World Vision and My Growing Family

 "After the death of my husband, I thought it was my turn."

I have two biological children living at home with me and their father... my husband, and 6 biological children in heaven. We've miscarried 6 times since the birth of our youngest living child 9 years ago this past September. Yet... through God's grace our family continues to grow.  

Have we adopted? No. Not in legal terms, or even in geographical terms (not by a long shot!), but in terms of the heart? I feel I have. I started sponsoring my 3rd child through World Vision in November of 2011, the previous two I picked up at a Women of Faith convention the November before. My goal is to one day sponsor a child for each baby lost to miscarriage.

My sponsored children are pictured above. The little one on the left is my newest edition... he's only 3 years old. The other two kids are teenagers, whom I chose because of their age. Sponsors don't always think to seek out the teens, who are only eligible for new sponsorship until the age of 14. I didn't want these two kiddos to slip away from a life-changing (perhaps life-saving) opportunity. 

Not only does sponsorship mean a better life for these kids, but it means a better life for their families. Additionally, they're taught about the love of Christ, which they experience first hand through World Vision.

I'd like to share a story from the World Vision website with you...  

Emebet’s husband had always been strong — until a few years ago. That’s when his health began to deteriorate. Helpless to save him, Emebet watched him die.

A nurse from a nearby clinic encouraged Emebet to be tested. The results told the heartbreaking truth: she, along with her youngest daughter, had the same virus that killed her husband.

Emebet is HIV-positive. 

"After the death of my husband, I thought it was my turn," she says, tears welling up in her eyes. "I was worrying so much about the children. If we both died, they would be orphaned."

One of Emebet's children, 6-year-old Birihanu, is sponsored through World Vision. The support helps Emebet provide for her entire family. World Vision also works to make sure that Emebet and others in Ethiopia get the medication they need to stay healthy. 

Still, Emebet faces discrimination because of her HIV-positive status.

"People isolate my children," she says. "Because I'm living with the virus, some people won't buy from me. [They] think they will be infected if they buy from me." 

Emebet sells handmade baskets to help feed her family. Good nutrition is especially critical for those living with HIV. Without it, life-extending medication has little effect. 

"If I did not have this help," Emebet says, "I would have been in trouble. I would have died and my children would have been scattered everywhere."

For about $1 a day, you can help a child from a family like Emebet's, providing access to life's most basic necessities--things like nutritious food, education, clean water, health care, and economic opportunities for their caregivers.

  

Change a life. Sponsor a child today. Visit www.worldvision.org/helpachild.

Want to learn more about World Vision first-hand through the eyes of a sponsor?

I'm going to set a goal to share about my experiences with World Vision and the children we sponsor on a regular basis. The gift of sponsorship goes both ways. I honestly sleep better at night, knowing these precious children are sleeping better at night.

I look forward to the day when I'll receive updated photos of my sponsored children with smiles on their faces! The photos I've share with you here, are those taken for sponsorship... before they'd been assigned to me. God is so good! ~Wendy

This story has been shared with permission of World Vision. I was not compensated for this post in any way whatsoever.

 



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