Works for Me Wednesday

When our oldest daughter was born, my husband and I discussed the importance of teaching our children that there was a much bigger world out there. We wanted them to know that they are blessed and that it is okay to enjoy nice things in life, but that there was a world out there to share our blessings with. We wanted to teach them about compassion and empathy.

So, in Kai's first year we decided to sponsor a child through Compassion. We had both been familiar with Compassion and we were excited to incorporate it into our family life. We decided to sponsor a girl with the same birthday as Kai so she would understand that birthdays aren't just about getting cool things. We wanted her to understand that they were about sharing.

That is how Roselle Marie came to be a part of our family. Though she is a girl living another world away in a culture we have never been a part of, she is connected to our family. We pray for her. We send Christmas and birthday gifts. We write letters to her. Read letters from her. And her sharing a birthday with Kai makes that connection a little more real to Kai.

We did the same when Ivy was born and have now established a sponsor relationship with Hellen in Africa. It is exciting to see the girls learn about other children, their cultures, and their needs. It is exciting to teach them that on the day they were born in a country on the other side of the world there is a little girl celebrating that same day as her birthday. It is exciting to see them share their blessings and their gifts with other children.

That's what is working for our family in our attempts to teach compassion and love to our girls. I look forward to doing it with each new child we add to our family.

Head over to Shannon's Dryer to check out what is working for other families...