When Darlin was an elementary student in Vida Chicoy, her family was going through a tough time. Her father had abandoned the family, and her mother had to work to provide for Darlin and her sibling. Sometimes Darlin came to school crying, because she hadn’t eaten at home, or because the housework was hard, or because she missed her mother so much – but to make ends meet, Darlin’s mother often had to go away to work for weeks at a time.
At school, though, Darlin found the peace of the Lord. Sponsorship helped pay her school fees, provided a plate of food to start each day, and provided caring teachers to walk alongside her.
She was so happy when she received letters from her sponsor, or her new shoes, or when her sponsor would send a special gift. All this taught her that, through everything, there is a God who loves and cares for her and her family. “I thank God,” Darlin wrote to her sponsor when she was eleven, “because I have you and I know someone is supporting me.”
Now Darlin is in her last year of junior high at Vida Mocohan, and, as her teacher says, “after all of these years of being blessed through the school, we can see how the Lord has transformed her life”. Through her sponsor, through her teachers at the Vida Schools, Darlin has felt the love of God for her and her family. Her whole family comes to church now, where Darlin is helping in Sunday School and is preparing to be baptized. And she’s also preparing for her future – she might be in the Vida Teacher Training Program next year!
It makes such a difference when our students know someone is supporting them! Will you help us find sponsors for the children in our program who still need them?
See the children still waiting for a sponsor at http://impact.sponsorsoft.ca.
Thank you for sharing our children’s stories with your friends! In the last couple of months, we have had 24 first-time sponsors choose to sponsor a child like Darlin. Just like for Darlin, these $45/month sponsorships are helping to pay school fees, provide nutritious meals each day, and provide caring teachers to walk alongside these students!