By Al and Diane Schumacher, CFCA sponsors
We have eight children, 20 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and all of this is important to our story about CFCA.
Our youngest son and his wife could not have children, so they adopted baby Carlos from Guatemala 11 years ago. Later, they also adopted a little girl from Guatemala.
About the same time as the adoption of Carlos, a priest came to our parish in Milwaukee, Wis., and talked with parishioners about CFCA. We decided that in thanksgiving for our sonís and his wifeís blessing, we would sponsor a child in Guatemala.
Gabina (see photograph at age 12) was 2 years old when we began sponsoring her and her family. That was 11-and-a-half years ago.
When we began our relationship with Gaby, her family and friends wrote to us on her behalf. Of course, we responded. Now Gaby writes to us. To date, we’ve received 101 letters, six cards and 23 photographs!
About 18 months ago, we took a cruise which included a stop in Guatemala. CFCA arranged for us to meet with Gaby, her mother (actually her grandmother: her mother died at childbirth), a translator and a social worker. Their driver picked them up at 2 a.m. and drove cross-country for eight hours to meet with us. We had five wonderful hours to spend with Gaby and her escorts before they left for their eight-hour return trip home.
What a memorable visit! It was more than just the highlight of our cruise. Now we hope that someday there will be another visit.
When Gaby writes, she always thanks us and tells of her and her familyís appreciation for all we do for them. If only they could realize that what they do for us is so much more!
Thank you, CFCA, for introducing Gaby to us.
Q. Does CFCA have any guidelines I should follow to write about my sponsorship online or in print?
Neema, shown here in the picture at the right, may be young but he already knows the power one person has to make a difference in the world. Thatís because a person named Vanessa made a huge impact in his life. Neema is a sponsored child, receiving care through the CFCA project in Tanzania. Before sponsorship, his situation was bleak. But when Vanessa stepped forward to become his sponsor, he began receiving life-giving benefits, including medication to treat his illness. Today, his life is much different.
