Sponsoring a child was something I had been thinking about doing for a long time. Years, in fact, but there was always a reason to not follow through.

‘I’m a student’, ‘I’m not earning money’, or, more recently, ‘My husband is studying full time. There’s just not enough money in the budget.’

And, for the most part, my words were accurate—I was a student, I wasn’t earning money, my husband is studying full time. But, if I’m being honest with myself, these reasons had become my excuses.

I’d asked the question, ‘Can I afford to sponsor a child?’ instead of, ‘What am I prepared to sacrifice so that I can sponsor a child?’

The desire was there, but I just needed a nudge to propel me into action.

That nudge finally came when I settled down after a day of work to watch a documentary, The True Cost.

It’s about the exploitation of workers at the hands of the fashion industry, and my own consumption. By the end of the documentary I was weeping and I was so beyond angry about the injustices of the world. And how those injustices keep innocent people trapped in a cycle of poverty.

Of course, I knew that poverty existed, but seeing the widespread extent of it—and my own connection to it—proved to be my breaking point.

At that moment, my resolve solidified. I was going to sponsor a child. I was going to sponsor a child so that girls in Bangladesh would not have to face a future of exploitation and forced labour. I was going to sponsor a child so that girls in Bangladesh would be safe from child marriage. I was going to sponsor a child so that her family, her friends, and her community, would learn the skills they need to lift themselves out of poverty. I was going to sponsor a child and be part of their incredible story.

For me, that decision has been one of the most exciting I’ve made all year. And since then, sponsoring a child has become part of my worship.

I’m ecstatic about the change that I know God is bringing in my sponsor child’s community. And I’m thrilled that He chooses to use me to be part of this process of incredible change. I’m even excited enough to write about it so that, maybe, you’ll get to experience the joy of sponsoring a child too.