Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Welcoming a New Compassion Child!

This morning we added another member to our Compassion family! Her name is Briceyda, and she is a 12 year old young lady in Guatemala. She lives in Peten, which is near the famous Tikal ruins.


My husband Chris and I had the opportunity to visit Tikal when we were first married, and we stayed on the island of Flores, which is very near where Briceyda lives. It is an amazingly beautiful country, with equally beautiful people. Tikal is, of course, legendary.

Accepting a new sponsored child was not a light decision for us. I was not looking for a new child to sponsor, and to be honest, central American was not a region I had been thinking and praying about--most of my prayer time and heavy-heartedness has centered around Asia and Africa, particularly Cambodia and many of the west African countries. So, when I saw the photo of Briceyda at Our Compassion, and read that her sponsor was going to have to give her up, I was surprised that I felt so strongly led to offer to transfer her to our family.

I struggled with even discussing it with Chris, as I know he puts up with a lot from me and I wanted to make sure I wasn't just acting on some whim. But after praying over it for a few days, I just kept thinking about Briceyda, and that she would be losing a sponsor she has had since kindergarten, and that she is right on the cusp of her teen years, and how devastating that could be to her at such a precious and tender time of life for a young woman. I absolutely can't fault her current sponsor. At this stage in her own life because of changes in her situation, her sponsorships were totaling over half of her current income--clearly unsustainable and a testimony to how generous a person she is.

Part of my struggle was wondering if a central American child needed as much help as an Asian or African child. I know that may sound silly, but I think I have some stereotypes about poverty...although I know all children in poverty are equally deserving of help, I still seem to have this mental block telling me that some children need more help than others. Perhaps it's the recent abundant use of the phrase (which I really don't care much for, as it imposes a type of ranking or caste system on poverty) "the poorest of the poor."

The fact is, poverty is not simple. Many, many fantastic books, including several promoted by Compassion and including the phenomenal book "Half the Sky" point out how terribly complex poverty actually is. Indeed, poverty can't be isolated simply to a lack of resources. Poverty is a vast, interconnected web of environmental, economic, and social factors that intermingle in different ways depending on where you are looking.

Before we agreed to take on Briceyda I asked some of the sponsors at Our Compassion where they thought girls in poverty most needed help. Through their responses, and my own searching on the United Nations website, I determined that my stereotypes are largely incorrect. It turns out, girls in poverty need help regardless of where they live. It turns out, exploitation may vary by degrees in each region, but desperate need leads to desperate actions regardless of your ethnic background or the country of which you are a citizen. It turns out, the need to sponsor boys is just as desperate as the need to sponsor girls--after all, boys raised in desperate situations grow up to put girls and boys in desperate situations, or are recruited as members of child armies, or are exploited for cheap labor.

There is a fantastic UN document on trafficking that talks about some of the differences among and between regions. If you're interested in checking it out, the link is here.

In the meantime, please be in prayer for the newest member of our Compassion family, as we welcome her with open arms and help her through the transition period to a new sponsor. And please, consider sponsoring a Compassion child. Most of us in this country have more than enough to share.

8 comments:

  1. OH THAT IS AWESOME! I was hoping and praying that beautiful Briceyda would get a loving sponsor that would shower her with letters and love!!

    And, if I may say so, the Guatemalan children I have are my BEST writers and write regularly (perhaps they are on the new system now?) and they are so thoughtful and loving.

    I am SO happy for you and Briceyda!!!! Congrats!

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    1. Thank you Hannah! Please keep us in your prayers!

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  2. Briceyda is so cute!!! I'm so excited for you!!! I know that it's always a serious decision to add another kid...and so exciting when it works out!! Our teenage boy from Guatemala always writes the most detailed letters...and we hear from him almost every-other month! I think you'll enjoy the letter writing!!

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    1. Oh we so hope to visit, too. We love Central America. Isn't she a doll??

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  3. Congrats!!!!!! I am so happy for you both. I knew I recognized Briceyda from somewhere. :)

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  4. Thanks again for taking on Briceyda. I'll admit that I looked at your OC profile today and saw her face and it just felt so weird and sad for me. Even so, I'm glad that you were able to take over her sponsorship. It is such a blessing to know that she's in good hands. Thank you!

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    1. I know it's so very difficult to make that kind of decision, but it's totally understandable and you've been so generous to care for her for so long! I'm so excited to make her part of our family and get to know her :)

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