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| Giving to those in need is a way to share our plenty |
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A trip to McDonald’s for my family of six, a plastic Nerf dart gun, one general admission ticket to a baseball game, my subscription to The Sporting News, one night’s stay at a State Park campground ... each of these things costs roughly $30. I’m sure, with a little bit of thought, you can come up with examples in your own life of how much $30 is worth.
When organizations, such as World Vision, asks Americans to consider sponsoring hungry and needy children in many unknown parts of the world, they frequently ask people to consider how they are spending their money. This is not really a new or unique tactic, but it can be an effective one.
When my wife and I carefully considered how our money was being used, we decided that it was important for us to sponsor children. We sponsor four children; one to match each one of our own kids. Three of the children benefit from World Vision programs, and one is associated with Horizon International.
We send each child, through World Vision or Horizon, a $30 sponsorship payment per month. Nearly all of that money goes to support the sponsored family.
I say this, not to brag, but to share the joy my family has experienced by our association with these kids and their families. The oldest of our sponsored children is Fatos, now 17, who lives in rural Albania. We’ve sponsored him for many years, and today he looks like my 17-year-old son under my own roof.
The letters we receive – letter-writing is a lost art form in the United States, by the way - from our sponsored kids and their parents are priceless. Here we learn about their daily lives, their hopes and dreams, their needs, their industriousness and their ability to share the few things that they do have with others where they live.
Fatos is tall and skinny, but healthy. He loves football (soccer), and as a result of his sponsorship experience, hopes to become a teacher and coach someday. Over the years, we’ve had to pleasure to send him a soccer jersey with his name on it, soccer balls, school supplies and other things in addition to our sponsorship payment.
Still, we’re in debt to Fatos and his family – they’ve sent many more letters to us, than we’ve sent to them.
Abonga, 13, lives in South Africa, and we sponsor him through Horizon International. Horizon specializes in helping children who have been orphaned by the AIDS epidemic. Abonga has the good fortune to still live with his mother. Among the first things he received from our sponsorship was a school uniform, which was required for him to attend school.
Apparently, children who do not have uniforms are socially disadvantaged in his region of South Africa. Other kids taunt those who cannot afford the uniforms. The first letter we received from Abonga’s mother expressed her joy.
“I was so surprised when I saw Abonga coming from school wearing the whole school uniform from top to bottom. I called all my neighbors to come and see this,” she wrote. “We prayed to God thanking Him for what He did for me and my child.”
Both World Vision and Horizon International are Christian organizations, but they are not heavy-handed in their retelling of the gospel. Both groups are dedicated to taking care of people’s physical needs first.
Farm World has partnered with World Vision to allow its readers to share their plenty with others in need. World Vision has a program that allows Americans to buy livestock for rural, mostly subsistence farm families around the world. Their stories of charity and reclamation will be published in Farm World for many weeks to come.
No one should ever tell you that you must give to someone else. That’s a personal decision that everyone must make on their own. I can only tell you that our giving has been a greater blessing to my family than to anyone who we’ve sponsored. These people add to our joy when times are good, and they give us perspective when times are bad.
As we move through this season of plenty, as we store away what is necessary for the future and pay what is due today, it might be a worth-while exercise to consider how your money is being used. |
| 10/6/2010 |
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