Daniela, age 8 Sara, age 11
I have been gathering gifts and preparing for my visit to meet these two precious girls. On January 3rd, I experienced one of my worst fears. Sara was missing from my Compassion account. When I discovered this, it was was after Compassion hours so I had to wait for an answer until the next day. I was terrified of losing my sweet Sara especially since I was planning to visit her so soon. The scenarios ran through my mind: Sara's family could have moved out of Compassion's sphere of influence, however, this seemed unlikely since they had recently moved; her family's economic situation could have improved so they wouldn't need Compassion's help any more; or, the mostly situation would be that she had lost her financial sponsor giving me the first option to take up her sponsorship. I spend the evening fretting and praying that God would show me what to do. The first two scenarios would leave me no choice but to keep Sara's memory in my heart. The third left me with two options: say 'goodbye' or say 'welcome to my sponsored family.' My heart was broken at the thought of losing the bond that Sara and I had formed and an evening of prayer and discussion led me to the conclusion that if Sara had lost her financial sponsor, I would pick up her sponsorship. My answer came the next day from Compassion that Sara had indeed lost her sponsor. I immediately called the Compassion office and Sara became my fifth sponsored child.
As my trip nears (5 weeks from tomorrow) and preparations are coming together, I am getting more and more excited to meet these two precious girls. From her letters, I believe meeting Sara will be a day treasured forever! Additionally, Daniela is such a sweet young girl who no doubt will have hugs and bright smiles that will lead to memories we can both cherish for a life time. I pray that our time together will blessed and full of special memories for us all.
