3.4 The Day I Stopped Caring Just About Myself

 The Day I Stopped Caring Just About Myself

My heart began to change

Buzzing with excitement after a long day with friends at a Christian music festival in the early 2000s, I was meeting the music artists in person in the assembly hall. I ran across a table with dozens of pictures of children living in poverty. “Oh great,” I thought, “more people asking for money.”

In fact, it was an event sponsored by Compassion International. Politely, I asked what they did and discovered their program provides food, shelter, healthcare, primary education, and introduces children, their families, and their communities to faith in God. Somehow, I felt drawn to it and looked down into the face of a boy on a card before noticing we shared a birthday. Was it a sign?

You don’t realize how much you have until you meet someone with less than you

Compassion International is the “world’s leading authority in holistic child development through sponsorship.” When we were sending letters back and forth to my sponsored child, it was striking to realize all the things I take for granted.

My sponsored child didn’t have things I take for granted. “I got a mattress today. I’m the only one  in our village to have one.” Wow. A mattress is something I assumed everyone had, but it is a luxury for my sponsored child, who’s spent his entire childhood without one. Later, he was so proud to let me know my sponsorship gave him his first pair of shoes. I felt choked up because I was always privileged to have shoes.

Write my Child Program

A critical factor that lessened my reservations about sponsoring a child was the “Write My Child” program, which allows you to directly express how much you love and care about your sponsored child.

In this way, you can foster them in “building self-esteem, encouraging learning, and nurturing dreams,” also so you can encourage their prayer life and faith, to mention a few benefits. Updates about their success in school and sports warmed my heart.

The history and important facts about Compassion International

Founded in 1952, Compassion International has years of experience as being a trusted charity. There are over 1.9 million children sponsored. The Better Business Bureau accredits their charity.

Final thoughts on helping people

While I started with one child from Ethiopia, I eventually sponsored a second one from India. Their gratitude shined through pictures they had drawn with crayon, and over the years, I saw their skill increase. I sponsored both boys until they were 18.

Their childhoods were vastly different from those in their country, and they have the benefits of good nutrition, education, and strong faith. Blessing them has also turned out to be a blessing to me. Looking back, I realized money for my support worth changing their lives and mine.  I can’t wait to sponsor another child later this month! Want to join me? You can begin here: 

https://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/