Father's Day

It's Father's Day.  I'm happy to wish my husband a very Happy Father's Day!  I'm sad that I don't get to wish my dad a Happy Father's Day for the second year.  This year was definitely not as raw with emotion as last year was.  He had only been gone for 4 months when Father's Day rolled around last year.  Yes, I'm thinking about him lots today, but it is a bit more detached and I'm not bawling my head off (yet).

I've been working on letters to my sponsor children all this week with the hopes of getting them out in the mail tomorrow...  3 done, 4 to go... hope the mail truck gets here late tomorrow!

Yesterday, we received another letter from Camilo, and this one was actually written over a week before the one we received on May 23.  There is a connection between this letter and Father's Day.  Camilo's father is not part of his life.  I knew this from his profile, but in this letter he asks for prayer regarding his dad:

"I ask you to pray for me and my family, especially for my father who we haven't seen for a long time, so that we can be together someday."

Camilo is not our only "fatherless" sponsor child.
Maria's father died in 2009. 
Tania's father is also deceased. 
Allan's father is not with them. 
Katherine's father is not with her family. 

It was actually a surprise to me when we received Loury & Denisse's packets which indicated that their fathers were living with and supporting them.  I was beginning to think that the only children who made it into the program were "fatherless".  There are many, many children in sponsorship programs who don't have fathers, but there are some whose fathers are alive and supporting them and in their lives.  I am so thankful for the impact my own dad had on my life, and though I can relate more to them since he has passed away, I still can't really understand what it is like to go through childhood without a dad.

This makes it so important for sponsors, that we share the love of Jesus and of their heavenly Father with them.

So this month, for the younger children (already sent it to the older girls), I am sending a copy of  Father's Love Letter (available in 95 languages, including Spanish and Creole for my sponsor children).  There is actually a comic strip version for younger kids & a colorful poster in English and Spanish, which I'm going to  print off for them.

Here it is in English for you!

My Child,

You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented
by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

 

 

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