What's Involved in Sending and Receiving Sponsorship Letters?

It’s time for a sing-along! Today’s song is “Please, Mr. Postman,” which was performed by such greats as The Marvelettes, The Beatles, and The Carpenters. You can either sing the main part or the backup singer part. Me? I sing both parts! Ready? A one, a two, a one, two three, four…

Woah, yes, wait a minute, Mr. Postman.

(Wait) Wait, Mr. Postman.

(Please, Mr. Postman, look and see)

Oh, yeah (if there’s a letter in your bag for me)

Please, please, Mr. Postman (Why’s it takin’ such a long time)...

Okay, that’s enough of a lead-in for today’s blog topic. We’re talking about sending letters to and receiving letters from sponsored children. And, let’s just say that if The Marvelettes, The Beatles, and The Carpenters had understood the 2-fold process, they would have understood why it was "takin’ such a long time"!

Letters Going to Children from Sponsors

Alejandro stressed how much the kids love to receive letters. It helps them feel connected with their sponsor and makes them feel special and loved. 

Each sponsorship church handles their letters a bit differently. Some try to do more letters than others, but in general the ministry receives 1-2 batches of letters from each church every year. The letters from the sponsors to the children are generally brought down by a team and handed over to S4P staff in country, although occasionally they are shipped down on the containers.

Once letters have arrived in Honduras they are then given to translators. Finding enough local people with strong written English skills is not a small task, by the way. When the translators have finished, each of the translated letters is printed and stapled to the originals. Each letter must contain the child’s name, sponsor number, etc. The letters are sorted into packages to be delivered to the twenty schools and three churches in the programs. 

Approximate time needed once letters arrive in Honduras: Two and a half months.

Letters From Children to Sponsors

Surprisingly, the kids also love writing letters to their sponsors. 

Rachel and Secia get the process started by creating a letter-writing assignment based on the season. This year, the three themes are: 1) Backpack Thank You Letter, 2) Mid year greetings and update and 3) Christmas. Rachel and Secia have written specific questions for each child to answer. Secia then prints up 2,200 copies of the letter-writing prompts. The child’s name, sponsorship number, and sponsor’s name are computer generated, by Secia, before printing and the blank letters are then delivered to one of the twenty-three locations. 

It takes about two weeks just to distribute the letters. The teachers help the smaller children fill in their answers. Then, the letters have to be picked up from all 23 locations and from there go to the translators. The 2,000+ translations are printed and stapled to the original letters. Secia prints envelopes with the sponsor’s name and the child’s name. Each letter is stuffed into the correct envelope and packages are created to be delivered to each participating church in the States.

The packages are carried to the States by visiting teams throughout the year, or by a Sowers4Pastors staff member during the backpack collection trip. The packages are sent out to the various churches, which then distribute the letters to the sponsors in that program.

Approximate time needed from the start of this process until the letters are ready to be shipped to the US: Three and a half months.

As you’ve probably figured out, the lofty goal of having kids send three letters per year means that this is a continuous cycle. The Sowers4Pastors staff and the children in the programs are currently working on the Christmas letters. Keep this in mind if you’ve ever heard yourself singing “Deliver a letter. The sooner the better,” like a mournful Karen Carpenter!

 - posted by Christi