Eduin Evelyn
Lately, I have been spending a lot of time on the computer getting my visit to the Compassion project in Honduras lined up where we sponsor two children. It means lots of emails going back and forth from Allenspark to Colorado Springs to Tegucigalpa and back again. They have also changed the requirements from the last time we went, so everyone that comes on the visit will need background checks. I have been gathering Driver's License information, Social Security numbers, etc. so they can check us out. This will be my second visit. We went three years ago when the whole family went to Honduras for the wedding. That time we only had one little boy to visit. His name is Eduin and we met his Mom and little brother, visited their home and took them to the mall for pizza. This time we will see the new girl we sponsor in that same project, whose name is Evelyn, as well as Eduin.
I am so excited to see them. Every time I write Eduin he always asks if I have been back to Honduras. I assure him that I wouldn't go all that way and not see him. We purposely chose children in that country because we knew we would be visiting there regularly and could be an actual presence in their lives.
I used to think it was better to send money instead of going on expensive mission trips, but then we spent a few hours at the Compassion project last trip and saw all the children eating lunch, met the teachers and learned we were only the second sponsors to ever visit in that community and it gave me another perspective. All those children had sponsors who wrote to them and they wrote to regularly, but to actually see that real people were connected to those letters seemed to make a big impression.
Encouragement and caring in any form is a great gift, but to do so personally can make an even bigger impact. I found the same to be true when we went to Liberia, although you do have to weigh the impact of what you do vs. the money spent in each individual case as your money can do a lot of good in a third world country. Having said that, I have come to a couple conclusions. One, it's only money and two, sometimes you don't get to see the impact you have made, but that doesn't mean you you should stop trying. It is amazing what God can do when we give freely of ourselves.
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