Birthday Messages
I wish I could say it to her in person, or at least on the phone, but for now I hope that God is letting Bridget know how much she is loved and that her birthday is something to celebrate.

This is the ultra-cute card I found to send Bridget for her birthday coming up in April.  It folds out into a dollhouse, and there are stickers along with “punch-out and fold” furniture and paper dolls.  It was really hard to find a card that wasn’t all “rich America” with cartoon characters on it (like Strawberry Shortcake and Dora the Explorer) which she wouldn’t know or understand, and that would be age-appropriate for her.

It might get to her a little after her actual birthday, because Compassion says it takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to get correspondence sent between sponsor & child.  I also sent a donation to Compassion specifically for her birthday for them to get her some things, so hopefully at least that will be on time.

I had a heart-stopping time for about 5 minutes because I saw that I needed to write my sponsor number on the envelope/card, and I couldn’t find the letter with it on it.  Lord help me!  He did, so I got it all ready to mail. I wish I could see her face when she gets the card and the whatever else they get her with the money I sent. It is hard waiting until the first time I get a letter from her. It makes me really stop and think about how little I set aside time to be with God, and to read His letter(s) to me (Bible) and to write to Him.

This is what she drew for me, a house and an Easter egg (I’m guessing!).  The letter also had info about her family, and her favorite foods (bananas & rice) and color (brown) and stuff like that.  Oh, this did my heart good at the end of a long, difficult day at work, especially having been at work later than I planned because I had to help make sure we got all of the business return extensions filed. 

Apparently her name is actually Natocho, which as it was printed on my information packet I thought that was her last name.  I know that other languages/countries do the firstname and surname stuff different, but I’m a little confused.  Though when I thought about it awhile, I remembered that my friend from Seminary that is from Kenya had an English/American name (Moses), and then an African name that I don’t remember and couldn’t type or pronounce.  Maybe that is the case with Bridget – Natocho is her African name, and Bridget is her English name.  Any of the Uganda trip bloggers know?

What really just about made me cry was where she asked that I pray that her friendship with me may be maintained.  I’m sure that it happens where someone signs up for sponsoring a child through Compassion, pays the first month or two and then they slack off paying because of financial stuff or the “spiritual high” that led them to signing up wears off or whatever other reason.  So, some children end up on this emotional rollercoaster of being excited to be sponsored, and then the sponsor “quits” on them so they are disappointed, and then maybe it happens all over again who knows how many times.  I wonder if that is what she is worrying about, and I do indeed pray that our friendship will be maintained for a long time and that she can let go of that fear and embrace hope through Jesus.

She has three older siblings (two sisters and a brother), so I will also be praying that they are also sponsored since I know that I cannot afford to sponsor them all at this point.  I’m very excited that I mailed the birthday card yesterday that folds out into a dollhouse (see a picture here), with paper dolls and furniture, because she said that her favorite game is playing with dolls.  Truly a God moment that led me to that card.

This is definitely going to be a life-changing experience.  For her and for me.  Thank you, God, again for Compassion and for Bridget.  If you are thinking about sponsoring a child – do it, but make sure you are committed to it for the long haul.  They need you, now and forever.

Compassion has some great information about the country here.  It is one of the HIV/AIDS affected areas of Africa, though thankfully Bridget does not currently have HIV/AIDS.  Hopefully my sponsorship will keep her from getting it.   

From the information I received from Compassion, it sounds like she lives pretty near the Kenya border.  I had a friend in Seminary that was from Kenya, his American name was Moses and he was one of the most gentle, caring persons I’ve ever met.  I’ve heard on the news that Kenya is having a lot of problems, so I’m sure that there are many refugees in Uganda around where Bridget lives.  I should contact the Eastern Mennonite Seminary, where I got my Master’s degree, and find out where Moses is currently and see if he could go meet Bridget when he is in Africa sometime.  That would be really cool.

Wikipedia also has some interesting information about Uganda here.  

Let me back up and explain.  Shaun had posted a bunch of FAQ’s about Compassion here, and he said that if we had any other questions to e-mail him and ask.  I’ve seen so many presentations and commercials about Compassion that only had kids in them, that the one thing that has kinda held me back and kept bugging me is not knowing what happened to the children once they became adults.  So I e-mailed Shaun and asked him.  Is there really a long-term, life-changing, effect to these people that went through Compassion?  Are there jobs for them, and do they honestly break the cycle of poverty their family has been in for generations?  Does it truly make a difference?

Click over to Shaun’s post about my question and Prossy, an adult young lady who was sponsored through Compassion as a child, and watch the video, her smile at the end is simply priceless and the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, MaryAnn for sponsoring Prossy.  Thank you Compassion for your wonderful ministry.  Thank you, Los, for taking the video for Shaun.  And thank you, Shaun, for taking the time to read my question and jumping on the opportunity to show me when Prossy came to your hotel.

I’ve always heard about when you have children how your love for them just explodes more than you can dream of beforehand.  I think I am having a glimpse of this with my sponsoring Bridget, because I feel like I already love her so much without even seeing any more than a picture.  I pray she will smile like the children in the pictures the Uganda bloggers took, smile like Prossy when she is grown up; and I pray I can give her that kind of hope, that kind of joy for the rest of her life.  I pray that if I never get to meet her here on this earth, that I will still meet her in the Kingdom.

Please take the same opportunity to give a child hope for all eternity here.

Los has shared many amazing videos of what they saw there in Uganda, but this one floored me the most.  Make sure to watch all of this, after he is done being silly it gets really in your face serious.

She wanted to pray for them, wow.  And the boy who is so impacted by his sponsor that he asks anyone he meets that is from America if they know her.  He laughs at the question about whether she is a movie star or a singer, and it seems to me that she is more important to the true Kingdom than any movie star or rock star. 

We don’t have to be famous to make a difference.  That is the real key, isn’t it?  I keep wondering to myself what God has me on earth for, and I want to make a difference but how do I, who is so insignificant and unimportant, do that?  I see now that I can make a difference at least for one life, and perhaps because of it she will make a difference in many more.  That is my hope and prayer.

If you haven’t yet, make a difference here.