Shocking

My husband and I sponsor children through a couple of different ministries.  I love receiving their letters and writing back to them, hoping to encourage them...to give them hope.
Recently I received a letter from one of "our girls," Bethelehem in Ethiopia.  She had received her birthday money, and with it she had purchased a blanket.  She even included a photo, which completely shocked me.

I didn't recognize her.

The change in "our girl" was indescribable.  Until now, the only picture we had of her was one of her standing alone, wearing ill-fitting clothes, belly distended from malnutrition, hair thin and dull, and no smile on her ten year old face that had obviously suffered much.

Now?  Now she is radiant.  Her eyes shine with joy.  Her skin is beautiful and her hair thick and braided.  Her clothes and sandals fit and she holds the blanket she purchased so proudly.  She stands tall and elegant.  She is healthy.  We had only been sponsoring her (at the rate of $35 per month) for about 9 months.

I was speechless.  I wanted to jump for joy!  Oh, friends, if you only knew how God could use you!  So many people think that, because they are not called to adopt, there is little they can do to make real change.
Well, let me assure you, it does not take much to make real change in the lives of these children!  Bethelehem has HOPE.  She has been able to stay in her native country and speak her native tongue and live with her mother and sister despite the death of her father.  She has been given stability and encouragement from a family she has never met.  She knows that somewhere, in America, there is someone who cares about her and is providing for her.  And, in her case, we get to be the ones blessed by God to be the agents of change in her life.

The change in Bethelehem is no less remarkable than the change that occurred in my Ethiopian daughter.  There are easily accessible ways to help these kids...and I am a firm believer that sponsorship is one of the easiest!