Then on Friday, this new photo was appearing on all the pages. My initial and gut reaction to the new photo was that it was a mistake and it wasn't her... I even contacted Compassion about it. Then I started to second guess myself. I dug out the profile they had sent to me that had this photo in the blue hoodie, a photo that Tania sent me after receiving birthday money and purchasing new pants and compared them to the new photo:
You, and I, have to remember that there is at least two years time between the taking of these photos. In the first one, she has more eye makeup on and that changes the look of her eyes. Having the 2nd photo that she sent to me (haven't been able to figure out how to get my scanner to send the image to the computer yet... working on that) was very helpful... it really was a transition picture and although it wasn't taken head on like these two it did help me to conclude that, yes, this is indeed Tania! Nose, eyebrows, pose... it all adds up! I love her school uniform! I am so proud of this hard working young lady.
This is an experience that I am able to share with other sponsors and advocates. Sometimes we don't expect changes as we look so long and hard at that one (or two) pictures that we have of our sponsor children that when a new photo comes it can be a shock that lots of changes have happened! She's an older child, so I can only imagine the changes in very young children between their photos.
Pipe up if you've ever had photo issues/anxiety... I'd love to hear from you.
