Linda Beck and her daughter Kaylee team up to sponsor a child as a beautiful way for Kaylee to learn about responsibility and caring for others in need.
Kaylee is our unexpected blessing. After fostering over 50 children through our local county children and youth services, we found ourselves once again providing a forever family for a little one. Having three biological children and adopting once before, we knew what to expect as parents, but we weren’t terribly prepared to be “older parents.” My friends were becoming empty nesters and I found myself in need of some new friends — friends who were also parents in the throes of elementary school activities. I was so excited to find a Secret Keeper Crazy Hair performance in my area to help me find these new friends. Kaylee and I attended this event together, and it was there that we were introduced to Holt International.
Kayli Robinson, who performed with the band 1 Girl Nation, began to tell the story of her adoption and shared about sponsorship opportunities through Holt. My Kaylee was all eyes and ears. “We have to do this, Mom,” she said. “We have to help these kids while they wait for their forever families.” I decided that since we attended the event as a mother/daughter team, we should also sponsor as a mother/daughter team and asked her if she would be willing to contribute half of the monthly sponsorship. In agreement, we chose a folder for a younger child who was on track for adoption. Geon Wu entered our lives and his picture hung proudly on our fridge.
Kaylee had to make some spending decisions based on her contribution, as her allowance would only go so far. Yet each month, when I asked for her portion, she freely gave. Not only is sponsoring a lesson in giving to others but also a great lesson on responsibility. In the Bible, James 1:27 says we are to care for orphans and widows and yet we rarely recognize opportunities to do so. In addition to our monthly giving, we have helped promote sponsorship through Winter Jam and Every Child Is Beautiful tours, where Kaylee shines as she recruits others to her cause — including her brother and her dad.
Although Kaylee is saddened by the sponsored children’s stories, she is encouraged to learn how Holt is helping children whose families require additional support and those who need a family through adoption. It is difficult for Kaylee to relate to these children’s poverty, but she can identify with the ones in need of a family. She celebrates when she learns a child has found a family that can give them, in her words, a “healthy life.”
As Geon Wu, our first sponsored child, made his way to his forever family, we were assigned another child, and another…and another. It is so rewarding to see the stories progress. As our story as a family plays out for Kaylee, she gets to play a part in others’ stories and their journey to their families. What a gift. It is an honor to serve God while serving others in this way!
Linda Beck • Chicora, Pennsylvania
