The Village Chapel has a long history with Compassion International and their child sponsorship program. Shortly after the church began in 2001, we started sponsoring a young girl in Patzicia, Guatemala. Pastor Jim would give regular updates as we watched her grow and eventually graduate from the program. Along the way, as new children entered the program, Compassion would give TVC the first opportunity to make these sponsorship opportunities available to our congregation.
Today, individual TVCers and families sponsor more than 200 children in four villages in the same region of Guatemala, with the addition of San Antonio Nejapa, Santa Apolonia and Las Victorias to our original location of Patzicia.
TVC Short-Term Trips to Guatemala
By having so many sponsored children in one concentrated area, it allows for TVC to take missions trips to Guatemala, making it possible for many TVCers to meet their sponsored children face to face. In fact, TVC has led six short-term missions trips to Guatemala since 2007. On these short-term trips, team members have helped with building projects, toured local Compassion facilities, visited classrooms and homes, led fun activities with children, built relationships with the staff and interacted with families and sponsored children at Fun Day.
Our 2020 Mission trip to Guatemala had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. TVC remains in regular contact with Compassion International and we will schedule another mission trip as soon as it is safe to do so.
All About Sponsorship
So how does sponsorship work? For just $38 per month you can provide healthcare, nutritional assistance, educational support, Christ-centered love and guidance through the local church, and love and encouragement through your letters.
Interested in sponsoring a child through Compassion in one of TVC’s Guatemalan villages? Email [email protected] to find out about availability.
Write Your Sponsored Child
As a sponsor, you can get to know your sponsored child through letters and cards. Use the stationery sheets provided by Compassion or set up an online account at Compassion.com to write letters and upload photos online. The online letter process has a quicker turnaround time than the snail mail, but both forms of communication are cherished by sponsored kids. It’s a great way to offer spiritual encouragement and learn about daily life in Guatemala and within their family.
About Compassion International
In response to the Great Commission, Compassion International exists as an advocate for children, to release them from their spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enable them to become responsible and fulfilled Christian adults. Since 1952, Compassion has taken a long-term approach to the children and families they serve. They partner with more than 7,000 local churches in 26 developing countries to empower those local churches to provide more than 1.8 million children with the opportunity to rise above their circumstances and become all God has created them to be. Find out more at Compassion.com or contact Cora Cluver at [email protected].