face.

In the stillness,

Sandy

Central-America-Girl-300x250_DominRep
Note: You can find all my Dominican Republic posts here. And be sure to follow the Kris Camealy and Amy Pederson as they, too, blog this trip.

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Filed Under: Blog, Dominican Republic, stories

Comments

  1. Yvonne Reynolds says

    January 15, 2015 at 2:03 am

    It is mind boggling to think of what a difference it makes when we sponsor one child. But then to think about the effect of that sponsorship on the child’s family and your own family. Thank you for taking the time to share about Luke and Aury and the special time they had together. I pray that many people are touched by the stories you, Kris and Amy are sharing, and that they will begin their own sponsorship journey!

    • Sandra Heska King says

      January 19, 2015 at 9:19 pm

      Thanks so much, Yvonne. I’m looking forward to hearing *your* stories!

  2. Hannah H. says

    January 15, 2015 at 8:08 am

    What a neat story. Thanks for sharing this with us! It’s always a joy to read about someone meeting his or her child. It’s something I dream of doing.

    • Sandra Heska King says

      January 19, 2015 at 9:15 pm

      I’ll pray you realize that dream, Hannah. Our girl is in Kenya, so I’m praying we’ll get to meet her. It’ll need to happen in the next three years though before she graduates.

  3. Crystal says

    January 15, 2015 at 8:41 am

    This part of the trip gets me every time – you have me in tears over here with this beautiful story. God is good!

    • Sandra Heska King says

      January 19, 2015 at 9:11 pm

      Oh, girl. The whole trip got to me. But this day was double special.

  4. Lynn D. Morrissey says

    January 15, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    So amazing, Sandy. I so admire what you are doing here….going, giving, sharing. I can’t even imagine getting to meet our child someday, but miracles do happen. All my love and prayers for this journey of the heart you are undertaking.
    Love
    Lynn

    • Sandra Heska King says

      January 19, 2015 at 9:10 pm

      Oh, Lynn. It’s the most beautiful thing. I will pray that you get to.

      • Lynn D. Morrissey says

        January 19, 2015 at 10:42 pm

        thankyou Sandy

        • Sandra Heska King says

          January 20, 2015 at 8:11 pm

          🙂

  5. Martha Orlando says

    January 15, 2015 at 6:22 pm

    Oh, what an awesome and beautiful story, Sandy! Thank you for sharing and for inspiring us to sponsor a child.
    Love and blessings!

    • Sandra Heska King says

      January 19, 2015 at 9:09 pm

      And so did you? 🙂

Trackbacks

  1. A Best Friend for Eternity » Divine in the Daily says:
    January 16, 2015 at 9:27 am

    […] Be sure to check out my fellow travelers’ most recent blog posts! Kris Camealy wrote a beautiful post about hospitality amidst poverty with “Generous Hands Are Blessed Hands,” and Sandra Heska King wrote a sweet post about a 45-year old single man, Luke, who visited his sponsored child, titled “What Happens When Sponsor Meets Child.” […]

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