Welcome to our 2nd Impress Your Sponsored Kids challenge! If you’re just joining us, the 2nd Monday of every month, I share a craft, letter writing tip or fun gift to send your sponsored child in the mail. But it’s more than that, I am challenging you to write to your sponsored child once a month. I got lots of good feedback last month and I’m excited that so many of us are committing to enhance our relationship with our sponsored kids by writing to them!
As a fun bonus last month, we received a letter from our sponsored kids in Burkina Faso! I just love seeing their sweet drawings and hearing their sweet words. It is the rainy season in Burkina Faso (or was at the time of them writing) and they both asked us to pray they would be safe and that the harvest would be good. Both of them told us that during the rainy season, their parents are so busy they either don’t live at home or are gone so long our kids have to watch the other kids. Our sponsored kids are only 7 years old. It’s hard for me to even explain this to my daughter. She can’t comprehend a situation so dire that my husband and I would have to leave her just to provide food for her. I pray this commitment to write to them every month will not only encourage our sponsored kids, but open up my children’s world and their hearts.
Speaking of which, I want to share a video with you. It is footage of our trip to the Dominican Republic with World Vision. All the women interviewed in this video are bloggers, mothers and friends of mine. We discuss the partnership of World Vision and Veggie Tales—but really, what we’re discussing is the mission of giving parents tools to raise their kids for God. And that’s just the vision of Impress Your Kids, too!
Please watch and be inspired to connect with your sponsored kids, to pour into your own children and to somehow connect the two!
World Vision and Veggie Tales Promo from Steelehouse Productions on Vimeo.
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I hope you watched it! {Please go back if you didn’t—I’m in it! You can see me!!!} I get inspired every time I watch it! And I get tears in my eyes thinking of the mothers and children I met while in the Dominican–including my own Mari Luz. I don’t want to squander the relationship God has given us. I want to send her my $35 a month, but I also want to use what influence I have to show her God’s love.
That is what this post, these ideas and this challenge is all about–showing God’s love to children around the world.
This month I have a small gift for my sponsored children: a sticker book! Sticker books were big when I was a little girl. I collected all kinds of stickers on those shiny little pages. I don’t think they have those anymore, do they? Anyway, this sticker books is more of an activity book. It’s a tiny little book from Dover Publications. You’ve probably seen these at school supply stores or the Cracker Barrel. My kids love these and they are the perfect size for mailing!
We’ve sent the African Animals book to our kids in Burkina Faso:
I’ve also picked up an aquarium book, robot book and a farm animals book. But my favorite is the sticker paper doll books. They come from all different countries, Ireland, Russia, Switzerland, Mexico and more. Here’s one from Brazil:
They even have foreign language books! But I haven’t even mentioned the best part of these books—they are all under about $2!! (In fact, right now they are having a fall sale—the Brazil book? 60 cents!)
Whenever I see these at the store I grab a few so I can have them on hand. There are so many to choose from, you’ll be able to find them on all subjects and for all ages!
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Have you written your sponsored kids lately? What fun activity or idea can you share with us? It can be a craft, a fun letter you’ve written or some great gift you’ve mailed. Just WRITE about it on your blog, then LINK back to this post so others can join in our challenge, then PASTE the url to your post below! I’ll leave the linky open all month so you can peruse everyone’s posts–and hopefully you can start impressing your sponsored kid this month!
If you don’t sponsor a child, please do so now! We sponsor children through World Vision and Compassion International. Both organizations are committed to loving kids, helping communities and demonstrating the love of Jesus!
