Meeting Andreina: One Sponsor's Experience

This was written by Mission Life volunteer, Jill Jones about her sponsorship experience.

I had been at Formavida mission in Bogota, Colombia, for six days when I knew I had to sponsor one of the children there. My mission trip team and I had been interacting with the children at the after-school program each afternoon, assisting as we were able by sharing testimonies, playing games, and helping children with homework. Two of those afternoons I’d been assigned to help with the older teens, led by the amazing Danny Rojas. My heart was touched as Danny drew the teens out, asking them what they wanted to do when they grew up and what were some of the challenges, they faced in living for Jesus.

Wednesday evening after dinner I grabbed my phone, pulled up the Mission Life website, and scrolled through all the precious faces still needing sponsors at Formavida. I recognized so many of them from my time there. These weren’t just faces; they were real children I’d chatted with, arm wrestled with, and played flashcard games with. As I scrolled, I asked the Lord to show me who I should sponsor. One face kept popping out at me and I knew: Andreina, a lovely fifteen-year-old girl who’d been in the teen group. Quickly I took a screen shot, sent it to my husband, and asked for permission to sponsor her. He immediately gave his blessing, and right there I completed the process and became her sponsor, or “Madrina” as I’m called in her culture.

Now I couldn’t wait to tell her in person. The next day my team and I went on an excursion so we had no interaction with the children at the mission, but on Friday afternoon I anticipated the big moment. When the children arrived at the mission after school that day, those who still needed sponsors were sat down at a long table with paper and pens and crayons and, with the help of a few adults and a few Google Translate apps, were instructed to write letters telling about themselves. These letters would be shared with potential sponsors. Now, getting sponsored is a pretty big deal to these children. A number of them had expressed sadness that they still didn’t have a sponsor, so their hope was palpable.

I came into the room after they’d been hard at work for a while. That’s when Angel Galvis surreptitiously pointed at a girl at the table and whispered to me, “Isn’t that Andreina, your sponsor child?” (I’d shown him a picture of her earlier that day.) I excitedly responded yes! Then the most beautiful moment happened: he got her attention, pointed to me, and told her in Spanish that I was her madrina. Her face lit up with the biggest smile and she jumped up and gave me a hug, expressing her gratitude in the warmest way. Angel translated a little more then left us to get acquainted. Her English is more limited than my basic Spanish, so with the help of Google Translate we asked each other lots of questions. We chatted for close to an hour! Later another team member who speaks fluent Spanish came and helped us out with some of the more complicated communication. Andreina was eager to tell me all about herself, how she and her family had had to flee Venezuela last year because of severe economic hardship, how she’s living with her brother and sister-in-law and their six children, how she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.

The next day I got to spend more time with her at the children’s bazaar put on by the mission, and six months later I got to return to Formavida with Mission Life and spend even more time with her. What a joy it was to catch up with her and see her every day!

Sadly, I received news recently that she has to leave Bogota to live with her parents in a different city. I’m devastated to think I may never see her again, but thanks to Mission Life I can stay in contact with her and continue to sponsor her. I like to think I’ve made a difference in her life, but I know for sure that she has made a tremendous impact on mine.

Jill Jones, Mission Life Volunteer