At the point Pendila and Priscilla join both mine and my sister's Compassion families, we were not looking to add anybody else. I was "just looking" when I noticed in Ghana (a country that had just recently sparked my attention at this point) a set of twin girls...but wait, could it really be! There were red hearts on the corner's of their photos to indicate they had been waiting six months or longer. And at this point there were 9 years old. Which means they had a previous sponsor, yet both girls were available and sitting there right next to each other on the web page. I yelled from the back room at my sister to hurry come look!!!
As we sat there and looked at these gorgeous girls, we just asked each other, which name do you want? As their pictures were practically identical. And as it went, she wanted Priscilla and I wanted Pendila. We didn't think twice, just went and got our wallets, and added them to the family.
Little did we know what was in store from these lovely ladies. At this point OurCompassion was just starting out, or hadn't be launched yet, I can't remember. So all the information about letters and frequency was all still a bit of a mystery. After a few months, letters just started coming and coming from these two young ladies. It might range in frequency, but it wasn't unusual to get at least two letters a month! And while the girls were not writing their own letters yet, the project staff was really good about helping with letters. And good about trying to personalize the letters to each child. We told the girls right off we were sisters sponsoring sisters, and the health worker was good about giving a little bit of different information within the letters, which gave us a bigger picture of our two girls even quicker.
Pendila's first photo
When Pendila grows up, she wants to be a soldier in the Ghanian army, because she wants to protect her country she says. I'd even asked her this question again later on, to see what she might say, and again she told me a soldier. I believe her sister Priscilla wants to be a nurse. The have 3 older siblings, two sisters and a brother, and one young sister also. Their father repairs watches for a living!
And for their first birthday, my sister and I had each sent money, and were quite surprised to see the returned photo we got with their thank you letter. What a surprise to see all their friends!!
Everyone seemed quite excited! My sister and I each received copies of these photos, labeled with our respective child's name. Priscilla is on the left and Pendila is on the right. Quite the party they had!
Their letter are always full of love, and especially now as they are getting old, great questions! They are always wanting to learn more about my nephews, their school, church, my work. Anything I might mention, they will ask to know more about.
They will be 12 years old this spring, and have recently been promoted to Primary 5. We have received a few letters written by themselves, but they still predominantly have help writing. Though one time my sister received a letter from Priscilla and stapled to it was a letter on a plain white sheet of paper with my name and Pendila's name on it. And it simple said, "I love you. And I always pray for you." The simplest letter I've ever received, but one of the most powerful!
Here they are last Christmas. Can you tell which is Priscilla and which is Pendila? I'll give you a hint, their names are on their bags. :)
Last spring I received an updated photo, and I couldn't' believe how tall she had grown. It had seemed such a short time to have grown up so much. There was no smile, but I tell myself she is practicing for her military career :)
Ghana is a country I've really fallen in love with. Well, I could probably say that about most all the countries I have Compassion International children in. But there is something a little extra special about Ghana. Don't believe me, check out JD's posts about her trip, where she is currently in Ghana, speaking up for children who can't speak for themselves. And if you ask others who sponsor there too, they will tell you the same thing...there's something about Ghana.
Have you blogged introductions on your blog for any of you Compassion children? I love learning about other's children and their experiences. Feel free to link up with my post any of your child introductions :)
