This past week, I've spent a lot of time at Casa Hogar Douglas sitting with kids one on one as they write letters to their Shelter Sponsors. A lot of the kids at this home have Shelter Sponsors but about 25 still do not have individual sponsors.
A child who is rather new to the home came over to me and started asking me questions about the program while I was translating some letters into English. He wanted to know why only some kids receive letters and why only some kids write letters. Other little boys joined in the conversation at this point and took over for me with the explanation of our Shelter Child Sponsorship Program. One child started explaining that Back2Back has an office in the United States and that in this office, they have a list of all the kids and their names and their photos. He said that from that list, people who want to be sponsors can pick a child. At this point, the new child says, "okay well what do I have to do to get myself onto that list!?!" He was really excited about the idea of receiving letters.
Several more boys came over and started talking about the program and one asked what we do with the money that the sponsors send. We talked about all the 3, 4 and 5 years olds that are in pre-school at their children's home and that because of the sponsors, they are able to attend this new school, pay the school fees, buy uniforms, and pay for gas to drive them to school everyday. We talked about how this is a much bigger pre-school and will better prepare all the kids for first grade. I told them that they have hot water for their showers a lot of the time because of these sponsors. Then I asked a few of the boys who have lived at Douglas for pretty much their entire lives to tell us all about what food they used to eat at Douglas a year ago and 2 or 3 years ago. They said things like, "yeah we used to just eat eggs and beans and tortillas and nothing else. We ate whatever food was donated." On this day, we had eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner like kings - no joke... for a children's home.... we were feasting. We ate chicken with cheese and broccoli and mashed potatoes and had sodas and tostadas. So we talked about how different the food is now and how it's possible for us to eat so good now at Douglas. The quality of food served now at Douglas is a world better than in years past and this difference is obvious to the kids. They eat better because of the sponsorship program.
For me, it was super fun to hear the boys relay back their understanding of Back2Back, our office in the states, and our Shelter Child Sponsorship Program. But it was beautiful to see light bulbs going off in their heads and in their hearts as they started to understand exactly what a difference these sponsors are making in their daily lives. For the past 2 years, I've spent a lot of time praying for Douglas and for change and justice for those children. I've clung to Psalm 27:13-14 which says, "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. (and at Douglas) Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Today, thanks largely in part to this sponsorship program, I am literally seeing the goodness of the Lord at Douglas. I am seeing daily his provision for these children. Words don't do justice to how encouraged I am by this - they really don't. God is on the move at Douglas. For those of you who are Shelter Sponsors - THANK YOU. Thank you for the ways that you sacrifice to give to these children each month. You are making a difference.
Back2Back's Shelter Child Sponsorship Program began a little over a year ago. If you are interested in sponsoring a child at any of the children's homes we serve, please contact Claire Rogers at the Back2Back US office at claire@back2backministries.org or (513) 754 - 0300 ext 1704
