Cyber Monday is a great day for finishing off your list in your pajamas.
But the new one to me this year, was Giving Tuesday.
My immediate thought when I heard about Giving Tuesday was that I wanted to share child sponsorship with my readers because we have been so blessed by having sponsored children through World Vision.
I learned on my trip to Uganda in August just how far my $35 each month is able to stretch and that it isn't just my sweet sponsored child Moses {and now Shiela} that our money is helping.
It's going to help his family and his community.
Upon meeting Moses, I was invited into Moses' hut where I was able to sit with him on the mattress that him and his father share and that we were able to provide for him. I sat under the mosquito net that keeps Moses free from Malaria and that was provided by World Vision. Malaria is the number one cause of death in Uganda.
I commented on how sharp Moses' looked in his suit that he bought for church and I was able to see the large storehouse of maize that had just been harvested from the fields that Moses' father Richard farms.
I was also able to see the letters that I wrote to Moses.
The cards that have been carefully stored under his mattress from a woman and her family on the other side of the world that don't speak his language but the language of caring and love is universal.
World Vision is working in nearly 100 countries to protect children.
Sponsorship is one of the most powerful ways to fight poverty.
Extreme poverty makes children vulnerable.
More than 85 children worldwide are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including trafficking and hazardous physical labor.
"A child is worth saving.
A childhood is worth saving.
A childhood is something you only get once, and once it's gone, it's gone."
World Vision is rescuing children from sexual exploitation and harmful child labor.
They are empowering children and parents and this empowerment is breaking the cycle of sexual trafficking and child labor.
World Vision is giving a voice to the most vulnerable and is helping children escape a life of slavery.
We spent several days in the community of Buliisa, Uganda where the children shared with us their stories of abuse. Children were thankful for the work that World Vision was doing in their community to not only empower them to speak up for themselves, but that they were educating their parents and caregivers that this cycle of abuse needed to stop.
As we venture into this giving season, I am reminded of the most incredible gift that I have ever received.
While visiting Moses and his father, they gave me a chicken as a thank you gift for our support and sponsorship through the years.
This chicken was food for this family.
It was a sacrifice for them to give me one of their most valued possessions.
But for them, I was an answer to their prayers at their most vulnerable time.
They were unable to provide for their three young children.
They didn't have direction and weren't sure where to turn to next.
There are mothers and fathers who are praying every day for a better life for their children.
As part of giving Tuesday, all day long I will be sharing children on my Instagram and Facebook page that are available for sponsorship. For only $35 each month, you can sponsor a child like Moses in any area of the world. You can build a real relationship with them. Writing them letters {or sending e-mails}, praying for them and even sending them small packages.
If you would like to specifically pick out your child
{perhaps find one with the same birthday as your child, or select an area that your heart is drawn to}
feel free to spend some time getting to know the children that are available for sponsorship here.
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