Letters for Lavin: My Goal for 2013

One of my small goals for myself for 2013 is to write more often to my sponsored daughter, Lavin.  I sponsor Lavin through Christian Relief Fund, which is an amazing organization that fights for the rights of orphans and spreads the love of Christ throughout the world.

Lavin holding two letters from me!

If you do not sponsor a child and would like to do so, I encourage you to check out CRF and consider sponsoring a child through them.  As an intern at CRF, I have seen the sincerity and passion in the hearts of the people who work there.  Traveling to Kenya with CRF allowed me to see the impact sponsorship had on the lives of the children in that program.

Another thing I saw while in Kenya was the remarkable impact letters from sponsors had on the children as well.  We were able to pass out some letters we brought from American sponsors while we were visiting one of the schools.  The children flooded to the scene, hoping their sponsors took the time to write them a letter.  The ones who received letters were delighted.  Photographs and stickers and bookmarks passed rapidly through the hands of all of the shrieking, excited children.  They were so eager to write letters back to their sponsors and spent a long time carefully writing each word with their very best handwriting. 

It was touching to see how much of an effect the sponsor letters had on these kids.  In a place where the children are rarely told "I love you," in a place where they live in neglect and abuse and poverty, a letter from someone who says, "I love you.  Jesus loves you.  You can do great things with your future," means the whole world to them.  After visiting Kenya, I was determined to write my sponsored child so much more often than a couple of times per year.

This year, I have resolved to write Lavin one letter per month. 

My post called "Things to Send to Your Sponsored Child" is one of the top five most read posts on my blog of all time.  I have received so many comments and emails and tweets about how people glad that I shared a list of potential things to send a sponsored child.  Writing to a child whose life is completely different from your own can be difficult.  Because of the continued questions about this topic, I decided that I would share with you the letters I send to Lavin this year.  Perhaps my letters will give you ideas of conversation topics and little gifts to send to your sponsored child.

Be sure to check with your organization about what you're allowed and not allowed to send to your sponsored child.  Some organizations are strict about the weight of each envelope. 

Tomorrow I will share with you my first letter of the year to my sponsored child.