Goodbye/Hello

Right around our first anniversary, Hubby and I decided to sponsor a child from Ecuador through Compassion International, and five-year-old Patricia became a part of our family. We wrote letters to her, and she would draw for us, usually about the landscape around her house. We would always proudly put each new drawing on our fridge so we would see it every day. Then she learned to write, and she would both draw and write a letter to us. She would tell us what she had learned in school, what her favorite Bible story was, how her family was doing, and how she would like us to pray for her, her family and her teachers. She also asked questions about us. She had such a beautiful heart and she was growing so much, both physically and spiritually. It was such a privilege to get to know her.

Then we received a letter from Compassion last Thanksgiving weekend. We were told her family had moved away from the area where they ministered, so Patricia was no longer in their program and we could no longer be her sponsored parents.  It came as such a shock to us but there was nothing we could do. Compassion did not know where they had moved and we could not locate her.

I was sad. Although we had never met Patricia, we had gotten to know her through the letters and her drawings. Occasionally, we would also received her photos. It was difficult to let go just like that, because there was never a goodbye.

But at the same time we were informed of Patricia's move, we were told we could sponsor another child. Compassion chose for us teenaged Susana, also from Ecuador. We wrote her an introductory letter while back. Over the weekend, we received the first letter from her!

Perhaps just as Solomon said, there is a time for everything. Perhaps it was time for another couple, or church, to minster to Patricia. And we know God has entrusted Susana to us right now to minister to her. We don't know for how long it will be, but for as long as we have her as our sponsored daughter, we are going to write her letters and pray for her!