The homeschooling blog is still awaiting the grand merge. I hate that. But I thought I'd share something the children and I worked on this week through the inspiration of our church.A number of months ago, after our pastor and a group of others from the church had visited Africa, our church was inspired to sponsor an entire village of children who have been affected by the AIDS/HIV epidemic in Kenya. Through WorldVision's HopeChild program, hundreds of children's folders lay on the tables in the foyer of the church awaiting a sponsor. What an overwhelming experience. You just wanted to scoop up an arm full of children and take them home with you.
Ken and I decided to sponsor one child for each of our three children. When we got home, we taped their pictures and information sheets to our fridge as a reminder to pray for our three little ones on the other side of the world, and to keep their needs in our thoughts. We chose two boys, Daniel and Pelengus, and one girl, Chepkemoi. All three were similar in age to Jack and Grace.
In the months that followed, I was very impressed with the information packets we received from WorldVision regarding each of the children, and the follow up phone calls. Last month, we received our first greeting cards that we were to fill out for each of the children. Jack and Grace used their copywork time during schooling, to fill out the cards with their names, add their location of residence, create a little bio about themselves, and then paste a picture of our family on the back of the card. Permitted to send flat gifts, the kids hand selected an array of stickers to include for each child.
The children are excited to have "pen pals" in Africa. What a learning opportunity it will be as they grow up together on either side of the world, exchanging bits and pieces of their culture! If you are interested in sponsoring a HopeChild you can visit WorldVision's web site online, and select a child from the hundreds available.
"Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
Matthew 18:5
1 comment:
Sarah and I have been sponsoring a little boy, "Juma" from Tanzania through Compassion International,for the last several years. We receive photos of him several times a year. He is usually proudlly wearing the new clothes he has bought with his Christmas or birthday money. After one birthday a couple of years ago, he sent a photo holding a soft mattress that he bought. He had been sleeping on a straw mat on the hard ground. This was his first mattress. It brought tears to my eyes when I think about all we take for granted and how much we have in comparison. We were recently asked to up our dollar amount so that he and his family could receive "AIDS" education and/or medicine if they would need it. The AIDS epidemic is tragically taking so many young lives in Africa everyday. Compassion allows sponsors to send a larger "family monetary gift" for those who wish to. God recently put it on my heart to do that. A staff member will then assist the family in helping them decide where their greatest needs are. Many of them raise animals and need money for food. I always enjoy getting his letters and drawings. School is very hard for him. He also attends bible school. I am glad my grandchildren are getting an opportunity to expand their little world and think of others so far away.
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