You Can Save a Child's Life

Follow this link to change a life today:  Compassion.

What a Puppy Taught Me about Compassion

This is Bucco.  Today is his first birthday.

Bucco came to live with me ten months ago, and no I do not have a cool rescue story.  He is a West Highland White Terrier, and not many of that breed are surrendered, so I could not find one to rescue.  I have always loved dogs, but I have very bad allergies and only recently discovered that I am not allergic to terriers.  However, I like big dogs.  My dog when I was a teenager was a very sweet Saint Bernard, so yeah . . . I like big dogs.

Because my niece has a Westie, I learned that Westies act more like big dogs than small ones, that they are very intelligent and very loyal.  So I found a Westie.  I paid much less than one would normally pay for a pure bred, so because of that and his one droopy ear, I call him my discount Westie.

But he is worth so much.

One of the first things that struck me about him was his acceptance of and reliance on me.  He immediately loved being with me and playing with me even though he didn't know me.  It reminded me of the children I met on the Compassion Sponsor Tour to Peru.  When we entered a project, the children were really excited to see us and loved us without even knowing us.  They all called me "Madrina," even though I don't sponsor any of the children in the projects we visited.  

Bucco loves the beach and has no fear of jumping into the ocean.  When I first started taking him, he kept stopping on the way to investigate other interesting things.  I kept telling him there was something even better waiting over the dunes.  Now he knows what's on the other side of the dunes and eagerly heads toward the ocean without stopping as soon as I say the word "beach."  I thought of the many times in our walks with Jesus that we think we have found something good, but He's really trying to lead us over the dunes to something even better.  

Those of you who are pet owners understand how important a dog can be.  Since I am alone, except for Bucco, mine is pretty much all I have.  I will sacrifice for my dog because I want what's best for him. Bucco often makes me think of my Compassion children and how important they are to me, but even more so, how important I am to them.  I remember that I need to sacrifice my time and energy to write to them and let them know they are loved by me, but more importantly, by Jesus.

I have the best dog in the Universe.  God has used him to enrich my life beyond what I ever expected.  What a lesson there is in that!

Waiting . . .

This is four-year-old Wilfredo in Nicaragua.  Don't you just want to squeeze those cute cheeks?

Wilfredo has been waiting 515 days for a sponsor.

Five hundred fifteen.

I don't even start counting down to something that far ahead!  Wilfredo needs a sponsor.

But he's not the only one.  You can go here to view all the children who have been waiting more than six months for a sponsor.  Please consider sponsoring one today.  You will change the child's life.

And the child will change yours.

These Sweet Children Need Sponsors Now

> Fahim is 11 years old and lives in Indonesia.  He has been waiting seven months for a sponsor.  He lives in a country with high risk for child rights violations.  He really needs a sponsor.

Yeabtega lives in Ethiopia and has been waiting THIRTEEN months for a sponsor!  She lives in an AIDS affected area.  She lives with her grandparents, which often means the parents are victims of AIDS.

You Don't Want to Miss This!

Sunday, April 21, is Compassion Sunday 2013.  I don't have the opportunity to have a Compassion Sunday in my home church, but I can do it here--for more than one day.

I have previously told the story of how I became a Compassion sponsor.  Since sponsoring my first child, I have learned a lot about Compassion's integrity.  I am impressed with Compassion's holistic approach to child sponsorship, especially after visiting Peru.

What I saw in Peru were many, many happy, laughing, smiling, excited children at the Compassion centers.  The children I sponsor tell me they love going to their Compassion center, and I was able to see why in person.

Besides the young children, I saw teenagers who were taught skills that they can use to sustain themselves, given leadership roles, and encouraged to believe in their worth as children of the King of Kings.

I can't even express in words how impressed I am with what I saw.

Research Shows that Child Sponsorship through Compassion Works. (Click the link to read how.)

I know that my sponsorship helps the children and their families, but it also helps me.  One day a few months after I begin sponsoring, I was almost hit by another car (not a surprise), and I thought, "Don't hit me.  My children need me!"  Wow. What cool feeling!  I had never been able to see that before.  Now I know I need to be at my best at all times for my children.

When I visited Jack in Peru, one of the best things he said to me was, "Thank you for changing my life."

Wow!

Don't miss the chance to change the story for one child.  I offer you Diego, a five-year-old in Peru.  (How can you resist that sweet smile?)  You can learn more about Diego on My Compassion Sunday page.

Watch this video, read my Compassion Sunday page, and then--as Ginsely says--"just do it."  Sponsor Diego.  He needs you to change his life.

How Compassion Changes an Entire Community Through Its Children

This is Gethory when I first sponsored him.

This is my latest picture of Gethory.  Isn't he cute?

I first realized that Compassion reaches more than just the child when I sponsored Gethory in Haiti two years ago.  The first letter I received from him was really a huge thank you letter from his family.

In Peru,  I saw how grateful the families are because of our (sponsors) love for their children, and I was inspired by their emphasis on developing their children so that they can become independent adults.

I also was blessed by the LDP students who spoke to us, because each one of them had chosen his or her course of study in order to help the community and the country.

We don't really do that in the US.

Today's post in Compassion's blog explains better than I can how sponsoring a child is really like sponsoring a family.  http://blog.compassion.com/from-ragpicker-to-restored-dignity/

Reading this makes me very happy, reminding me of how many I am helping and that God is using me to be a world changer!

I can help you sponsor so that you can be a world changer, too.

A Nudge . . . and then a Plunge

Two boys at PE350--boys will be boys.

I have always loved kids, which is a good thing since I'm a high school teacher.  I also love the little ones, and I am always drawn to the "underdogs"--the ones who have a bad home life or don't think much of themselves for one reason or other.

I've always said my mission field is the teenagers in our public schools, and that's true, but a few years ago at a newsboys' concert, I heard about Compassion and thought maybe I should sponsor a child but felt I couldn't afford it financially.  So I sort of forgot about Compassion.

Then after Michael Tait became the lead singer for newsboys, I heard him say that we should help our neighbors in Mexico (they were building homes for people there), so I decided to try to find the name of that child sponsorship organization and sponsor a boy from Mexico, being a bit partial to boys.

I found Compassion on the Heart It First website when I was looking for information about Winter Jam, so I clicked the link.  I found that if I sponsored a child, I would get a tobyMac CD for free.  Helloooo.  I wasn't going to pass that up!

So ironically, or maybe fittingly, it was good friends Michael Tait and Toby McKeehan who nudged me to begin my relationship with Compassion.  I began with one boy in Mexico, and now I sponsor twelve children, all from the Spanish-speaking countries where Compassion works (two in Peru), plus a little boy in Haiti.  I also have five correspondence kids who think I'm their financial sponsor, and I think of them in the same way I do the ones I sponsor financially.

I have learned to treasure the pink and bows of my little girls, and the sweet girly teenage girls.  I love my girls.

Whenever I write to my kids or send a financial gift, I am reminded of Matthew 25:40--The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  I am honored to know that when I give to these children, I am giving to Jesus.

One of the most powerful verses to me, one that is my fuel to advocate for the children is Matthew 18:10--See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
That's some pretty serious stuff right there.

I am honored to be a part of Compassion and thankful that God used Mike and Toby to nudge me to the edge where I plunged right in.

World Water Day - March 22nd, 2013

Sponsor a Child

This is a video posted on Facebook by Compassion International.  I have seen the smiles and heard the laughter of the Compassion children.  They really are truly happy at the Compassion Child Development Centers.  Sponsor a child today and speak life and hope into his or her life.

Christmas Arrived Quietly

Like almost everyone else, I usually am caught up in the stress and hectic lifestyle before Christmas.   We spend so much time trying to make sure we get everything finished in time--buying gifts, wrapping them, baking, sending cards . . . and making sure we don't forget anyone who might be offended if we do.

Then suddenly . . . bang!  It's Christmas Day, and we didn't even have time to enjoy the season.  Sure, we know the real reason we celebrate Christmas.  We try to remember that.  We try to focus on it.  We think we do.  But our materialistic society pulls us away.

But this year, Christmas arrived quietly.  I can't give any credit to myself for that; it's just that I had extensive foot surgery in November, and I have been sitting at home since then.

Yep, that's my foot, and that's how I have spent the past six weeks.  The bad part (besides the pain) is that I couldn't do much at all.
The good part is that I couldn't do much at all.
One advantage is that I rediscovered my love of knitting and crocheting, so my friends and family members received homemade gifts . . . and they liked them.
I also had homemade jam from the summer (I pick strawberries and blackberries every summer), which I gave as gifts.
I like giving homemade gifts because I know that  I am giving part of myself with them.  And the people to whom I give the gifts feel honored to receive them.  My niece said, "It's a gift of love."
Instead of being caught up in trying to find something for people who need nothing, I had the time to make custom gifts for each person.
And as I worked, I thought about Christmas.  I thought about the greatest gift ever--Jesus arriving in the form of a man so that He could save us.
I thought about how crazy it is that we stress ourselves out, hoping that the people to whom we give gifts will actually like them, hoping we've made the right choices.
Or course, I thought about Peru, and I thought about all my Compassion children.  I told someone, "If I send my children a piece of construction paper, they think it's awesome."  It's not hard to find gifts for those who have so little.  It's hard to find gifts for those who have no needs.
I thought about little Jackie in Peru who gave me fruit from the family's guynabana tree.  I have no idea why she chose me, or why she even wanted to give any of us the fruit, but what I do know is that her act was real giving.
I learned another thing about giving--how to let people give to me.  I had to allow people to stay with me, make food for me, bring food to my house for me, and many other things.  I'm so independent that allowing people to do take care of me is a challenge, but in allowing them to give to me, I actually gave to them.

So this year, I wasn't surprised by Christmas.  It arrived quietly, and I enjoyed it.

Besides the homemade gifts that I gave, I also gave from the Compassion Gift Catalog.    The cool thing about choosing gifts from that catalog is that it's double giving.  The people in whose names I buy the gifts are honored to be able to help, and the Compassion families who receive the gifts are blessed because they truly are needy.  (You can still buy from that catalog even though Christmas has passed.)

I don't plan to have surgery again next year, so I hope I will be able to concentrate on real giving and be able to enjoy the season as I did this year.

Because it's about giving.

Sponsorship Opportunity

Lionel has been sponsored!!  Party time!  Now his smile will grow even bigger.

How about sponsoring a child who has been waiting for longer than six months?

Help a Child

Peru Reflections

Near the end of The Return of the King, Frodo says, “How do you pick up the threads of an old life?  How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand there is no going back?”

Even before I went to Peru, I knew I would not return the same person.  The evening after we had spent the day at the zoo, we went to a market, and my heart was not there.  Okay, so I don’t like shopping, anyway, but it seemed so incongruous after what we had experienced.  (Not a criticism toward the trip planners, who are awesome; just how I was feeling at the time.)

After shopping, we went to dinner at a Chinese (Chifa) restaurant where we had a room to ourselves.  Sean asked for people to share about the day, and I wanted so much to do that, but all I could do was cry.  

I cried for the people who have so little but give so much.  I cried for all the smiling faces of all those sweet childen, and for the hugs and kisses they gave us, the way they accepted us unconditionally without even knowing us. 

I cried for the beautiful country I was leaving behind, with its coastal plains, majestic mountains, and amazing jungles.

I cried for Jack, who lives in one room with his mother, sister, and nephew and has no father now, who has to walk 30 minutes to school in the dark, who plays futbol, the trumpet, and the violin, who is a leader in his church Bible study, who is fourth in his class academically . . . who means so very much to me and is such a blessing in my life.  I cried for the love he has for me and the love I have for him, love that can only be born and grow through Jesus.

I cried for how God has brought us together in a supernatural way because He knew how much we would bless each other in His name.

I cried for the people who don’t quite get it--those who have no idea how we can change the world simply by changing the life of a child.

I cried for the people with whom I had become close and to whom I would soon have to say good-bye.

I cried because I may never see Jack again on Earth.

I cried for reasons only my heart knows.

My heart was touched, and I will never forget it.

I know as time goes on, the Lord will reveal to me even more lessons that I learned on that trip.

So how do I “pick up the threads of an old life”?  

I don’t.  I am forever changed, and I pray that the change will be reflected in my daily life, in my encounters with my friends, in my encounters with people I don’t know, in my Compassion Advocacy, and in my job where I'm not even supposed to talk about God.

Compassion Peru--my heart is with you and with your people.  I will never forget you.

Peru, Part 5--The Most Special Day of All

I woke on Saturday in Lima more excited than I can ever describe.  I couldn't believe that I was actually going to meet Jack.

I decided some time ago that if I ever visited one of the kids I sponsor, it would be Jack because he was the oldest at that time (I now have a girl two years older than he), but more importantly, because we had developed a close relationship through our letters.  I could see him grow spiritually, and I knew that he loved me very much without ever having met me.  I prayed for well over a year for the opportunity to go to Peru, never imagining that as a teacher I would actually have the funds to do that.  I received a letter from Jack in January of 2012 that said his greatest prayer request was to meet me in person.  I didn't know at the time how important it is to the kids to meet their sponsors.  Two weeks later, I received an email from Compassion about this trip to the jungle.  My first thought was that I wasn't good enough to make a trip to the jungle, and my second was that I needed to pray about it for at least a week.

Then I said, "Duh, Mindi.  You've been praying about it, and so has Jack.  This is the answer."  So I signed up.  I had never been to a place where English is not the official language, and I had never used my passport.  And there I was saying "yes" to go to the Amazon jungle!

Before I made the trip, I received seven more letters from Jack, and four of them said that his greatest dream was to meet me in person.

We met our kids at the Lima Zoo, spent a few hours there, had lunch at Pardo's chicken, and then spent some time in a park next door.

As we approached the zoo, I was so excited, I couldn't contain myself.  I knew that somewhere beyond those gates was a 16-year-old whose dream I was about to fulfill.  I can't say I've ever been able to do something like that before.

Sean, our leader, told us that our names would be called, and that we would be matched up with our kids in an orderly manner.  Once we went through the gates, I pretty much led the way to the place where the kids were all waiting with a parent, a project worker, and a translator.  I tried to find Jack in the crowd, but suddenly there he was in front of me, and he grabbed me and hugged me as if he never wanted to let go.  After all the "strong hugs" he had sent me in his letters, there I was receiving one in person.  I can't even describe the feeling.

The translator told me that he (the translator) was looking for my name tag, and Jack came running up behind him to say that he saw me and then ran to me.  I don't even know what to say about that.

Jack's mother was with him.  She's also a worker at the project, so no one else had to come with them. She said that she considers me to be a part of the family and a second mother to Jack.  How many mothers are willing to say something like that??  One of the first questions she asked is when I would be able to visit again.  By the time we had made our introductions, I showed them how my hands were shaking from the excitement.  I was thrilled!

Jack and his mother.  I made him smile.  Teenagers!  :)

They live in Trujillo, so they had made an 8-hour bus trip to Lima.  Jack said the bus was boring, but he was excited that they were able to stay in a hotel. He had never been in a hotel.
I asked when he was told that I was coming to visit, and he said that the director of the project asked if he'd ever been to Lima and told him they had a surprise for him in Lima.  That was two weeks before my visit.  Then they bought bus tickets for him and his mom, but they still didn't tell them why they were going to Lima.  Jack said he finally guessed on the bus ride.  I think it's awesome that they weren't told, that it was a total surprise.  I'm not sure why they weren't told, but I liked it that way.

We walked around the zoo for a few hours, and we took a ride on the peddle boats.  Jack drove, and he kept running into walls around the pond.  We had a lot of fun doing that.

This is the pond where we rode the boat.  Jack wanted to go through the dolphin topiaries, but when we got close, we noticed that we were blocked.  Here's Jack driving the boat.  My camera focused on the boat rather than Jack, but it's not too bad.

When we found the penguins, I told Jack I had to take his picture there because the Penguins are my favorite ice hockey team.  He thought that was hilarious.

Throughout our time together, we talked about things we like.  I knew that Jack plays the trumpet in school and at his church, but I didn't know he also plays the violin!  He said he wants to play the saxophone, but it's too hard.  I told him I played the saxophone in high school, along with a few other instruments.

Jack's mom said that he'd had three other sponsors, but they never wrote to him and none of them visited him.  Actually, I began as Jack's correspondence sponsor because his third sponsor didn't write at all.  Then when he or she dropped him, I became his financial sponsor.  Some people have told me that I write too much to my kids, but after hearing in person how much both Jack and his mother treasure my letters, I will never believe that.

Jack told the translator that he writes to me every month (he does), but he wishes he could write to me every day.  That melted my heart.  (Just one of many things throughout the day that did.)

I asked Jack about his favorite food, and he said that he has watched Garfield, so his favorite food is lasagna.  I definitely laughed at that!

Here is Jack feeding a leaf to a rather unattractive goat, as far as goats go.

I took a Frisbee for Jack, so once we reached the time that we had to meet back at the gate, we played with the Frisbee while we waited for everyone else.  The translator took a couple of pictures and said he hoped it was okay.  Of course!  I wish I had asked for more pictures of us together, but I didn't think about it.

We had a lot of fun playing.  That's one thing I can do pretty well.  Jack liked the Frisbee because I had bought it at one of the tourist shops on Atlantic Avenue, so it says "Virginia Beach" on it.  He thought it was especially cool that the back says, "Made in U.S.A."  I'm so glad it wasn't China!!

I taught him the meaning of the word "cool."  I also pointed out that one of the guys in our group is "loco," so every time we passed him, Jack said, "Loco."  He has a great sense of humor.  Even though I don't speak Spanish fluently, we communicated well, and of course, we had the translator to help.

Next we went to Pardo's for chicken.  Man, that chicken was SO good!  I couldn't eat all of the food, but it was awesome.  I asked Jack if he liked desserts, and he said that he likes ice cream and that chocolate is his favorite.  I told him that's my favorite ice cream, too, and that I also love chocolate cake.  His mother then said that she was amazed at how the Lord had brought together two people who have so much in common.  That reminded me of Sean's comments about Jhuniors, whom I had just sponsored.  And beside us was a couple with their little girl, and she was NOT shy!  Not in the least. Sean had said to them, "How did you find a girl with your personality?"

It's amazing because we just look at the pictures on the website and choose one that grabs our hearts, or in my case, I was just given Jack.  We know nothing about the personalities of these children, but God knows who needs whom.  He amazes me.

Pardo's had paper crowns like Burger King, so Jack wore one:

He discovered the uber coolness of my iPhone, and he loved tobyMac's music.  Toby--you have a new fan in Peru.

I showed him how he could take a picture of himself with the iPhone, so he took this funny one.

He was eating chocolate cake--our dessert!  I said that God was celebrating with us by giving us chocolate cake.

After lunch we went to the park where we gave the kids the gifts we had brought for them.  I had crocheted a shawl for his mother and his sister and took some things for the home for his mom.  She was so, so grateful.  She hugged each item and cried.  I am so glad that Jack has such a wonderful mother.

She apologized for not bringing a gift to me since they didn't know they would be meeting me.  I told her that I need nothing, and that being with them was my gift.

Then it was Jack's turn.  I ended up with two backpacks for him.  One is a Steelers drawstring bag that someone gave me after I got to Peru.  I had knitted a blanket for Jack, and he wrapped himself in that. He loved it.  It warms my heart to think of Jack using that blanket to stay warm at night.  I also took him some school supplies, toothbrushes and toothpaste, playing cards with Virginia Beach on them, and a bookmark with Virginia Beach on it.  I got a deal on tee shirts from one of the tourist shops (why I always go there after Labor Day), and each time Jack took a shirt out of the bag, he said, "Virginia Beach!'  He loved it.

The two biggies were a new soccer ball with a pump and a Spanish study Bible for teenage boys with his name engraved on the front.  I thought he would like the soccer ball the best, but when he took the Bible out of the bag, he said, "La Biblia!" and jumped up and hugged me!

At the end, I asked him what his favorite thing was, and he said, "La Biblia."

Jack found Psalm 23 in the Bible, handed me the Bible, and then proceeded to recite the Psalm. :)

I may or may not have propagandized Jack a little:

New soccer ball:

It was really fun to watch Jack play with the ball.  He's a very good player, and last year his school team was in the championship. His mother said she thinks he's good because when he comes home, he's always very dirty.  I agree!  Good athletes get dirty.

Jack leaves his house at 6:00 AM to walk 30 minutes to school.  He is fourth in his class academically.  He plays in the school band and the church band and has practice after school.  He also has futbol practice after school.  He sometimes doesn't finish with those practices until 8 PM.  He also attends a Bible study for teenagers on Friday nights.  And he goes to the project for the program there.  He loves the Lord with all His heart.  I encouraged him to continue to follow Him fervently.  (Okay, so I don't know that word in Spanish, but that was the basic idea.)

Jack kept saying all day that he felt like he was in a dream that he didn't want to wake up from.  I agreed, and yet I STILL couldn't believe I could be so important to someone.

After we prayed together, it was time to leave.  The time had gone so, so fast.  I will never forget that day or the love that I was shown by Jack and his mother.  It has helped me to understand God's love for me in a new way.  I went to Peru to bless Jack and his family, and I received a blessing along the way.

As soon as Jack and his mom got on the bus to leave, I started crying.  It wasn't all because of sadness.  There were so many emotions that I can't even come to grips with them more than a week later.  I just know that it was an experience like no other I've ever had.

I cried a lot.  Other people on the bus pulled themselves together, but I just kept crying.  I cry even now as I type this.  How can I have so much love for someone with whom I have spent only a few hours?  God.  That's how.

My goal is to go back again, this time on an individual visit, to see Jack before he finishes the project in two years.

¡Hasta pronto, mi amigo!  Dios te guarde.

Part 6http://minscompassion.blogspot.com/2012/10/peru-reflections.html

Peru, Part 3--A Very Special Day

When I woke up on Thursday in La Merced, I was excited again because we were visiting another child center and making another home visit. On this day, we split into two groups. One of us went to PE-354, and the other to PE-352.

When we arrived at 354, a man was outside recording is. Paparazzi?? I kept wondering where the children were and which door we would enter. When the last van finally arrived, the big wooden doors opened, the people inside yelled, "Surprise!" and people stepped outside with a banner to welcome us. Well, that was pretty cool. But then we stepped inside, and a child came to each of us, one at a time, pinned a pin on us, took our hand, led us to a chair, and then sat beside us. It was soooooo sweet!!

The boy who led me to my seat (or dragged me, as one person said) was named Alex. He asked me where I was from and then asked if I knew his sponsor. Aw. He was one of the boys who performed in the dance, so he put his necklace on me until he had to dance. When he needed his necklace back, he called me "Madrina."
I mentioned that to Janette, one of our translators, and she said that to each kid, we represent his or her sponsor. She said it's easy for them to grasp the concept of Jesus loving them even though they don't see Him because they have someone in another country who loves them even though they've never met them. I love that parallel.

View on Vimeo

Next we went on another home visit.  We visited the home of Bonnie (I know it's not spelled that way in Spanish), one of the teenagers from the project.  She has four siblings, and her father works on a farm during the week and is only home on the weekends.  Here are some pictures from her home.

Bonnie and her mom

Kitchen

Bedroom

Bonnie's bedroom with her sweet little sister in the foreground

The wall in Bonnie's bedroom

Bonnie is quite talented and intelligent.  She showed us her history notebook.  She had drawn the faces of important people in Peruvian history, and the drawings were amazing.  She also had very neat and colorful notes.  This is something that she learned to make at the project.

While we were talking to Bonnie, her cousin, who lives next door, tapped me on the arm and showed me a picture.  I asked if the family in the picture were his sponsors, and he said yes.  He was SO proud!  We really do mean a lot to our children, much more than I ever realized.

Our group with Bonnie and her family members

In the front with the glasses next to Bonnie's cousin is Rachel.  Her daughter is in the very back.  They had decided the night before to sponsor Judith, a girl in this project.  We discovered later that another group had made a home visit to Judith's house.  During that visit, Judith and both of her parents prayed to accept Jesus.  Wow.  Wow.  Wow.

We took Bonnie back to the project where a feast awaited us.  One table was full of local fruit (oh how I wish I could have brought some home, especially the pineapples), and another with the main course food.  I was overwhelmed by how much they had for us to eat.  One lady offered me a fried banana slice, and I told her I couldn't eat it because I'm allergic to bananas.  She said, "What will you eat?"  Oh my!  The tables were full.  No problem there!

We didn't eat the flower.  I just think it's cool.

Once again, I was amazed at how giving the people were.

We went upstairs where the children were eating, and of course, I took many pictures.

These boys kept saying my name.  :)

The cabinets in the background hold their toothbrushes in the brightly colored cups.

I love how the children always hug each other for pictures.

Learning a new song

So here's the really special part.  I have always wished I could see the reaction of the child and his or her parents when they find out they have a sponsor.  On this day, I saw that.  The leaders had packets for children at this project.  During lunch, I wanted to look at them.  I said, "Okay, Lord.  If one really grabs my heart, I'll know I should sponsor him or her.  If not, then I'm okay with what I'm doing now."  I asked to see the packets, and the very first one was a 4-year-old boy who had been waiting 8 months for a sponsor.  I took one look and said, "He's mine."

So here he is, my newest child.  His name is Jhuniors.

We went to his class so I could meet him.  First the children sang some songs for us, and then their teacher taught them a short lesson.  Janette introduced Randy, Cheryl, and me to the children, and then asked them each of our names.  They couldn't remember Randy and Cheryl, but the little boys were chanting, "Mindi!  Mindi!  Mindi!"  Hahahaha!!  I LOVED it!!
We did a craft with them, and then Janette told them that she had "good news" and then announced that I was Jhuniors' new sponsor.  Here he is when she told him:

His mother was at the project, so I was able to meet her.  It was an amazing experience.  She was SO happy.  Jhuniors didn't say anything, and she said that he's very shy.  I explained that when I was his age, I used to hide under the TV stand when someone came to visit my home because I was so shy.  Later, Sean asked, "Where is yours, Mindi?" meaning the child I had sponsored, and Janette said, "IT is running around here all over."  Sean said, "How surprising that you would pick the one with the energy who loves life."  Remember that for later.

This is Jhuniors' mother, Elizabeth

After I left the room, Jhuniors was asking for me, but when he found me, he hid behind his mother.  She gave him an ice cream bar to give to me.  He walked up to me, handed me the ice cream, and then ran away.
We were scheduled to go on a boat on the river, and the Compassion staff decided to take all the children (and their mothers) who had been sponsored that day with us.  What a treat for them and for us!  Of course, Jhuniors had never been on a boat before, so he kept looking all around in amazement, yet when I asked him if he liked the boat and the river, he said, "No."  Funny boy.

Janette, who became my dear friend in just a few days.

Jhuniors, his sister, and their mother

It rained while we were on the river, just to remind us that we were in the jungle.

What an amazing day!  I couldn't believe that I was actually with this sweet little boy and his mother and was able to see the joy that they each had when they learned about my sponsorship.  It was a very special gift from God.

I went to Peru planning to visit one of my sponsored kids and ended up visiting two.

Part 4