Sponsor Stories
These are stories from our child sponsors in their own words. Many of our child sponsors have found that sponsoring a child has changed their lives as well as the life of the child they sponsor. If you are a child sponsor and you have a story to share, send it to us.
“Thank you for choosing me.”
The words were written across the picture in a childish scrawl. The “T” was a bit sideways, the bottom of the “h” was gigantic compared to the top, the lettering stopped in the middle of a word before it hit his face and some of the letters were hard to see against the background.
It was absolutely perfect.
It has been almost two years since we met Alberto. His lively smile and his dark, sparkling eyes quickly won our hearts. He freely gives his love and affection; his hugs are long and strong and genuine. I see him watching us when we are teaching Bible class, acting out Bible stories, playing with all the kids, singing silly songs. He sticks with us. He holds our hand. He sits by us. We thrill to see him thriving, learning, playing, growing. We pray he feels loved, accepted, chosen.
Children who come to Ciudad de Angeles have no one who claims them. No family. They are labeled: Unwanted. It is the only reason the government will allow them to come there. No wonder our hearts break at their gratitude. We see ourselves in them. If we forgive only as much as we think we’ve been forgiven, then we love only as much as we understand we are loved.
The picture is on our refrigerator. Every day, I see it—Alberto’s smiling face. It sets my day straight: The message is not lost on me. Without God, I am nothing. Unwanted. Unloved. God came here to earth to take us by the hand—to look in our eyes—and CHOOSE us.
John said we love because He first loved us, but someday we hope Alberto and the other special children at Ciudad will understand—we choose because God chose us—and we are honored to have a small part in His plan for them.
Perhaps God is choosing you to reach out to those the world calls unwanted. A mighty work is taking place in Cozumel. We would love your help in reaching out to the children of Mexico for the Lord. Unloved? Unwanted? We prefer “chosen.” --Tammy Hughes, November 2016
"It has been such a blessing to our family to sponsor Chanti over the years. Chanti is the same age as our youngest daughter Lydia, and we will never forget the first time Lydia and Chanti met. They were about 6 years old, and even though there was a language barrier, they bonded very quickly. By the end of the first day together, they were holding hands and singing “Jesus Loves Me” in Spanish together. We have visited Chanti many times over the years, and it has been a joy to watch her grow and to see how our relationship with her has changed. On our last visit, Chanti gave us a tour of her college campus and presented us with a beautiful canvas piece of art she had painted that says, “Family is Forever”. We call Chanti our “Mexican daughter”, and we love her dearly. If you are considering sponsorship of an angel, I cannot recommend it highly enough." --Angie & Eric Hyche, August 2016
