Friday, April 27, 2012

From Kenya With Love - Letter #24

This letter you are about to read is most definitely the most surprising letter I have ever received in 18 years of sponsorship. As you read below you will quickly understand why. I can only imagine what this young lady went through concerning this whole situation. 


Dear Mrs. Jill,
Receive warm greetings from your beloved sponsored child Judith. I hope you are doing fine in the loving mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus.
I was very much thankful for the Christmas gift you send to me last year December 1999. From the gift I bought a big and nice blanket which keeps me warm during the night. The little balance that remained I bought food for the family to enjoy together during Christmas day. I again thank you for other gifts which you always send to me, may of the gift have uplifted the standard of living of our home.
This is millenium 2000 which the mighty God enabled me to reach and see. He's so wonderful many people talked ill of the century but I thank God for what he's doing to me and you. People said the world will end, but God's love is eternal. After welcoming the new millenium 2000, I gave birth to a very jolly and nice baby girls called Pricilla Kuya. It was a surprise to me, family members and Compassion staff. Because they did not know I was pregnant. They have been asking me a lot of questions how I got the pregnancy. I am sorry for you to hear that I have a baby which I gave birth and I know you will ask me a question why I did not inform you earlier that I was expecting. I did know know about the pregnancy until I gave birth because God had a purpose to hide the problem. Maybe it could have caused me to be departed. The good Christmas gift of a blanket I do share it with my baby. 
I kindly ask you to continue with our relationship. Let not the baby separate us because it is a gift from God. The father of the baby is not at home. He ran away when he heard I had given birth. He's still young who cannot take care of me and the baby. So I am staying at home with my parents. 
I did my 3rd grade in tailoring. I am still waiting for the results. I would like to continue with grade two after the baby is big. And all that will happen if you will continue to sponsor me.
I look forward to hearing from you soon. 
Yours, Judith Wanga

 
I remember having so many questions after receiving this letter. I wanted to know how this could happen to my sweet girl - what were the details she was leaving out. What wasn't she telling me? I didn't ask any of these questions because it really didn't matter. I can tell from her letter that she was scared to tell me - would I disapprove and cancel my sponsorship?

After this letter I realized I was no longer supporting a child - I was supporting a young mother and her child. My very first Child Survival sponsorship - long before CSP existed!

I only have two more letters to share with you. Judith's sponsorship did come to an end, but not because of this situation. Rather it was because she was 18 and had completed the program. 


Comments (12)

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Oh my gosh, what a surprise indeed! I can hear her trepidation in the letter to you. It would not be uncommon for a loved one to desert a young lady in this predicament.

I imagine that you did have many questions after this letter!
2 replies · active 680 weeks ago
I often wonder how long she thought about the words she ended up writing - what was really going on in her head while she waited for my response. It must have been so hard - not only having to tell me and thinking I might be disappointed, but also then having to wait for my response.
I agree, the wait after writing such a heavy letter much have been awful!
As I read Judith's Lester, it feels as if I was almost reading my dear Carolyn's letter. I believe it was my second, or maybe third letter from her. She wasn't my first sponsorship, but my oldest child. I remember all those same questions running through my mind, and yet I, as you didn't ask any. I remember writing many frequent letters telling her how much I love her, and always asked about her dear baby. I wanted her to know I loved her no matter what, and her baby. It took a few letters to get some details about the baby, I think out of fear of how I might feel about her baby.

I remember getting the news about her departure, baby Dianah was about 18 months old. She moved with her brother, and was planning to start her own hair salon. Next month Carolyn with be 16 and in July Dianah with be 3 years old. I feel blessed to be a part of these small CSP projects. Thanks for sharing Judith's letters. They have continued to encourage me!
5 replies · active 680 weeks ago
Carolyn was only 13 when she gave birth? Wow!
Yes, and shortly after her 13th birthday, and I hadn't been sponsoring her too long. (wasn't trying to run away with your post Jill. I just wanted to add my experience too. I was so worried, and would have loved to have heard your story during that time of questions.)
It's not something any of us would be quick to share with others - not wanting to put Compassion in a bad light. In fact, I was a little hesitant to share this letter here for that very reason. Very few people (prior to this post) have heard about this part of Judith's sponsorship. It's hard to talk about it because we all quickly begin to judge a situation that we know nothing about!

And don't apologize for sharing your story - I love conversations here.

Matthew 25:31-46
Don't be a goat! Sponsor a child today.
<a href="http://www.compassion.com/jillfoley
www.compassion.com/jillfoley<br />
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I think this is an important part of the sponsorship experience. I don't think it shines badly on Compassion that a young woman, who was already a legal adult in her country and almost a legal adult in the U.S, has a baby. I think it strengthens the want to sponsor ever more. To know that you loved this girl so much and she trusted you enough to tell you about her beautiful new daughter, that she was clearly proud of. I love that our sponsored children and their families get to trust us so much that they feel like they can tell us things like this.
You understand the shock of getting a letter like this! Judith was 17 when she had Pricilla - I cannot imagine only being 13 like Carolyn.
What a letter! I find it amazing that she didn't even know she was pregnant. Lack of education probably led to her not knowing the symptoms to look for during pregnancy. It makes me sad that she thought you would discontinue her sponsorship because she had a baby. I'm glad that you were there to love and suppor ther.
2 replies · active 680 weeks ago
I know...having been pregnant twice, I cannot imagine not being clued in to the fact that a baby was growing inside. But everyone experiences things differently and with a lack of education about such things, some people must just not know what is going on.
Well, I've never been pregnant, but I hope that somebody when I am, I know what is going on! I've heard horror stories from that TLC TV show about many woman who didn't know they were pregnant until they gave birth, either because their periods simply didn't stop or they didn't gain any weight at all. Crazy!

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