When I first sat down to write this post I thought, ok, only 1 letter this week. But then realized how blessed I am to have received that one letter this week, to savor the sweetness of, then to receive a clump of letters all in one day. So this week I heard from Ghana.
I heard from my 15 year old in Ghana, Mame Aba, in a response letter. I haven't been sponsoring her for very long, I picked up her sponsorship when I lost Carolyne from Uganda. They are almost the same exact age. And while I know Mame Aba is thankful for my sponsorship, I think she is having a bit of a struggle opening up, probably because of her age, and maybe not receiving much of letters in the past.
The Ghana response letters are fill in the blanks basically for both the under 13 and 13+ age group. They differ slightly on the sections (as I have an 11 year old from Ghana too), but are basically the same. When Compassion finishes revamping the letter writing for all the countries, I think the older kids may not be writing on the form letters, but that is just a guess. I know because of the length of time Compassion International has been working in Ghana, there are not too many kids in the 13+ age group yet.
The first section is 'Thank you message for my sponsor' where she writes "Thank you for choosing me as your sponsor child also thank you for your prayer support. (which is about the same message I often get from)
The next section is 'Child's response to Sponsor's questions' where she tells me she wants to be a graphic designer and a counselor. ( <= I'm excited about that :) )
The following section is 'Child's experience at home/school/community.' She says "In my community I engage my self in a communal labor(I'm curious to ask more about that), at home I go on errands and help my mother in the kitchen. In school I go for Scripture Union to learn the gospel.
Then 'New things Child has learnt at the project' says I have learned how to weave beads and have been studying curriculum.
Lastly on the front half of the letter is 'Child's activities for the next week or month' she writes I will go for project and also go to church services.
On the back half is 'Child's prayer request' where she writes "I want you to please continue to pray for me so that God should grant me wisdom, knowledge and understanding to study." (Which is not an uncommon prayer for a Ghana child. I know my other asks for the same prayer in almost every letter, along with her twin sister. And I have heard other sponsors talk about their kids asking prayer for wisdom too!)
Lastly is 'Memory Verse' and here she writes out Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a lamp unto my path." I've noticed most of her memory verses have been from Psalms.
And the bottom half of the stationary is still designated for a drawing. And since she always draws something nice, I thought I'd share:
And the letter was written on the 17th of September which means it made it to me in about 3 weeks!! Very impressive. Do you sponsor a child in Ghana? I'd love to hear about your letter experiences :)
