One child moves on to better life and another child leaps off the facebook page into my heart…

I wanted a boy in Haiti but got a girl in El Salvador…

Gods plan is not usually what I have planned but his plan usually ends up being better than mine anyway…

I would like to introduce you to Ericka Yamileth Amaya Portillo,

from Caminando de la Mano Con Jesús Student Center in El Salvador.

Isn’t she a little cutie pie?

As you know I have sponsored a boy from Haiti, ‘Thierry Ridji Macon’ through Compassion International for the past 2 and a half years. About 3 weeks ago a woman from Compassion called to inform me that Thierry’s family had entered into better circumstances, he had graduated high school, and he is no longer in Compassion’s program, which meant I was no longer Thierry’s sponsor. I was full of mixed emotions when she gave me the news. I wanted to cry because I was sad I was losing him but at the same time I was also overjoyed at the fact that his family had risen above the poverty they have been living in and were now moving into to a better life. Thierry has been such a blessing in my life and I am very thankful that I was able to be his sponsor and that I was able get to know him through our letters we have written back and forth. I was also able to meet him last March which was really really awesome!

After the lady at Compassion gave me the news that Thierry was no longer my sponsored child she asked if I would like to sponsor another child but at that moment I could not do it. I was upset that I was losing Thierry and I was not ready to replace him yet, so I told her no.  Another reason I did not want to sponsor another child yet is my husband is usually off work in the winter time and though we prepare for it, our money is a little tighter this time of year. So I made the decision that 2 sponsor children are plenty and that I would not sponsor anymore children at this time.

And then….Three weeks later (2 days ago) little Ericka leaped off the facebook page at me.

A friend of mine who is also an advocate for Compassion children had posted her picture because he was trying to find a sponsor for her and he also posted 2 little boys who were in need of a sponsor.  Even though it was Ericka I felt drawn to I decided then that if I sponsored another child (which by the way I was not going to be sponsoring another child at this time) it would most likely be one of those boys, because I already have 2 girls that I sponsor. A while later I got to thinking about Thierry and Haiti and how since I have been there, Haiti is still in my heart. So I  then decided that if I sponsored another child I wanted to sponsor a child who lived in Haiti. Since all 3 of these children were from El Salvador I made my final decision, I was not going to sponsor another child at this time and filed them away to the back of my brain as ‘case closed’.  Did I mention that I was not going to sponsor another child at this time?? I’m sure by now you get the point.. I was not going to sponsor another child at this time.

I think it may have been about 2 hours later when I realized that something with the filing system in my brain had gone wrong and that maybe my filing system must not be as good as I thought it was because I still kept feeling that little girl’s sweet face tugging on my heart! I could not keep her filed away which means I could NOT get her out of my mind! A little while later I found myself sending a message to the person who had posted the pictures of the children asking if Ericka had received a sponsor yet. Was I secretly hoping she had already found a sponsor? Or was I really hoping she did not have one yet? I soon found out as I suspected…she did NOT have a sponsor yet and you won’t believe this… I somehow managed to I talk myself out of sponsoring her yet again! The next day I turned on facebook and you will never guess whose picture was right there in the news feed staring right at me… yep you guessed it… it was Ericka’s picture. Even though I already knew the answer I once again checked with my friend to see if she had found a sponsor. I was told she still did not have a sponsor and at that very same moment I felt God say, “Ericka is not sponsored yet because she is yours”.

I love how God works, He never works the way I expect him to work, but it seems like it always ends up being way better than I could ever imagine it could be and it is always a huge blessing. Only a few hours ago I had decided I did not want to sponsor another child and now I found myself wanting to sponsor Ericka and I was excited to do it! I am still excited about my new little girl and can’t wait to get to know her! The silly thing about all this is I knew all along God wanted me to sponsor her.  I am not sure why I was so bull headed, wanting it to be on my own terms when truly God’s terms are what I really wanted all along 🙂  I still find it amazing how that happens.  This is only the beginning of a whole new story and I can not wait to find out how this story will go. So stay tuned I am sure you will be hearing some of it here on the blog.

Before I go today I have just one more thing to say…The two little boys my friend posted along with Ericka are still in need of a sponsor. With Christmas just around the corner I was thinking what a wonderful Christmas present it would be for those children to receive a sponsor for Christmas, I also think if you were to be that person you will find that it will be a wonderful gift for you too. So I would like to say to you…If you feel God nudging you to sponsor one or both of these little boys you can let me know in the comments below or you can send me an email at tluvs2trvl@yahoo.com and I will give you the information you need to get the sponsorship started.

Here is their information and their pictures…

This first little boy’s name is Steve Alexander Vega Nochez. His birthday is September 22, 2003. He is 10 years old. Steve lives with his father and his mother. At home, his duties include making beds and running errands. His father is employed as a laborer and his mother maintains the home. There are 2 children in the family. Steve’s favorite activities are soccer, playing with cars and bicycling. In primary school his performance is average and he also regularly attends church activities and Bible class.

This next little guy is Luis Gerardo Mendoza Martinez. His birthday is May 19, 2004. He is 9 years old. Luis lives with his father and his mother. His duties at home include caring for animals, running errands and cleaning. His father is employed as a laborer and his mother maintains the home. For fun, Luis enjoys soccer and bicycling. He attends church activities and Bible class regularly and is in primary school where his performance is above average.

If you decide to sponsor one of these beautiful children you will not be sorry you did it.  I know from experience not only will you be a blessing in their lives, but you will be blessed by them 🙂

Thank you for reading 🙂

T