Over the years, I’ve shared the stories of many of my sponsored children- how I was led to be their sponsor, highlights from our visits, and how God has worked in their lives. Now it’s time for some updates on these children from the past few years!
Through great determination, Melania graduated from high school in 2020 at age 21 by completing 3 years in 1. I was able to send her a backpack of the supplies she needed to attend, and she paid the small tuition for the 3-in-1 program herself by working at a local grocery store. After high school, she joined the Honduran military where she is now serving.
Her cousin Irma is also serving in the Honduran military. This is a good job that pays well and provides further educational opportunities. I am so proud of her.
Friends and family have helped me raise funds to keep Aura and Sulmi in school, something their family was unable to do after elementary school, despite trying very hard. They are both currently finishing 7th grade and have dreams of continuing through graduation.
Yessenia completed school through 6th grade before leaving to work. In the western world, most would see this as the bare minimum rather than an accomplishment. For Yessenia, it is five grades farther than anyone else in her family has ever gotten. It means she can read, write, and do math- things that will give her many job opportunities. Even seemingly simple jobs such as cashier and waitress require math and writing. This also means Yessenia can read the bible. Which brings me to her biggest accomplishment- Yessenia accepted Jesus as her Savior and was baptized! She now has a child of her own who will be raised to know Christ. I continue to sponsor Yessenia’s younger sister, Floridalma; so we are able to stay in contact through her.
Sisters Carmen and Kendi were such joys to sponsor for several years. Their enthusiasm, love, and gratitude for everyone and everything is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Their several-page-long letters to not only me but all of my friends and family never fail to bring me to tears. Carmen was the first child to ever give me a Mother’s Day card. Carmen and Kendi, currently 19 and 23, are now both married and each have children of their own! We are still in contact through letters. They are as amazing and passionate as ever. I know they will be great mothers. This photo below shows Carmen (purple shirt), Kendi (orange shirt), and I in 2018 with Kendi's first son, Axel. Four years later in 2022, Kendi had her 2nd baby and Carmen had her 1st.
Paola is as sweet as ever and is celebrating her quinceañera this week! She is thriving in high school and plans to graduate in a couple of years. She is currently very interested in poetry. I will be visiting her for a late quinceañera celebration in December!
Amy is a year ahead in school and has been learning to crochet on the side for income. I also now write to her little sister Cristel who is just the sweetest thing ever.
In 2018, I briefly sponsored a sweet girl in Brazil named Beatriz. She was only about 5 years younger than me and we ended up being friends. She was very talkative and had so many fun things to say in her letters. We shared a love for food and sent recipes back and forth. The relationship was short and I haven't yet been able to locate her after graduation, but I still think about her and pray for her often. Our relationship was so short that I didn’t even get to make a whole post about her before the sponsorship ended, so I wanted to include her here so I can have memories of all of my kids somewhere within this blog.
To prevent other sponsors from getting discouraged along the way, I want to remind you that these stories are the highlights. Not all of my sponsorship stories have been easy. Out of the 28 children I’ve sponsored over the years, 9 have dropped out of school before graduation. At least two (not the ones mentioned in this post) have gotten into minor legal trouble and other dangerous situations. This is not about perfection or about all the good I have done. It is about pointing children to the redeeming love of God who sustains them and makes them resilient…and how He sometimes uses the unconditional love of their very imperfect sponsor as a tool to do so.
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