A Smile - Una Sonrisa

My friend's sweet son, Champion Smiler

I love to make people smile - especially children.
This week at work (a middle school in Virginia Beach), I was able to make a special boy smile.  He had been given an HP mini laptop by Assistive Technology, but the lady who gave it to him had not logged off.
Keeping with the brilliant design of Windows, a person cannot log into the computer in Windows 7 if someone else is logged on.  I can log off users at my school, but not from the AT Department.
The boy was given the laptop because he is visually impaired.  He's a sixth grader, so it's his first year at the school.  He was quite concerned because he wasn't able to log on, and the laptop is loaded with software, including large print textbooks, that he needs for school. When I was able to get the computer to the log in screen for him, he looked at me with one of those sweet smiles that only a child can give.  Wow.  It must have been such a relief for him to have what he needed to be able to function.
That made me think about my children (what doesn't?) and how they must feel when they receive a gift from me, even something as small as a sheet of stickers.  I so often wish I could be there to see them open the cards and letters, but even more to see them shop for their birthdays with the money I send.
I have two pictures of Michelle smiling because of gifts she received, and I have a picture of Isaac smiling while standing in his mother's garden.  I look at those often because I can get a small glimpse of what my sponsorship - and especially my correspondence - can do for these children. 
I have those pictures hanging on my refrigerator, and I have copies of them at work, where I so often need a smile.
I want to keep sending smiles to my children, and one day . . . I want to see them smile in person.

Writing Too Much? Seriously???

First, I wish I could post here every day, but time just does not allow.  Mothers often tell me that they wish they had the free time I have.  HA!  Not only is that a slap in my face, it's so not true.  Don't get me wrong, being a mom is tough and takes a ton of time, among other tons of things, but a lot of moms seem to have more time to work on blogs than I do, and I really do have important things to do even if I'm not a mom.


Anyway, that's my first soapbox.


Second is that I've been having a discussion, begun first by phone and continued online.  I called Compassion to inquire about a correspondence child.  I had heard nothing from her in the five months since she had been assigned to me, which is okay, except that I wanted to assure that I was still supposed to be writing to her.  In checking the records, the lady on the phone told me I write to my children too often.  She also gave me a rather lengthy explanation of letter timing, which I already know (I do sponsor more than one child).


Man, did I feel stupid!!!  I write to my children every week.  I used to write twice a month until Jack asked me to write more often because he felt so sad and lonely and wanted to get to know me better, so I began writing every week.  
Let me clarify a few things:

1. My letters do not need to be translated because I write in Spanish, except for my boy in Haiti and my correspondence girl in Uganda.
2. I do not always ask questions in my letters.  Many of them are to explain holidays and customs in the US.
3. My letters are not long, except when I answer a child's letter.
4. I often (like today) just send a card with a picture I've taken (usually of the Atlantic Ocean).
5. My children thank me for writing to them so often.
6. Jack says, "Sus cartas son hermosas."  "Your letters are beautiful."

Some people have said that my letters would be overwhelming to the children because there are so many.  So I asked myself, "If I were a child in poverty, and I received mail once a month, would I rather receive one letter or four?"  I don't know.  Somehow I just can't accept the "overwhelming" idea.


I have decided to be sure that I stick to short letters and to send cards perhaps twice a month without much more than a scripture and a reminder that I'm praying.  I also told the children that I do not expect them to answer every letter I send (just to make sure I'm not overwhelming them).


But I will not stop writing every week unless Wess Stafford himself knocks on my door and tells me to.  For one, I think the children would be hurt if they suddenly received fewer letters from me, and even more importantly, in all my prayer about this situation, I am confident that I am doing what God wants me to do with my letter writing frequency.


So that's my second soapbox.  I don't expect anyone else to write every week, but as an Advocate, if a sponsor asked me if writing every week is too much, I certainly wouldn't say it is.  These children need all the love they can get.


If you're a sponsor and you don't write for whatever reason, please read this post:
http://blog.compassion.com/the-real-ministry-of-child-sponsorship-lies-in-letter-writing/

Letters are important, even if you send too may of them.