Sponsorship

(I have been meaning to write this post for some time now so here it goes!)

One evening when I was in Banta, as I was walking down the hill to my house and this is what I saw (see below) chaos!

All the kids were outside my house and I was trying to figure out what they were doing. As I got closer I realized that they were all receiving letters from their sponsors and writing their sponsors back.

Now, let me back up here for a minute to talk about Sponsorship. Each of our children, home children and children in our schools, have sponsors here in America that help COTN provide food, schooling, medical care, and other things for our kids. Sponsorship is the main way that we get all of our funding to take care of all these kids.

But it is so much more than just giving money to COTN. Sponsorship is connecting with a child. Becoming a part of a worldwide family. I know that sounds cheesy and at first when they referred to COTN as a family, I thought it sounded a bit clique, but the most that I have been involved with COTN and the more connections that are made through COTN, I really do see it being as a family. Moving here and leaving the familiar back in Colorado really showed me how much of a family it is, as people really are being so wonderful and helping my transition here. (This could be a whole different blog though, so let me get back to Sponsorship)

Sponsorship connects you with a child, and is a way for you to make a difference in that child's life, encouraging them and partnering with COTN to help transform these children so that they can change their nation.

And the kids love it. Seeing how excited the kids were about receiving letters from their sponsors makes me realize how important being a sponsor is. They love that someone half way across the world cares about them. I had one of our girls come up to me and say, "Aunty Sarah, my sponsors told me that they are your friends. Can you tell me more about them." They want to see your picture, they want to know about your life, and they want to share their life with you.

So, I want to ask that you partner with me, with COTN, and with our kids in Sierra Leone. Every Monday, I am going to post a picture and a story of a child that I have gotten to know in Sierra Leone that needs a sponsor. I want your help in getting them sponsored. I know a lot of you already sponsor kids and I am so thankful for that, so if you can't sponsor one, ask your friends, ask your family and lets see if every week we can get one kid sponsored. Having our children all sponsored would allow for COTN to continue expanding and improving upon our goal of raising children who transform nations.

I'm excited about this. Excited to see how a few people coming together can make a big difference in Sierra Leone.