Some of these stories I have very close to me, because nowadays 20% of Compassion Brazil national staff are former sponsored children. All of them have unbelievable personal histories, facing challenges and find strength in dream to a better future, with local church support and development opportunities created to them while they were in Compassion program, or even, after it, as the Bible says, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” (I Cor. 3:6)

All these dreams are possible because people like you invest in the life of these little ones, helping them to see through the window of poverty, showing that they can dream new dreams and they can have a different life that they usually see in their context. Thank you for your investment in child and youth living in Brazil, thank you for your love and letters. A country with so many economic discrepancies and still with very poor and forgotten areas. But that Churches are there, following their call to serve the neediest in partnership with women and men like you.

I know as a sponsor, that is hard say goodbye when a child leaves the program, but I´d like you know, that during the period of your sponsored child was receiving the program, she/he received a great holistic program, helping them to grow in cognitive, physical, socio-emotional and spiritual areas.

We have a case in our own staff, for an employee that was able to stay some years in the project and needed to leave because his mommy was sick and needed to do the treatment in another place, but when I interviewed him and I asked, “what was the impact of the program in your life?”, he answered me, “The impact? The biggest that I could receive in my whole life, I meet Jesus when I was in Compassion program, and now I´m married and a young leader in my church and all my family met Jesus after that." We have many other stories like that, and I'd like to encourage you that all your efforts and investment are not in vain. I pray that God greatly bless you and your family, and you continue planting transformation seeds in children's lives. In Him, Vanessa Viotti