Tricia Lujambio, Director of our Angels of Hope Child Sponsorship Department, remembers a loving donor, Bethann.
Bethann’s voice was a familiar one. She would call a couple times each month with questions about her sponsorship of two girls, Nouphie and Lovely of Haiti. Oftentimes, I knew that Bethann already knew the answer to her question but she was just calling to chat. She was very dedicated and engaged with her two child sponsorships.
One of the girls, Nouphie, is both deaf and blind. Bethann would take time to craft cards with different textures like felt or foamy paper so that Nouphie could experience the correspondence. Although she could never read nor listen to the messages of love, she would be able to feel them.
Over time, I learned many things about Bethann, her health challenges, her economic circumstances, and her passion for the Lord.
Despite giving from her own need, she was a faithful and reliable donor.
After not hearing from Bethann for some time, I received a package of returned mail from the post office. As I sorted through the letters, her name caught my eye. On the outside of the envelope someone had written “deceased”. My heart dropped. I went online to see if I could confirm this information. I easily came across two websites that posted her obituary. Bethann had succumbed to the illnesses that had plagued her for many years.
As I read through the obituary, I was surprised to see that her two Angels of Hope-sponsored children were listed amongst her limited family and loved ones. I was so impacted to see that at the end of her days, what would be told about her and remembered was her dedication and love to these two girls.
After some moments of reflection, I shared the obituaries and story with my staff. We never know how we may touch and impact another’s life. Sometimes we need to take a step back to recognize how our daily work in this ministry truly blesses, not only the beneficiaries, but also the donors.