Country Music Duo Thompson Square Totally Changed by Journey to Honduras

Country Music Duo Thompson Square Totally Changed by Journey to Honduras (417)
(NewsUSA) - The award-winning duo Thompson Square is growing into one of country music's most sought-after acts and one of ChildFund International's most visible advocates for children.
One year ago, Keifer and Shawna Thompson teamed with ChildFund's LIVE! channel -- an initiative that enlists performing artists to raise awareness of how sponsorship helps children who live in extreme poverty. At each concert, the husband and wife performers ask their fans to sponsor a child, hoping that their "celebrity" will help put a dent in the number of children who go every day without safe water, adequate nutrition, access to health care and other essentials.
Keifer and Shawna themselves sponsor a child, and earlier this year they traveled to meet him. Four-year-old Emerson lives in a tiny, central Honduras village, about two hours' drive from the capital over rough roads that wind through green mountains. His family enthusiastically welcomed the country stars into their small home.
Keifer and Shawna were amazed at how happy Emerson and his family were, despite their few possessions. The couple were "totally changed" by the experience of seeing people who survive with so little and yet have so much love and joy to give. The experience, Shawna says, "definitely makes you realize what is important in life, and it's pretty obvious that it's family."
Keifer and Shawna also had the chance to see ChildFund's programs. At the local school, where children warmly welcomed them, they observed children tutoring their peers through ChildFund's school support program and youth participating in ChildFund programs oriented to strengthening their self-esteem, leadership skills and cultural identity.
The duo also took the opportunity to shoot a video of the work they're supporting as LIVE! artists, using their popular song "Glass" as the soundtrack. The heart-warming video -- dedicated to the children they met in Honduras -- is now shown at their concerts to help spread the word about sponsorship, to share their experience in Honduras and to inspire others to sponsor children.
It is not uncommon for many of ChildFund's sponsors -- celebrities or not -- to become more thankful through the experience of sponsorship. Even though most ChildFund sponsors can't pick up and go to Honduras or wherever their sponsored children live, many share in Keifer's and Shawna's leap of gratitude. While the $28-a-month sponsorship gives a child a fighting chance to survive and thrive, it also gives a sponsor a new outlook on life that money or fame can't buy.