Today our Compassion "child" is celebrating his 21st birthday.
There are so many reasons why he is special to me.
- He lives in Kenya. When I think of Compassion, I think of Kenya. The very first girl I sponsored 17 years ago was from Kenya. This young man is who Compassion sent to me when Judith completed the program.
- His name is Dominic Muchangi. I began sponsoring him long before I ever had children of my own, yet I knew that if I were to ever have a son, I would name him Domnick. Imagine my surprise and delight when I received his packet in the mail and discovered his name was was Dominic.
- We have sponsored him for 11 years and have seen him grow up from a little boy to a handsome young man. Although he has written us minimally, over the past 11 years we have a nice collection of letters documenting the relationship that has developed between us.
- In one letter he wrote, "I am saved and I love Jesus Christ".
- He shared with me about the birth of his two brothers and I shared with him about the birth of my two daughters.
- He has persevered in his studies, completing a diploma in Information Technology and is currently in a medical laboratory science program. This was particularly good news to us and medical laboratory science is my husband's field!
For all these reasons, and many more, we love this young man. Recently I received a letter from Compassion informing me that Dominic Muchangi will soon be completing Compassion's program. They encouraged me to make the most of my remaining time as a sponsor ~ pray daily, write letters and consider sending a family gift. Having unexpectedly lost two girls we sponsored for 8 years earlier this year, this letter was a good reminder that we don't know how long our sponsored children will be part of our lives. I need to make the most of my sponsorship every single day.
I am excited for Dominic Muchangi and what lies ahead for him. I am sad we never met face to face and I am sad our time of interaction in limited, but my sadness pales in comparison to the joy I have knowing he has been in Compassion for so long.
