Starbucks Sponsorship - Lidia Areli Lopez

I know my title seems strange but it is through giving up my Starbucks Specialty drinks as of March 1st (today) that I set my sights on a second Compassion International Child sponsorship for our family. To be honest I was never a coffee drinker. I always wondered what the whole deal was with everyone always stopping at Starbucks. It didn’t take long for me to discover. My love with Starbucks started innocently enough with discovering that they served Chai and had such incredible customer service. I also discovered that other coffee houses served variations of the same wonderful drinks just with different names. Then one hot summer day I discovered a blended concoction that was simply wonderful called a Mocha Frappuccino Blended Coffee. I can only describe it as heaven in a glass. Then I moved on to warm winter beverages. My new hot favorite shifted from Chai to White Chocolate Mocha. Although it was very bitter I learned quickly that you could add additional White Chocolate syrup pumps to this drink and behold it was delicious. What started as a very occasional beverage stop soon added up to more and more frequent visits. In fact I must have visited enough at the drive through because they know my dogs name and ask about her when she is not with me. They also made it so easy for me by adding more and more shops around town, in the grocery stores, at the airports etc. You name it and there is a Starbucks there. And not only in Boise but just about every town I have visited.

I did a little soul searching a week or so ago and felt like I could be a better steward of Compassion by not only sharing my blog with friends and family but also through another child sponsorship. I decided that although I could afford the sponsorship I felt I needed to make a sacrifice so that the sponsorship would have more meaning in my life from a personal standpoint. I logged on to compassion last week and selected another little girl from Guatemala. She is located at a different center than Astrid is. And with the arrival of the packet it also signaled my end of visits to Starbucks, Tully’s and Moxie Java. A monthly sponsorship is only $32. If I was drinking just 7 beverages a month at about $5 each (with tip) that was easily $35. Of course I may treat myself on special occasions (birthday’s, anniversaries, Christmas, National Coffee Day, etc.) but as a daily and weekly addition to my life I am kicking the habit as of today. And no, I didn’t stop today to have one last drink (darn). But there you see little Lidia smiling from her picture and know that she will discover that she has a sponsor after waiting and waiting is worth more than any drink I could buy at Starbucks. It is interesting how far off our priorities drift so easily on a sea of caffeine and whipped cream. I hope that I continue to learn and grown in my humanity and that I am a blessing in these children’s lives as they are in mine. Cheers!