Saturday, 22 October 2011

• Tight Hugs from Guatemala

  By Tom Zuniga

  One of the first goals I accomplished upon returning to California two months ago was sponsoring a child through Compassion International. I’d been wanting to sponsor for many months, but just never had the drive to make the goal a reality. Then came my incredible summer with YouthWorks (perhaps you hadn’t heard), and well, it was finally time to make an impact and make this happen.

  So I did. Meet Jhoan from Guatemala:

  Not sure how his name is pronounced yet; been saying it like “Juan.” I recently received my first letter from Jhoan and he truly lifted my spirits. Suddenly I realized that, oh yeah, this $38 a month isn’t just going into some hole on the other side of the world or to someone without a face and a voice. Indeed, he has a face (and a precious one at that), and through his brief letter I got to hear his voice too.

  His own unique childlike voice.

  After telling me about his family and asking me about mine, he closed his letter with these astounding lines:

  I like playing soccer, I like helping my mom with chores.

  Tight hugs, Merry Christmas, God bless you, with love, Jhoan

  And there you have my highlight of the day. How can you not smile at the simple written words of a child? In addition to financially supporting Jhoan, I definitely want to get to know this kid better and tell him about me too. Even though I’m kinda boring.

  I can’t wait to write him back, sending him tight hugs from southern California.

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