Meet My Child-Jose David

Well, in my series of introducing my Compassion International children to you, I've pretty much introduced them in the order they have entered my life, but there is a couple of boys (one graduated, one was a correspondent who lost a sponsor) who are not currently part of my family, so I'm going to move on to dear young man, Jose David, from Ecuador.

 This was the first photo I received of the then 13 year old boy...or rather young man. I had many first thoughts and preconceived notions. I thought ok, soccer or rather futbol will be a bit hit, he looks like he's even wearing a jersey. Wrong, he's not really the sports type. And two, I thought a young man probably isn't too big on writing letters, especially one his age. Wrong again. He's probably one of my best letter writers, and one of my more affectionate kids.

 With his birthday gift last year

I wrote many letters, and while it took a few months for me to receive my first letter, David's letters really started coming pretty frequently. If I look back at all his letter over the last 2 plus years, I average about 12 or 14 letters a year. And while most months I receive a letter from him, sometimes I get 2 or even 3 in a month, and may miss a month of letters.

I've also learned a lot about this young man who has opened up to me. First off, he's not the sporty kid I had first envisioned. He is artsy. He's an absolute amazing artist! (I almost feel that an understatement) and an extremely talented musician. I believe he can play 10 plus instruments including many Andean instruments native to his country. He is involved in his church's praise band, and from the information in the pastor letter this is no small feet for a church of 700!

And while he is a very upbeat child, who falls second to last in the birth order of 7 kids, he has his moments that I see a vulnerable teenage boy, who earnestly want to seek after God's will for his life. He is very transparent in his letters, I truly love that about him. And when shared more with him about my parents not being Christians, and the struggles I had as a teenager, he tells me how thankful he is that his parents serve the Lord. He also told me, it is because of his involvement in Compassion International's child development center in his local church, that his parents started coming to church and gave their lives to Christ. What a testimony...his parents seeing the good and hope in their son, inspiring them to action.

That's really what Compassion International is all about. Instilling hope in young people, where poverty has ripped it away. If we can help place hope in the lives of child, here and around the world, hope will birth dreams, and grow them to reality. Rising up a generation of young people, ready to change their world.

David's current photo as of Oct. 2010