Goodbye, Lovson

It was with great sadness that I received a note from Compassion letting me know that one of my correspondence kids, Lovson in Haiti, had lost his financial sponsors.  I have only been writing to him for about a year, but he is the only one of my 15 children who is doing above average in school, and he is showing promise of being one of my better letter writers.

I was offered the chance to pick up his financial sponsorship, but much as I would like to, I just can't add another child.

Then a situation developed with World Vision, through which I have just started sponsoring one child. It seems that World Vision recently made the decision to stop discriminating against people in same sex marriages.  A good decision.  A Christian decision.  Kudos to them!

But within 48 hours, members of a radical right wing Christian group dropped sponsorship of over 2,000 children unless World Vision reverse its good, Christian decision.

They did. On March 26, World Vision President Richard Stearns reversed the decision, stating, “our board acknowledged that the policy change we made was a mistake.” Supporters helped the aid group “see that with more clarity,” Stearns added, “and we’re asking you to forgive us for that mistake.”

A bad decision.  An UnChristian decision.  I take back my Kudos.

My immediate reaction was to drop my sponsorship at World Vision, which would allow me to pick up the financial sponsorship of Lovson.  Then I realized what a horrible thought that was.  The people who callously dropped more than 2,000 children just because World Vision had decided to do the right thing were saying that the importance of their religious ideology trumped the welfare of children in jeopardy all over the world.

And if I were to drop my World Vision child in protest, I would be using her in the same way. So I have sadly told Compassion I cannot sponsor Lovson and asked if I could write him a letter of goodbye.

I have also asked what Compassion's policy is on same sex marriages.  I suspect that I will be disappointed in their answer (if they answer), but again, I can't use my sponsored children callously and I will keep them, no matter what, and I hope I am not disappointed.