Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Compassion Kiddo


Recently, Anne Jackson and some other bloggers went on a trip to Uganda. I followed their stories and was touched by a post on Anne's blog about actually seeing the change in a child that was sponsored verses a child that wasn't sponsored through Compassion.

Soon after that all settled down and the celebrity bloggers returned home, Anne posted about a young boy named Francis that was awaiting a sponsorship. My wife and I decided to start investing in his life. (BTW, this further delayed me getting a DVR and better cable...we still know how to program our VCR though so we don't miss Lost, Smallville, or Idol.)




We received our first letter which gave me great perspective into his life, and the vast contrast between his world and ours. The simple desire to just go to "town" if he could go anywhere and that his favorite food is bananas really challenges my gratefulness. I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with him and praying for him with my family.

Maybe you should check out Compassion and be challenged too....it's okay, DVR isn't THAT cool.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

D-you crazy man! I didn't know you sponsored him. Thank you so much for posting this. How cool are those letters? Amazing. I can't wait to see how your relationship with Francis develops over time! Thank you for sharing!!!

steve said...

Awesome! Neat letter! Great to get the note and provide some point of contact to relate. Excited here to get correspondence from our Compassion child, Dji and his family in Haiti! What a privilege to share!

Rachel said...

Hey Derrick. I arrived here via Shaun, but I'm actually a fellow Tulsan as well, and know a few lifechurch.tv folks!

Anyhow, I just recently got my first letter from my wonderful little Ugandan sister, Christine. I am planning to write her back very soon.

I love seeing how the Compassion Bloggers launched something that has gotten so many kids sponsored. Glad to see you're on board, too.

=)

Amy said...

I love the letters and have seen a delightful change in some of my children since sponsoring them. One of my boys recently wrote, "You are my family member who doesn't live with me."
A thousand times better than DVR anyday of the week. :) Besides, if you can still use your VCR, that's all you need!

Derrick Henslee said...

Thanks everyone! The letter was so surreal and I really loved reading his handwriting and feeling the impression on the paper. We're really looking forward to some cool stories...the family member who doesn't live with us....man! That's huge!

Unknown said...

What an amazing blessing Derrick. This is something my wife and I need to really think about too, to make such an impact on another childs life would be so awesome!!