Letter Writing: Something Greater Than Yourself

Letter writing is an interesting thing. First thought is "...what? it's so slow! *grumble, grumble*". Though in reality, it makes things a lot more personal. It's not just shooting an email or face book chat. It's saying: "I'm going to take time to write and put effort into this relationship because I care about you." That alone is a powerful thing. These simple letters. It seems small but these letters make a bridge we can meet on. A direct connection to our little kiddo(s) wherever they might be. Whatever they're doing we are dropped into their life and culture and vice versa. We are one letter away from our little kiddos anywhere in the world! Isn't that amazing?! I love OurCompassion and wish I lived in Canada right now. They have letter tracking! You can even see when they sent a letter. Amazing!

To be so close, yet so far away, huh?(: I just feel so privileged to have a relationship with my Ivan. To be able to have a relationship with him. To be able to mentor him. To be an answered prayer and a hope bringer. What a wonderful opportunity! I just am SO glad God is using me through this organization. I don't know what to say other than it's such a privilege! To be able to give back what I have been given.

To show you how much letter writing matters here is a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJTm15UZn-c

This just reinforces the message that OUR LETTERS MATTER! Write to your kid! Become a correspondence sponsor. Be a change for the better. It's absolutely heart breaking that some kids don't get letters at all. Mail call after mail call they wait. Soon they start to ask "why don't my sponsors love me?" and reinforces the lie of poverty. That they "don't matter". Somewhere in the world there is a child that needs you. That needs God's love, His purpose, and hope. All of that is compacted in a single sent letter. 

This organization. What an opportunity. Well I will leave you with this. GO WRITE SOME LETTERS! :D

and here are some of my favorite verses:

"Isaiah 54:13  All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children."


"1 Timothy 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit,^[a] in faith, in purity."

“Luke 18:15-17 Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

We are all Connected to Each Other

It's been on my heart for a long time. "We are all connected to each other". With new technology today we have the opportunity to have the ENTIRE WORLD at our fingertips. Did you know that every fifteen months all the knowledge in the world is doubling?! We have access to things today that wasn't even thought of as possible two hundred years ago. Though with oppritunites come responsibilities.

We are all connected to each other. A child in poverty, a parent of an abducted child, a person who's country's government is collapsing, our neighbors. Our family, whether in one country or another, we have a responsibility to help in whatever way we can.

Jesus said "Go and makes disciples of all nations, go and preach the gospel to all the earth!"
He said "Love one another as He has loved you."
To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give to the poor.

The bible wasn't humoring us when it said that God has a plan for our lives! He uses each one of us to impact in the WORLD for His Kingdom. I used to think that God would have just this master plan and give it all to me at one time. That isn't how it works though. It's making a difference in the world one step at a time.

Wether it be giving advice to a friend, encouraging the hurt, sponsoring a child, doing a missions trip, or just helping out a stranger. We all have a roll to play. The idea is we all help one another. If we have something extra, we bless others. God doesn't give us leftovers to just keep. He gives it to bless us and for others to be blessed through us. I love the album Third World Symphony by Shaun Groves. The song Enough is relevant here.

           "Rain more than this day's bread and I may think I'm God instead."

There are two messages I got. When you are only getting enough you have more faith and dependency on God. This I find sort of bittersweet. Which is better to have everything you could ever need and not have a supply of faith when push comes to shove or to have barely enough but have a dependency on God. It sounds weird but I find myself pondering this a lot.

The second is when you take all of God's blessings for yourself you say: "Hey I got this! I don't need God!". Though if you use God's blessings for you AND others you'll be praising God more and more for the wonderful things He is doing through you!

I guess to conclude this musing of mine I say:

We are all connected with each other. We can impact each other and make a difference in this world! We just need to decide how we want to do it.

"Our finger prints don't fade from the lives we touch." -Ghandi

"While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." -Think Different Campaign

Mail Call! (my FIRST)

Okay technically this was a week ago but still! I am so happy God blessed me with this relationship with this sweet little guy!

“Dear friend Rachael Steeger: I greet you with the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ hoping you are very well; I am very happy because you are my new sponsor and I thank God for your life and for all your family. I want you to be a very special friend in my life. I like to play with my sister and to help my mother to order my house. I want you to know I study a lot and I am doing very well in school. I say goodbye wishing you lots of blessings and God be in your life and in all your family.Your son, Ivan Mamani. Jesus loves you.”

Isn't he adorable? I can't thank God enough for bringing us together. What a special journey this will be!