What is Sponsorship?

Hope, it is exquisitely fragile and it is an exceptional force and it is essential to faith and you can't afford to lose it. -Ann Voskamp

This week, Ann has been blogging from Haiti, where she and her son are on a sponsor/advocate exposure trip.

They're visiting the Child Survival Program that her son, Caleb, funded.

Yes, that's right.

He funded the whole. program.

No big deal. ;)

If you have a bit of time, I'd really encourage you to go over to Ann's blog and read the past few posts about Haiti. Definitely worth the read. :)

Haiti's always been close to my heart, especially since the earthquake. One of our boys, Bell Bradley, is from Haiti:

He's a little more grown up now... This is an older picture. Haven't scanned his new one yet! ;)

We got a letter from Bell the other day. My heart broke as it said he is still just seeing a doctor about an operation he needs, he hasn't gotten it yet. My heart smiled as the letter told us he scored 85% on his 2nd term exams.

That's what sponsorship is. It's more than just handing money over every month. In fact, that's more of a side thing.

Sponsorship is the relationship. It's hurting when your child hurts and smiling when your child smiles. It's the prayer and the letters and the photos and the doing life together.

It's bringing a child into your life and teaching them and learning from them. Loving them and being loved by them. It's freeing them from their poverty as they free you from yours.

I love this {from Compassion Canada's magazine Compassion Today}:

Q: What is the one thing you'd like to tell your sponsor?

A: I want to let my sponsor know that I want to be as kind as he is to me so that I can also sponsor a poor child when I grow up. -Moses, Age 13, Ghana

That made my heart smile.

That is sponsorship.

It's breaking the cycle of poverty - economical poverty and spiritual poverty.

It's giving hope.

Because we can't afford to lose hope.

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Don't lose hope: Sponsor a child!