Hope Filled Friday?

Today is often referred to as Black Friday. The name originated in Philadelphia to describe all the noisy pedestrians and traffic that occurred the day after Thanksgiving. But then later got a double meaning to describe the day where retailers started to gain a profit. (source: Wikipedia)

Last year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported that 212 million individuals participated in the Black Friday shopping extravaganza, spending an estimated $45 billion, or $365 per person.

Ok, so what you may say. But to me, it seems crazy to spend so much money...and that's only the beginning for most shoppers. This day marks the beginning of their long and almost seemingly endless shopping list.

$365 per person. My first thought was to do the math ratio for sponsoring a child. One child at $38 a month for twelve months, is $456. Which leaves you short only about $100 towards covering an entire year's worth of sponsorship of a child through Compassion International. And that's spent by one person, in one day. I think often times done without ever really thinking about it.

Don't get me wrong, I do love a great bargain, but at what cost. Are we throughing our money away, simply because it is a good deal? Or are we simply giving in to consumerism and using the excuse 'tis the season'?

This young lady has been on my heart for roughly 3 weeks. She's been waiting at least that long on Compassion's website for a sponsor, and I can guarantee probably longer. And prior to this month, I know a while back (several months maybe) I had seen her face before. You see, she attend the same project and a set of twins my sister and I sponsor in Peru; Zaira and Zarai. We've been sponsoring them over 5 years, and have grown to love these amazing girls.

I have mentioned Lesli before, when I posted a video I found on YouTube of the Compassion project she attends with the girls we sponsor. You can watch the video here.

At 15 almost 16 years old, she probably doesn't have too many years left before she graduates the program. My rough guess would be 2-5 years. And in that time she could really use a sponsor to come along side her, prayer for her, and also encourage her through letters. What an amazing Christmas gift it would be for this young lady to have a sponsor! Click the link on her picture if you want to learn more.

Be the change you want to see in this world!