When a Letter Becomes a Life: Meeting My Sponsored Child in Honduras
When Jen Rocheleau first decided to sponsor a child through ERDO, she didn’t know where the journey would lead. At the time, she and her husband were a single-income family, carefully budgeting each month. Still, Jen felt a tug on her heart she couldn’t ignore.
“At first, it felt like stepping out of my comfort zone financially,” she remembers. “But I knew God was asking me to do it. I told my husband, I feel like we need to say yes. God will provide.”
That small step of faith turned into more than a decade of sponsorship — years of exchanging letters and photos, praying for a child named Joseth in Honduras, and watching him grow up from afar.
Then, this October, Jen finally met him.
A trip years in the making
For over twenty years, Jen had dreamed of going on a short-term missions trip, but life always seemed to get in the way. Between raising three children and managing family finances, it was never the right time.
“When I heard our church was planning a team trip with ERDO, I knew I wanted to go,” she said. “I told my pastor, if the trip is to Honduras, I’m in — I want to meet my sponsor child.”
Jen began saving for the trip long before it was officially confirmed. Then COVID delayed the plans for several years. But she didn’t give up.
“I just kept saving and praying,” she said. “When the opportunity finally came, I knew the timing was in God’s hands.”
A week of rain — and a moment she’ll never forget
In October 2024, Jen and six volunteers from Essex Gospel arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to visit Schools of Hope, one of ERDO’s child sponsorship partners. The week they arrived, torrential rains flooded parts of the city. Schools were closed, and the team’s original schedule had to be rewritten.
“Instead of visiting schools, Kathy, our team leader, invited community children to come to the centre for activities,” Jen said. “On Tuesday, she told me, your sponsored child might be coming today — you might want to stay behind. I said, If there’s even a chance, I’m not going anywhere!”
That morning, Jen joined one of the classrooms, where a small group of teenagers sat in a circle doing activities together. Partway through, a quiet boy walked in and took a seat.
“I looked at him and thought, Could that be him?” she said. “When I asked his name and he said, ‘My name is Joseth,’ my heart stopped. I studied his face, compared it to the pictures I had back home, and started to tear up. I knew it was him.”
“I’m the one who’s honoured.”
Later that morning, the staff set aside a small room where Jen could meet privately with Joseth, his mother and his baby sister.
“When I saw him up close, I just gave him a huge hug,” she said. “His mom was beautiful — so gracious. She kept thanking me, saying how much the sponsorship had helped their family. And I noticed right away how neatly he was dressed. That really spoke to me — it showed how well he was being cared for.”
The two spoke through an interpreter for about forty-five minutes. Before leaving, Jen gave Joseth a few gifts she had brought: soccer balls and a pump. Then, unexpectedly, Joseth took one of the simple silver rings off his finger and handed it to her.
“I wear it every day now,” Jen said softly.
When their visit ended, Joseth and his family began to leave. Jen watched them walk toward the door, emotion rising in her chest.
“He’s sixteen — there are only a couple years left before he finishes the program,” she said. “I thought, I may never see him again. I stepped into an empty classroom and had a good cry.”
The interpreter told Joseth he should feel honoured to meet his sponsor, since many children never get the opportunity. But Jen didn’t see it that way.
“I told him, No, I’m the one who’s honoured. I’m not special. I just said yes when God tugged on my heart.”
Faith in action
For Jen, this trip was more than a mission — it was a reminder that God weaves our stories together in unexpected ways.
Back home, Jen works as a Personal Support Worker, caring for seniors in their homes. She trained for the job later in life after losing her previous position during COVID.
“I went back to school at fifty years old,” she said. “Now I get to help people one-on-one every day, and often I get to share the love of Jesus with them. It’s slower-paced, personal and exactly where God wants me.”
When she helped install water filters in Honduras, Jen noticed something familiar.
“Walking into people’s homes there, I wasn’t shocked by their living conditions,” she said. “It reminded me of the homes I visit here. I realized that whether I’m in Canada or Honduras, God can use my hands to serve others.”
“For them, it changes everything.”
Back in Ontario, Jen still writes to Joseth and prays for his family. But now, the connection feels different.
“All these years, it’s been letters and pictures,” she said. “Now I can see his face when I write to him. It’s no longer just a photo on the fridge — it’s a real boy with a family I’ve met and hugged.”
When asked what she would say to someone thinking about sponsoring a child, Jen doesn’t hesitate.
“My simple words can’t express how much that $41 a month can impact a child and their family,” she said. “In Canada, that amount is peanuts — we wouldn’t even miss it. But for them, it changes their quality of life. It’s incredibly humbling.”
Today, Jen carries Honduras with her — both in her heart and on her hand, wearing the small silver ring Joseth gave her.
What began as a small act of obedience has become a living picture of faith in action — one Canadian family saying yes to God’s prompting and one Honduran family forever changed by that “yes.”
When one person sponsors a child, two lives are changed forever.
