Mexico City, Peru, and Bolivia

Here is post four of my Compassion stories series!

Read part one here - Love is an Action: How God Brought Me to Compassion

Part two here - Love is an Action: "My Angel"

Part three here - Love is an Action: "I want a friend"

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November 2011

My friend goes to Mexico City on a missions trip every year, so I wanted to write to a child there. Perhaps she could meet him. My church used to go to Peru every spring. And Bolivian kids were were said to write amazing letters. So I decided, I would request three more correspondents. My dad okay-ed it, so I sent the e-mail right away!

The next morning I got an e-mail from Compassion. The rep told me that a person could only have three correspondents. He said that he would put me on the list for a boy from Mexico City. I considered telling Compassion that I would take a child from any of the three areas. But I just decided to write back "thank you."

Surprisingly, I was assigned a child quite quickly. It was a November night. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Tuesday. And I was on my laptop. I had been checking my account since I put the request in, and then there he was.

I excitedly showed Carlos to my sister and I briefly told my parents about him. Then I wrote him a quick note. It was a mix between a Christmas and intro letter. I was so excited to get to know this little boy. His birthday was April 28, a special day to me.

I told this ten-year-old boy that he was my new friend. I told him to call me "Lizzie" because that is what my friends call me. Then a long time later, I got a first letter from him. I was disappointed. He only told me his name and not much at all.

It was Friday, April 13. I had just gotten back from a friend's house. My mom said Compassion called.  I knew that Compassion didn't call just for fun, and I wondered what had happened.  Compassion said that Carlos had moved. Compassion would do their best to make sure he got all my letters, but he had not sent me any more. I went up to my room and cried. I cried for the boy I didn't get to know. My heart was broken.

For a while, I held onto the hope that I would receive a final letter from him or his tutor. One month passed. Then two. Three. Four. Five. I honestly thought I would never hear from him again. I had become okay with that, but I still missed my boy.

Then that final letter came. And I cried. I cried for the friend I lost. (You can read his final letter here- http://lizzieforcompassion.blogspot.com/2012/10/mail-call-monday-carlos-edition.html)

It is my hope to reconnect with Carlos some day to tell him that I have not stopped praying for him and to hear about all that he has been doing.  But for now, I am just happy that I got to know him a little bit!

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If you would like to sponsor a child from Carlos' center, Mario is currently waiting for a sponsor.  You can view his profile here - Sponsor Mario from The Faithful Friend Club in Mexico, Middle America.