Renee visiting one of her sponsored children.
Dear Sponsors,
Did you know that every year, over 100 sponsors from all over the world travel to Egypt to visit their children in their homes? And every year, I love to listen to the stories of how the visits change both them, and the children.
I’d like to tell you about one of our sponsors in California – Renee. Renee immigrated to the United States over 30 years ago after leaving her home in Egypt. Although Renee has been a sponsor with us for many years, this past year, Renee decided it was time to finally meet her children, so she reached out to us to arrange the visits. We learned that her sponsored children live all over the country and it would take a lot of time and effort to meet with each of them—but that didn’t stop her! Renee was determined to meet each child and so she traveled from Cairo to Minya, and Assiut to Sohag to spend time with each one. But it was well worth it for Renee, because she left joyful and proud of them, and more importantly, the children were uplifted and grateful by her presence among them.
By visiting their children, sponsors see God’s grace in the lives of His children in a very direct way, and the children feel God’s love through the encouragement, attention, and love that the sponsors bring. A single visit to your child can be a positive experience that they carry with them their whole life. After Renee came back from her visits, she shared her experience saying, “I loved many things about the Not Alone program, especially that they take care of not only the individual child I sponsor, but the entire family as a whole. This is important because it is a holistic approach and builds up the entire family, which in turn effects future generations.”
Thank you again for being part of the Coptic Orphans family, and for taking to heart James 1:27: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” If you sponsor a child, would you consider taking your relationship with him or her to the next level by planning a visit to meet them in Egypt this year? Please contact us for more details, and we would be happy to arrange it for you.
One Body in Christ,
Nermien Riad
Founder and Executive Director