My friend, fellow sponsor and advocate Michael Patterson, traveled to Haiti and the Dominican Republic this past week. He posted the following on instagram and I asked if I could also share it here. There is nothing more heartwarming to me than hearing testimony of how sponsorship really does work.
"I want to tell you about a special woman, the mother of Juan David Dominguez Galvez. When Juan David was four years old, his father died in a construction accident and she was left to provide for four children. She sacrificed and worked while living in extreme poverty.
Her youngest son, always told her that some day he would be a doctor. She told him becoming a doctor was very expensive, but he always told her that with God all things are possible.
His mom enrolled him in the Compassion Development Center in the local church. Juan David was sponsored by Peter and Robyn Hopper, who live in McKay, Queensland. Juan David thrived in school, graduated high school with honors and was able to be accepted in Compassion's Leadership Development Program. He needed new sponsors to enter the LDP and that is why my coworkers came in. For eight years, 12 firefighters have been sponsoring Juan David. Yesterday was his completion ceremony. Sadly his mother was not able to attend because she had to work.
Now this 'child' is Dr. Juan D Dominguez. Yesterday while I was with him he received a phone call from the state ministry of health stating that he was approved to start his one year internship. At the end of the year he will have his license to practice.
As Wess Stafford might say, 'he was born into poverty, but poverty was not born into him.'
During the past eight years I have been to the Dominican Republic three times. Prior to today Juan David's mother has had to work every time I was here, but today I was finally given the gift of meeting her! She said, 'It has been a long time since I felt like a queen.'
This woman is amazing."
"It was such an honor to witness the completion ceremony of Compassion International's Leadership Development Program. This guy, Juan David Dominguez Galvez, completed medical school - such a great accomplishment. I am honored to know him and to have been able to watch him grow these past eight years."
