Godspeed, Mutiso!

We recently received a letter from Compassion International letting us know that our sponsored child, Mutiso, is no longer a part of the Compassion project he had attended in Kenya. Thankfully, this was good news. Mutiso, who is just about to turn 11, departed from the program because his family's situation has improved to the point where he no longer qualifies for assistance through Compassion. In his life, Compassion's goal ("breaking the cycle of poverty") has been accomplished. I am so thankful that we got to be a part of that over the past six years!

So last week, I wrote a final letter to Mutiso. It was kind of poignant, writing to a kid I never meet--and probably never will meet on this earth. I'd written to him many times before, but thinking of what to say in a parting letter made me pause. I told him I hope that he grows to know God and God's deep love for Him. I told him that I will see him in heaven someday. I was also glad for the opportunity to send him a picture of Lorien, since I hadn't done that yet. (He prayed for her, and in his last letter to us, he reminded us that she is his "sister.") And that's it. The end of our contact with him. Now we leave him in God's hands and pray for God's further blessings on him and his family.

What's Next?

I have been thinking for a while that it would be really cool to sponsor a Compassion kid with the same exact birthday as Lorien. So when I talked to the phone rep there about how to contact Mutiso a final time, I asked about that. As it turns out, they don't take kids into the program until they're about 3 or 4 years old, so we'll have to wait a while on that. So for now, we chose another kid. His name is Daniel and he is also from Kenya. Actually, he's not really a kid: He's 17. Understandably, it's hard for Compassion to get sponsors for their older students, because everyone sees the cute little ones and wants to choose them. The oldest Daniel can be and remain in the program is 22 (and many students leave before that age), so we have decided to finish out his time and then try to find a little girl with a birthday to match Lorien's.

So here's a thought: if you have been considering sponsoring a child, but you aren't sure you can make a long term commitment, why not pick a kid who only has a few years left in the program? The maximum age varies from country to country, and a Compassion rep can give you the specifics about whatever country interests you. (Their number is 800-336-7676.)

Every Sponsor Should Watch This

Finally, just thought I'd share one of the coolest videos I've seen lately, since it's on topic. (I posted it on Facebook a while back, so forgive me for repeating myself if you saw it there.)