I’ve written to my sponsored girls and I’m anxious to receive my first letter from them. Yet in my role at Mission of Mercy, I am aware of a lot of the factors that will shape their communications.

Munni, who lives in southeast Bangladesh, and Sovanna, who lives in west-central Cambodia, are less than a thousand miles from each other – yet I expect vastly different things from their letters.

Munni may not share much – Bangladeshi children are taught to respect their elders, so I don’t expect her to open up quickly. And she’s as teenager, so the question of her future is pressing. Her parents may be arranging a marriage for her (according to a 2005 UNICEF report on early marriage, over 60 percent of Bangladeshi women are married by the age of 18) or may not expect her to finish school. Will she share about this? Most likely not.

Munni’s biography says she is from a Muslim family, so I don’t know how religious her letters will be. Sovanna, by contrast, has accepted Christ as her Savior. Does this mean she’ll write about it? I don’t know, but I don’t think I should expect much spiritual content in her letters at first.

I chose to sponsor these girls in part because they hadn’t been sponsored for over a year. Their letters may be tentative. They may wonder if I will stick around. I want to ensure they are able to finish school if they are able – so yes, I will see this through. But it will take time for them to trust me.

I guess in some part I want this to be less about me and more about them. Yes, I’d like a good letter, but more than that, I want to encourage them and love on them. Like Paul says in Ephesians 3, I want them to know “how wide and high and long and deep is the love of Christ.”

I consider this a ministry. And as much as I want to change their lives for the better – I have a feeling they will change mine, too.