A Child Is Waiting: Testimonials

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have had a part in impacting the lives of children in need. My husband and I support three children through World Vision and this program allowed us to do more. Thank you so much.”

"I held my event at a church called Eastern Hills here in Sequim, Washington. I brought 20 children sponsorship envelopes, out of the twenty, 15 children were sponsored. I was so happy that so many were sponsored. I showed a one minute video about sponsorship and then I spoke for around 5 minutes from the stage. In my presentation, I shared a little bit first about World Vision and what they do. I also shared how I sponsor two girls in Africa, one in Chad and the other in Ghana. I also showed the congregation a letter I received from one of my girls and also a Christmas card she sent me. I shared how World Vision doesn't meet just the physical but also the spiritual needs of people. I also shared how sponsoring a child can also help their families too. Being a sponsor myself has meant so much to me. I find so much joy in knowing I am helping a child and their family have a better life. Having others sponsor a child at my event made me so happy knowing that other children would have a better future for them and their families. I love helping people and being a part of World Vision that I respect so much and appreciate all that they do. I did mention to the congregation how much World Vision gives away 87% of what comes in and told them that was extremely high for an organization. I always pray a lot before I speak and commit it all in the hands of Jesus. I prayed over each child that they would get sponsored and left the results up to God.” -- Staci T.

"It was wonderful to be able to share child sponsorship with my church. I have had such a desire to do more for children leaving in such extreme poverty and desperation and sharing child sponsorship with my church allowed me to make a big difference in the lives of 24 children. During my presentation I shared from my heart what a difference sponsoring a child could make. I also shared some scriptures about how from Gods word about helping those in need. I found the video presentations very helpful too. My daughter Kayla helped me work the table after the presentation she was so eager to see all of our children sponsored. Thank you for allowing us to share child sponsorship with our church.” -- Natasha F. "I had one simple event with incredible rewards. I would have a table available every week if I knew just one more child would be sponsored each week – that would be at least 52 more lives changed each year!"

-- Roxanne S.

"I've been doing a preaching series ... talking about how God's love moves out across boundaries. At the end we talked about what different people in the community are doing, and gave people the opportunity to spread love across the world. We presented part of the video that World Vision sent me and gave the challenge on Sunday night. We got thirty sponsors in one hour." -- Pastor Thomas

Thank you for the opportunity to promote child sponsorship at our recent "A Child is Waiting" event. Our congregation is usually around 70 people. The night of our event a meeting was scheduled prior to the service, most of the members in attendance left. We had an audience of only twenty. It was a disappointment. However, we had two children sponsored and I am very grateful for the women who stepped up and decided to make a difference in these children's lives and experience the joy of being a sponsor. -- Leticia F.

Megan Mitchell held her event during their VBS. They had a missions theme of "Trading Places" where each evening they would choose a WV child from a different country and talk about mission work and the work that WV is doing. Once the parents arrived for their part of the VBS experience with their children, World Vision was talked about and sponsorship was introduced to them. All 4 of the children were sponsored!

I just wanted to share with you the awesome results of our A Child is Waiting event that we. Our event began by a thought that the Lord placed in my heart on the way home from dropping my children off at school one day. I had been wanting to share Child Sponsorship with my friends for some time. I received 10 sponsorship packets from World Vision. In the beginning I thought that if we could get 1 child sponsored, that the night will have been a success. But after receiving the 10 packets and looking at the pictures of each child, I knew we had to do whatever we could to get them all sponsored. I spent much time in prayer, praying for each of the 10 children individually. And I believe that "you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Mt 21:22). We showed the video clips "A Bridge Between", and "Each One is a Blessing". When the video was over, tearfully, I spoke. "When I shared with my parents what we were going to do, my mom said she later told a friend. Her friend said 'But there are people suffering in the United States'. I agree — and if that's your mission, do it, and please do it well. But we're here to share with you a mission that we hold dear to our hearts. These children that I'm going to talk to you about tonight can't go to the health department for their free immunizations, they don't have access to clean drinking water, they don't get well checkups at their doctor or have medical cards, and they may not be able to attend school without your sponsorship." I went on to tell the crowd about little more about child sponsorship. I read from some letters that my children sent me. I read a letter from Andres that said "I ask the Lord to care for you. He will protect you and your family, no matter where you may be. You are indeed a wonderful person, full of love and affection. I am so happy as my dream came true, finally. I did not even think on the fact that you would make my dream come true." I said to the guests, "You could be having a bad day. You may be arguing with your spouse, had a bad day at work, or maybe the kids are driving you crazy, but when you get that letter in the mail with the World Vision logo, you'll forget all about it. You'll read that letter and be comforted knowing that there is someone half way across the world who is praying for you, and you'll forget why you were even upset." And from Gabriel's letter "My house is made of wattle and daub walls, sheet metal roof and dirt floor." I went on to ask my friends "If your sister or brother were living across town on a dirt floor with a sheet metal roof, would you turn a blind eye? No, you wouldn't. Then how can we turn a blind eye, just because he's in another country. I've heard before 'well, that's how they live there', but I can assure you, it's not how they WANT to live. They have no choice. They live this way, because that's all they can know." I closed up the talk by asking my friends to prayerfully consider sponsoring a child and to look at our sponsorship table. I had all 10 children's folders displayed, and each of them had an unlit votive candle on them. Once that child was sponsored, their candle was lit and the family took the sponsorship packet with them. Some people wanted to select a child with a certain birthday, so we went on-line and selected a specific child. By the end of the night, we had all 10 children sponsored and found 5 more on-line. It was an awesome display of God's work. We're planning another evening like this. We're going to focus on AIDS in Africa and have HOPE children to sponsor that night. Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity teach my friends about such a good cause. -- Brenda R.