When Luis Angel was 7 years old, he received his first letter from a loving couple who had begun sponsoring him. Thrilled to know someone was praying for him, Luis embraced each word from every letter he got until his departure to heaven. His grandparents, Maria and Jose, had cared for Luis and his sister, Sharon, as their own children since they were babies. Their father had abandoned them, and their mother, who was very young, had moved to San Salvador, El Salvador, to work. “Luis was my grandson, but in my heart, he was my son,” Maria says. “He used to call me ‘Mom.’” Maria and Jose face ..read more

Children in our Child Sponsorship Program are the experts in giving letter-writing tips. Sponsorship is all about building true and lasting relationships between sponsors and children. And one big way to do that is through writing letters. It might seem old-fashioned, but it’s deeply meaningful to children living in poverty. “Letter writing using pen and paper may be a vanishing human activity, but not to me,” says April, a sponsored girl in the Philippines. “Whenever I write a letter to my sponsor, I feel grateful. I cherish the idea that I am pouring my heart out, writing with pen ..read more

I love letter writing — I consider it my hobby! And what I especially love is that this hobby allows me to encourage children all over the world through Compassion. I believe that I can follow the Great Commission by coming alongside the churches that Compassion works with and encouraging the children I write to follow Jesus. This vision is what keeps me writing even when it is hard, and especially when I feel like I’m not connecting with a child. Letter writing is a way to come alongside and spiritually mentor a child! Letter writing also makes my Compassion sponsorship personal. When I cons ..read more

The new year is the perfect time to set new goals. We often call them resolutions, but I just see them as hope for what is to come. Maybe you already have big hopes and goals for the year, or maybe you haven’t thought much about it. Regardless of where you are, I want to challenge you to make one meaningful goal for yourself that could impact the child you sponsor in a huge way. My challenge to you is to write the child you sponsor through Compassion consistently this year. Letters remind children that they are cared for, loved and remembered. Your words provide seeds of hope for the potential ..read more

This year, you asked some amazing letter-writing questions. Seriously, like things I’ve been wondering myself. And we found answers from the best people, because they’re the ones who have actually been shipping, handling, translating and even recipients of your words of love. We took the questions you’ve had on your hearts, showed them to our international staff, and spent a whole year answering them. The results were really exciting. I mean we heard from actual alumni why your letters were important to them, and from staff, what things could help accelerate the shipping or translation process ..read more

As the new year begins, I’m always thinking about the calendar. It’s probably because of the yearly planning we all tend to do. (Have to get after those goals, am I right?) Or maybe it’s because every year for the past 16 years I’ve received a wall calendar for Christmas from a dear friend. Whatever the case, a good wall calendar or even a digital calendar that you keep up to date online can help you prepare for the year to come. Personally, I like to take time in January to go through all of the months of the year in my wall calendar to call out and make note of special dates. There are fam ..read more

Vitoria was the first child I sponsored with Compassion. In her photo, she had pigtails and a shy smile. I wrote letters to her where we talked about the grades she made in school and her dreams to be a veterinarian. I watched her grow up through letters and photos for over a decade. She graduated from the Compassion program in 2015, and I never got to meet her. The most recent young woman whom sponsored was Vanessa. I met her on a trip to Honduras, and I was floored by her strength and resilience. When I found out she had recently lost her sponsor, I was thrilled to be able to build a relati ..read more

At the beginning of the year, we asked you what you wanted to know about writing letters to the children you sponsor. And for today’s Compassion Letter Club, we’re going to answer a question on Instagram that many sponsors wanted to know. “Are sponsored children truly happy to receive letters?” — @agrant302 We are here to say, “Yes!” But we wanted you to hear straight from some of the people who know them well. They are people who are praying for the students and walking alongside them just as you are — the pastor at their child development center! Oscar Torres, 21, went from being sponsored ..read more

It was 1995 when 20-year-old Bonnie picked up a child sponsorship packet from a table at church. She looked down at the photo of a girl in Uganda who was waiting for a sponsor. “For some reason I was drawn to her,” Bonnie remembers. After reading that Norah’s birthday was almost exactly 10 years after her own and that the two of them shared a love of singing, Bonnie decided right then to sponsor Norah. “The Spirit moved and said that I was able to actually do this even though at that time I didn’t have a steady job or anything,” Bonnie says. “But I think it was just something I felt called t ..read more

Most people know Mike Donehey for his singing and songwriting. But the children Mike sponsors know him for another reason: his letters of encouragement. Mike has been sponsoring children through Compassion since 2000, when he chose his first child at a music festival. Then he and his fellow band members in Tenth Avenue North partnered with Compassion to help even more children living in poverty. While visiting child development centers at local churches in the Dominican Republic and Honduras, Mike has heard firsthand how incredibly meaningful sponsors’ letters are to children ..read more