Friday, September 14, 2012

Sponsoring a Child



After I made my first trip to Romania in October 2010, I knew that I wanted to keep in touch with the work that was going on.  The question was, how?  The answer: sponsor a child.  What, exactly, does that mean?  You select a child, or children, from the sponsorship book, then send your check to Another Child Foundation with the name of the child in the memo section.  Ok, so what’s the cost?  That is up to you.  It cost about $600 a year per child to cover all the expenses related to their education – food, teachers salary, rent, utilities and supplies.  That averages to $50 per month.  So where do I come up with an extra $50?  In the Kingsland/Marble Falls area that we lived in, that would be: 2 trips to Tamale King for dinner, 2 trips to the movies, half month cost for satellite TV, the cost of an outfit on sale at Bealls, a soft drink a day at Speedy Stop, or a tank of gas.  Now I’m not asking you to stop patronizing such establishments or to give up your entertainment, but could you cut back/eliminate some “extra” activities to promote the education of a child?  The answer is yes.  The question is, will you?  Yes, it takes a sacrifice, but some sacrifices have tremendous rewards.

When we decided to sponsor a child through Buckner Romania, we looked through a selection of pictures and read the brief bios, then selected Gabi (actually it was Dennis who selected her).  It began as a picture on the refrigerator – a visual reminder to send our money, but also a reminder to pray for her.  She was just a picture.  Then we made the mission trip in July 2011 and met Gabi.  That was all it took.  She was no longer just a picture, but flesh wrapped around a body; we could put a voice and personality with that photograph.  Our attitude towards her changed, because she was now our child.  Sending money became a privilege and blessing.  But it didn’t stop there.  You see, we now live in Romania and get to see our child every week.  The relationship has grown from sponsor to surrogate parents.  We know that when we walk into the gate at the group home, she will be there to greet us with a HUGE hug.  There’s not a time when we are with her that she doesn’t tell us that she loves us.  Dennis has become the father she never had, and oh how she loves him!  When he was working on the construction in the basement, she was right there.  He taught her how to pop a line (of which she is very proud of herself), cut and break sheetrock, measure lengths, hammer in nails, and hold up lumber for him.  I think she would scoop poop if it meant hanging with him.  Yes, she calls me “mama”, but I don’t hold a candle to the relationship between Dennis and her, and I’m ok with that.  I understand that girls need the love of their fathers, and I am honored that it’s Dennis who can provide that love.



So you can’t move to Romania like we did, that’s ok.  You can still meet your sponsored child with a mission trip.  Trips are now in the making for 2013.  Check out the dates and come on over.  I promise that your life will be changed, and so will your child's!

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