George H.W. Bush Secretly Supported A Sweet Filipino Boy For 10 Years

This is just the sweet story that we needed to hear today!

George H.W. Bush secretly supported a young Filipino boy for 10 years.

Bush first got the idea to sponsor a child in 2001, when he attended a Christmas concert in Washington.

“Because the musicians were mostly Christian, they believed in our mission,” Wess Stafford, the former president of Compassion International told CNN. During intermission, “they would tell the audience about us, and ask them if they would like to sponsor a child,” he said.

According to Stafford, his security team was alarmed because they had no idea what exactly was going to be on the pamphlet, or if the information on it had been screened for authenticity. But that didn’t stop Bush.

“His top security called me and said ‘this doesn’t surprise me coming from him, but if he’s going to sponsor this kid, we need to make sure the boy doesn’t know who his sponsor is.’ So, he signed all his letters to Timothy as ‘George Walker,'” Stafford said.
“All of the sudden, Mr. Bush, who was sitting only a few rows back and surrounded by security, raised his hand and asked for a pamphlet.”

They were worried about the boy’s security. That’s why it had to be a secret.

He sent his first letter to the boy on January 24, 2002.

OH MY HEART!

George H.W. Bush’s staffers had to stay on top of him, because he dropped too many hints indicating who he was. For instance, he once sent the boy a picture of his dog.

“Here is a picture of our dog,” he wrote. “Her name is Sadie. She has met a lot of famous people. She is a very good dog she was born in England. She catches mice and chipmunks, and she runs like the wind. G. Walker.”

He also mentioned that he went to a White House Christmas party, and he constantly sent the boy gifts, even though it technically wasn’t allowed.

“Timothy would send him hand drawings and told the President how much he liked art, so he sent over color pencils, sketch pads, and paint,” Stafford said. “I waited for my staff to go to the Philippines and send it with them. They would then bring it to the church Timothy was a part of, so he could collect his gifts.”

In one of the letters, Timothy thanked Bush for not forgetting about him.

Their exchanges were precious.

Despite George H.W. Bush’s hints, Timothy didn’t find out who his sponsor really was until after he was done with the program.

“After a while, my executive assistant, Angie Lathrop, took over the sponsorship, and after Timothy graduated at 17, she flew to the Philippines to meet him,” Stafford said. “That’s when she told him who his sponsor really was.”

Timothy was stunned, Stafford said. He really couldn’t believe the man he had been writing letters to was once the President of a nation.

Stafford said that Timothy told Lathrop he had no idea, and that the revelation was life-changing.

That was the last time the nonprofit heard from Timothy, despite efforts to locate him, Stafford said.

Wild, right?

“We may not know where Timothy is, but we know he’s now living a successful life,” Stafford said. “Sponsoring a child, even if they are still in the womb, can encourage them and guide them to become great human beings.”

It’s never too late to make a difference in someone’s life.