The Importance of a Letter

When was the last time you received a letter that actually meant something to you?  Or even an email that contained something actually worth reading?

Somehow, Americans seem to have lost the need to write letters.  Most of the letters I have written in the past six months have been cover letters for a resume'...and even then, they're typed on a computer and sent as an email attachment.  But then, I have written letters to my sponsored kids.  I've always heard that sponsored kids treasure our letters, but how much of a difference does it really make?

Over the past three days, I've gotten confirmation from two different sources that the letters we write to children living in poverty make a tremendous difference--or the lack thereof can cause a tremendous hurt.

On Saturday I met with other Child Advocates with Compassion International that live in my region, and we had the honor of meeting two young men from Kenya.  Ben and Daniel had been sponsored through Compassion, and even went through the Leadership Development Program (LDP) and now have bachelor's degrees in education.  They are visiting the USA for a time, but will go back and use their education to help their communities and their country.  One thing that stood out to me was Ben's goal: to connect the spiritually wealthy yet financially poor, with the financially wealthy and spiritually poor of the world (sounds a lot like what Compassion does!).

But another thing that I remember vividly about Ben's testimony is his remark that, out of the entire time he was sponsored during CDSP (child development sponsorship program--not to be confused with CSP, child survival program) was that he only received two letters over the course of about ten years.  And when he was going through LDP, he again received only two letters.  I remember the pain he still felt when relating the story, even though he had come to some sort of peace about it...there was still an ache in his heart, an element of "what's wrong with me, that my sponsors don't write to me, but my friends get letters?".  He was one of the lucky ones who met his sponsors.  He found out that, for them, sponsoring a child was simply a "good deed," just another financial obligation.  It was a bill, not a life being impacted.  After his sponsors talked with him, they realized that Compassion is an organization that "works"--the kids are real, and the money actually goes where Compassion says it will go, and went on to sponsor other children and went in wholeheartedly, becoming not just financial sponsors, but also correspondents.

Yesterday (Monday), I got a letter from Yuni in Indonesia.  Interesting how God coordinates events, things that we might brush off as coincidence.  I think this particular letter was written at just the right time to be delivered the business day after I met Ben and Daniel.  Her very first sentence: "Nice to have some letters from you."  She goes on to tell about the weather, but then tells about how her family gathers to read my letters, and spends most of her letter commenting on things I wrote...emphasing things that they are praying for.  The physically poor yet spiritually wealthy, praying for me who is physically wealthy (by comparison) yet spiritually poor.  I just don't have to rely on God for as much as they do--or at least I don't always count my blessings.  After all, the circumstances of my birth, education and employment are all gifts from God in the first place.

Did you get the line about how her family gathers to read my letter?  It's just a letter!  But oh, what an impact!  Not just for Yuni, but for her family as well.  What an encouragement to choose my wording carefully.  What can I say to encourage not just Yuni, but also her family?  When was the last time I greeted her siblings by name (since she has told me their names and ages)?  What passages of Scripture can I pass along to encourage the entire family?  Who knows--perhaps the parents are not yet Christians, so by including Scripture passages that tell about God and his characteristics (even within the context of "my Sunday School has been studying the story of David and Goliath, and learning about God's faithfulness") can come alongside what the local church is doing to teach the children and, through them, the family, about God.

What an awesome privelege we as child sponsors are given in the ability to write letters to our children.  When was the last time you wrote your child?  They're longing to hear from you.

Don't have a child to write to yet?  Choose one here.