Sponsorship stories

I love the video that will be shown this morning of some of our Orchard Hill friends meeting their sponsored children in Mozambique.

Our family longs to meet Maria, our 9 year old friend in Mozambique.

In one of Maria's latest letters to us, she writes that one of her favorite ways to help the family is to fetch water. I wonder how far Maria must travel for water. I wonder if it's clean water.

Maria's report card stated that she had failed third grade. This brought up really good conversation with our children. Reasons for failing a grade might be different in Maria's situation than in our situation. Maybe she was absent too many days due to fetching water or helping find food. Maybe the walk to school is so long that there are days she cannot travel that distance. Maybe no one in her household is educated and can help Maria with schoolwork. The reasons are unknown, but it reminded me of how complex the web of poverty is, and how we will continue to pray for Maria and family and support her through Food for the Hungry so that she might have a chance to grow and thrive.

How about you? Any sponsorship stories or thoughts to share?