I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I saw a new face on my Compassion International profile page. I thought maybe they had added a new correspondent child even though I hadn't asked for one. But, Lo and Behold, it was an updated picture of Marcelo! I was so excited that I wrote to him right away. Then, this morning, I thought maybe there had been some mistake. Surely this tall skinny handsome young man couldn't be our Marcelo. I actually thought about calling Compassion and asking if there had been an error. Instead, though, I asked a few of my friends that sponsor kids and showed them the above before and after picture. Most said that yes, they thought that it was the same boy. They noticed many similarities of the facial features. So, I thought I would do my own facial comparison and came up with this:

Sure enough, if you look closely you will see the same nose and the same eyes. It is our Marcelo all right. They only update the pictures every two years, so, unless we go to visit them or the Compassion center happens to send a picture for some reason, then the only visual we have is the latest one that we have been given. I knew Marcelo had turned 13, but it was hard to imagine him with anything but fat little cheeks and that type of haircut.

I was thinking today how much that picture even effected my letters to him. Now that I have a new visual image of a young man and not a boy, I'm sure my letters will change.

It is such a joy be able to sponsor and write to children that are way less fortunate than we are.  We have so much, and we take for granted some of the luxuries that we do have. Have you ever thought of sponsoring a child through Compassion? Have you been praying about it? You can check out some of the children's profiles and read about the children without any obligation to sponsor them. Just click here to get to the Compassion website. If you have any questions about sponsorship, please ask by leaving a comment below.