These are our kids, Fredrick and Kekeli. No, we have not received our referral(s) from Ethiopia, nor did we switch it up on you all and request older children instead of an infant/toddler. These are our Compassion International children and we've sponsored them since 2009. Fredrick is 12 and lives in Ghana, and Kekeli is 10 and lives in Togo. These kids have become our kids over the past three years. We send them letters, pictures, stickers, coloring pages and lots of love. We pray for them and their families daily. They send letters back, filled with questions about how volcanoes work, what snow feels like and "What are the different kinds of engineers so I can pick one to be when I grow up?". The letters are written by children far beyond their age and filled with love, compassion and hope. Fredrick talks about school with excitement and yearns to know more about science and the natural world. Kekeli's compassion and love shines through when she asks us to pray for her father, who had to be transported to a hospital in another country to treat his life-threatening high blood pressure, or when she asks us to give Juliana kisses and to give our dogs extra treats.
When we first began sponsoring these children, we were newlyweds and were both working. We didn't have a budget, ate at restaurants 3-4 times a week, and basically bought whatever we wanted. The $75 a month we sent to Compassion was pocket change in our financial book. Fast forward to 2011: We've bought a house and truck, had a baby, now have 2 dogs, I quit my job and Buck gets laid off for 4 months. Ask us to produce $75 extra a month now...it was tight...really tight. We downgraded our cable and internet, canceled Netflix, made a grocery budget (what's that??), and put an impasse on unneccessary purchases, like ice cream from Cold Stone (my weakness) or a new earring (Buck's weakness). Canceling our sponsorship was never an option, though, because we knew that Fredrick and Kekeli needed that $75 more than we ever could. That money provides food, clothing, bible lessons at a community center, and so much more. Fredrick and Kekeli are thriving now, instead of just surviving. Their school performance has improved drastically over the past 3 years, and we even get an occasional picture of Kekeli smiling.
So, now it's 2012. 2011 taught us a lesson in economic hardship that was about 50% the economy's fault and 50% our fault for being financially irresponsible for so many years. Now we have a budget, a back-up plan for when Buck gets laid off, and our bills are (almost) all the way paid off. But now, we don't worry about whether or not we'll have the $75 to send to Fredrick and Kekeli every month; we know it's there. And at the end of the month, when all of the bills are paid, the groceries are bought and there's only $____ left in the checking account, we remind ourselves....that the bills are paid, there's food in fridge, and that our daughter is happy and healthy. And that's more than enough.
