Circling Back Around - with backpacks and letters!

 Alejandro did such an amazing job of sharing a blog post topic a couple of weeks ago that he has added “semi-regular blog post contributor” to his already lengthy list of duties. That’s what he gets for being so competent! Today’s content picks up where he last left off–two weeks in the past.

Whenever teams hand out backpacks (in January and February), there are invariably a few children that don’t show up. It is necessary to circle back around to provide those children with their backpacks, and to determine if those children will be remaining in the sponsorship program for another year. So, two weeks ago, Alejandro and some other Sowers4Pastors staff members headed to Crucitas to deliver the backpacks to the children who missed the first Lighthouse sister church distribution. Then, the following week, they did the same thing for the children in Guacutao, who are a part of the Edgewater Alliance sister church program.

S4P staff had the opportunity to meet and share with kindergarten teachers in Guacutao. We can probably all agree that teaching kindergarten is a difficult job that is not for sissies. We can also probably agree that kindergarten teachers are grossly underpaid. But, did you know that kindergarten teachers in Guacutao aren’t even paid at all? They work on a 100% volunteer basis! Yet, they show up to school and work with the children day in and day out. Think about that, each child in Guacutao begins their formal education with teachers who are there out of the goodness of their hearts. 

Visiting the schools gave S4P a chance to deliver Bible teaching materials. The ministry bought these materials for each child in a sister church program. Alejandro said, “We could see the happiness and excitement on the children’s faces. And I had the thought that the children are like sponges, able to soak up the lessons about Jesus and scripture.”

The staff also delivered letters from the sponsors to the children. After some of the excitement and screams of “I want to see my letter” died down, Alejandro asked the kids why they like to receive letters. Here are some of the top responses:

“I like to know how my sponsor is doing.”

“My sponsor always says nice things to me.”

“I feel important to him, so I like to receive letters.”

On behalf of the children, Alejandro wants to thank the sponsors for their letters. And, if you don’t regularly write to your sponsored child, he challenges you to do so. He said, “It may take five or ten minutes for us, but it is important to them. All of the sponsors need to know that.”

He continued by saying, “One of the biggest problems in these communities is the number of kids that don’t have love in their houses. When we go to the schools, the kids run to us and want a hug. They don’t always have that in their homes. When you take the time to send a letter or a picture of your dog, it tells the children that they are important to you. Yes, they receive backpacks, but they sometimes forget about them throughout the year. When they get a letter, they read it over and over.”

 - posted by Christi