Monday's Mail Call

Every Monday I enjoy looking back over the week at any mail I received from my Compassion International kids. This week brings me a letter from the Philippines.

I received a letter this week from 18 year old Sheena is the Philippines. While usually I am quite excited to received a letter, but this one was a little bittersweet. This is Sheena's final letter.

While the letter was super informative, it was definately written after her departure, as it was the project worker, and no Sheena herself. She thanked me for supporting Sheena, and that Sheena was able to enroll in formal school through her second year of college. It also talked about all the things she was provided from tutorial services, computer lessons and dental check-ups to vocational training like computer skills, handicrafts, cooking, hair cutting and manicure/pedicure training. Most of those services I did not know she had received. There is quite the list.

It went on to talk about it being her aunts decision, as her guardian, for her to finish the program early. And her Aunt would continue to help her with schooling, and her others needs. I ask for you to please pray for Sheena. I believe her aunt has her best interests in mind, but know Sheena could use prayer as she transitions into adult life outside the Compassion program.

Please pray she remembers what she was taught and continues to make wise choices that honor God throughout her life.

Michelle over at Blogging from the Boonies has a link up with other sponsors and their letters.

Sheena Update

I logged on the computer tonight, to write some letters to my Compassion kids. I thought I would check one more time and see if maybe I could find Sheena on Facebook. I searched quite a bit yesterday, but no luck.

As I logged on, I noticed I had a friend request...I clicked and discovered it was Sheena. I screamed with excitement. Then ran to tell me sister.

I do understand that there can be possible risks to social network communication, I don't do a ton of things on Facebook. I also did a quick skim through over information, and photos, to make sure I had nothing that could put me at risk (like address/phone number, that sort of thing).

It was nice to go through her photos to see her smiling face, along with friends and family. I did send her an email, sort of brief, telling her of how I did hear her good news, and how proud I am. And I also explained the situation from last year when I did get her friend request and why I didn't respond.

I am a little curious how this relationship with change now. But for now, I'm excited to see her smiling face!

Bittersweet News

There's a certain feeling you get, when you look at your caller ID and it says Compassion. Some days it's almost dread, other days, it welcomes good news, or updates.

I wasn't expecting an update, and I was at work. I had just clocked back it, so I let the phone ring to voice mail. After work I carefully listened to the message, it was in regards to Sheena, my Filipino girl I had recently received the email update, explaining her school situation had changed last year, and the coding for her updated case study had been entered wrong. And she was now almost done completing her second semester as a computer tech student. Last year her family had financial difficulty, and she had to drop out for a while.

I wondered if maybe they didn't realize I had received the email update, so they were following up with a phone call. But in the back of my mind I thought it might not be, as the representative said in her message, I was hoping to talk to you in person.

When I returned the call I was informed she completed the program early. Part of me is extremely happy and proud! She completed all the programs and studies Compassion offered her, and so her aunt had her complete early.

The other half of me is completely heart broken. My hopes were to possibly visit her next year before graduation that year. Our church travels yearly to the Philippines in January. I had high hopes of meeting my dear sister.

She is my same child who sent me a Facebook friend request last year, that I dreadfully had to ignore because of Compassion safety guidelines. I now searched for her today, and was unable to locate a profile for her.

I do considered myself blessed to have the opportunity to have sent a gift with a fellow sponsor who traveled to the Philippines in January. This sponsor also sponsors a teenage girl in Sheena's project.

Just the other day I received a thank you letter in the mail, and you guessed it, I had a photo of her with the bag of goodies I sent! It is priceless, and I'm so thankful for the time God has allowed me to be a part of her life. I pray I may have some minimal contact still with her, possibly via the internet. If not, I know I'll see her someday.

At the end of the conversation I did ask if I would received a new child, since she was my correspondent and I'm over the limit. I was told yes, when the sponsor accepts a new child. So on another bright note, I'm excited to see who else God chooses to bless my life with. Because as much as we bless our sponsor children, I believe the blessings come back ten fold!

Not My Mail Monday

My nephew received two letters over the weekend from his Compassion sponsor child. I was so excited coming in the house as they were both in lager envelopes. I know my mail lateyly has been coming for no reason in the larger envelopes, but he had saved some money and sent a family gift a while back, so I was convinced he probably had a photo. As he rips into I was right. There was a had some young boy stapled to the letter.

I thought it was so neat to see his photo, but wait a minute, what is he holding?! Its the gift we sent with a fellow sponsor who traveled in January to the Philippines!! Even better of a photo!

Then upon closer look, my sister discovered not only was there one photo, but three!!! Another of him, sitting on a pew at church, and then John with his mother and little brother!

What a great mail day!

**Sorry I didn't actually get this posted yesterday, I was having some technical difficulties trying to get the photos from my phone.

Exceptional Mail Call

So last Tuesday I went to the mailbox, and knew right away there were letters...many letters. I saw a thick stack of cream envelopes, and I squealed with excitement. There was  more likely than not, mail for everyone. And I was right. I received five letters! My sister received three and my nephew also received a letter. That's probably the best letter day ever!

First letter was from my youngest, 4 year old Arsang from Thailand.

Both he and his family thanked me for the letter and stickers. He told me most of the time he likes to play the chasing game with his friends or little sibling.

He also told me he doesn't know how to fish because there is no place to go fishing. (I told him about my nephews and I going fishing) He tells me that Thailand doesn't have wild elephant. And the wild elephants are snakes squirrels, wild pigs and many kinds (I asked after we visited the zoo). He also tells me he likes dogs! And he colored me a picture with LOTS of green, a lot like the background of his photo!

Next was my other Thai child, nine year old Duangdao.

I'm so proud of her, and her beautiful Thai writing she does on her own! It's artwork itself. She thanked me for the birthday gift, she told me she used it to buy warm clothes. She tells me I'm always in her prayers and thoughts.

She tells me there are many types of animals in Thailand: deer, snakes, elephants, tigers, monkeys, birds, cows and buffaloes. She also tells me there are some elephants in her village. ( I thought it was funny I received two different answers from my Thai kids the same day!)

She also tells me she likes music and she hopes I do too.

Then I received a letter from sixteen year old David in Ecuador.

He tells me thank you for the photos and that he is happy to know me and my landscapes (thanks to the new online stationary!). He tells me he always prayers and will continue to pray for me family. And one of my favorite lines was "Go forward, God is with you with Him nothing is impossible." I love the understanding and blessing he spoke/wrote. And that was partly in reference to my new job.

He tells me his family is well and that when he shared my greetings with them, they were happy.

I then received two letters from eighteen year old Sheen in the Philippines.

One was a reply letter, and the other was a scheduled letter.  They were written 8 days apart. She thanked me for the Christmas gift, she bought slippers, a bag, blouses and cologne. (that was very close to what she bought last year too) She tells me she's excited to wear it to the Sunday service. She tells me her schooling is fine, and she received high grades, because her inspiration is God!!! (She put three exclamation marks) She says she thanks God he gave her a sponsor like me, who understands her.

She thanked me for the photos, of where I go fishing, and said she wished she could go there. She tells she misses me and loves the stationary I sent (again, thanks to the new online letter writing tool!) She says "I hope and pray to God that we can see each other" (I pray I too get the opportunity to meet her before she graduates in the next few years. Her completion date is 2014) She also mentions she would like to see snow in the Philippines, because that is something they don't have. And she made mention of our weather being opposite. Again she tells me she did well on her exam, and passed all her subjects. (I'm waiting to hear back on the field inquiry, as to why her case study said she wasn't in school.)

I hope you received some special mail! If, so I'd love to hear from who!

Do You Have Room?

As an advocate with Compassion International, on of my favorite things is helping connect children with a sponsor. Both my sister and I are advocate, and have a few child packets I'd like to share with you. Maybe you have a place for one of these darling children.

This is 10 year old Darwin. He's from the Philippines (PH842), the same project as my nephew Jonathan's, John attends. (you can read about the boys here) Darwin lives with both his parents, and has three siblings. His profile also states he is below average in school.

 This beautiful young lady is named Fabiola. She is from Burkina Faso and attends the same project as another young man my sister sponsors (BR125). 

I know there are many Muslims in the area, because Razac has talked about not being able to have any pets, as their Muslim neighbors would not be happy. He also talked about not celebrating his birthday with a big party because it is frowned upon by the Muslims. He is a very sweet young man, and I do believe his family is Christian. I know his dad often works away from home, leaving him helping his mother often with his siblings.

I know Fabiola lives with her grandmother, and it could be that her parents must work in another town. My sister has her packet with her at work, so I do not have any other details at the moment. Let me know if you want more information and I'll get it!

This is Kenneth. He lives west of Accra, Ghana and attends GH926. Kenneth has a birthday coming up on April 14th, and he will be turning 9 years old. Kenneth has been waiting over 9 months for his sponsor, and a sponsor for his birthday would be the best present ever!

Kenneth lives with his grandmother, and there are 2 other children in the home. He is average in school, and enjoys soccer!

Irah from the Philippines is also still looking for a sponsor. Click her name to see more of her information.

Can you commit to $38 a month, prayer and most importantly writing regularly to encourage one of these special children? If so, please comment here and/or you can also email me at: kute_queen@hotmail.com

I will also send you a correspondent kit, to help you in writing your child.

Looking for a Sponsor for Irah

I have another young lady I'd like to introduce to you. One of my favorite parts of being an advocate with Compassion International is helping matching children with their sponsors. I know how much sponsorship has changed me, and the lives of the children I sponsor. Real through any of my letters from my Mail Call and you'll see.

Meet Irah Selidio from the Philippines

Irah will turn 15 years old, on August 22nd. She lives with both her parents and two other siblings. She lives north of Iloilo City, which is the city both Sheena and John live in.

I love how her shirt shares all her details about her Compassion center. If you look close you will see the top part of the heart has her project number PH 843, then the center name, Kings Kids Student Center and the name of her town is below that Pavia.

So if you know of anyone looking to sponsor a young lady, and help transform her life, let me know. You can leave me a comment here or email me at: kute_queen@hotmail.com

I have until February 24th to find Irah a sponsor. Will you pray with me for her sponsor?

Monday's Mail Call

For most people, Monday is probably their least favorite day of the week. Especially if it means heading back to a job, after having the weekend off.

But I have really been enjoying Monday's for a while. I absolutely love having the opportunity to share my precious letters from my Compassion International kids. And while I really could share them anytime, I have enjoyed sharing on Mondays with fellow bloggers and sponsors.

Sometimes I feel as if they are as valuable as gold. They connect me to a child living half way across the world, and let me see a glimpse of their life, their struggles, their fears, their hopes and their dreams. I treasure each letter, and reread them to see if maybe I missed something, and then when I stop to pray for them, I'm amazed at how God has chosen me to be an encouragement in their life, and I wonder if they know how much joy and encouragement they bring me. Sometimes I think they do, especially when Sheena wrote "I know you are happy right now with my letter." I love all these kids so dearly, and so I take great pride and joy sharing these little treasures from around the world, and I hope you too can enjoy a little of my treasures.

This week brought two letters, one from Sheena and one from Erick.

The first letter I tore into was from one of my more recent family members, 11 year old Erick from Bolivia.

What a handsome and talented young man who stands tall in his photo. I received another drawing, of a dog and a cat. He tells me in his letter, that his favorite animals are the dog, cat and sheep. I told him my favorite was the sheep, and it makes me smile to see he added that to his favorite list, and I wonder if I had something to do with that. He thanks me for the gift I sent him (not sure if it was birthday or his Christmas gift). He also mentions his classes will be done soon and he will be on vacation. So according to his previous letter, that means he should be on his way to a new school soon, as the construction was suppose to start after school was let out. During his break he plans to travel to Santa Cruz with his sister in law, brother and nephew.

I'm enjoying pretty frequent letters from him, and he is always full of details. I love the bit of randomness to the order of his details in his letters too.

Then I received a letter from my Filipino sister, 18 year old Sheena, whom I wrote more about last week here.

She opens the letter with "I'm always fine my dear sister." She goes on to tell me about how she shared the stickers I sent her with her Sunday school class. And how both enjoyed them very much. She also told me that most of the kids are 7 years and above in her class. She also says "I want you to know my sister that every letter you send me is valuable and you're so special to me." I pray she knows how special she is to me, and how much I treasure her letters also! She goes on to tell me that one of the bands I found from the Philippines she hadn't heard of, (It was one the few I found music for that was in English so I knew what they were actually singing about. I liked them. They're name was something like I.D.O.4.) but she would do some research and look them up.

And the last few lines of her letter say "I love you too my sister Heather." My heart melted a bit, as this is the first time she has said she loves me so directly. So I know she knows. And then right after she asks "How did you feel that you help a lady or child like me?" I'm not exactly sure what she meant by this. And maybe I read too much into it, but almost seemed like a question you'd ask as part of a goodbye.

Any suggestions as to what more specifically she may be asking?

Meet My Child-Sheena

I would normally post my child introduction on Thursday, but since my opportunity to post yesterday was from my phone on my break at work, and I didn't have all my pictures I like to share available, I decided I would wait and post today. Because for me, pictures make a difference, especially on this type of post.







So today I'd like to introduce you to a young lady you may have already started to get to know through her many letters I've posted on my Mail Call Mondays. Her name is Sheena, and she is 18 years old, and from the Philippines.

This is Sheena's current photo, taken last year. I have been corresponding with this precious young lady since September 2010. I had requested an older girl, because I had fallen in love with my current older children, plus I know other may not be as excited to be partnered with an older child. I had no experience with the Philippines previous to Sheena, but her correspondence has given me a great love for her country and people, and in turn opened a door, for my nephew to sponsor John from the Philippines, who lives in the same city as Sheena.

Sheena lives with her grandmother and aunt, along with some of her cousins. Her grandmother is older, with poor vision. And her aunt is a teacher. Sheena use to want to be a teacher also, but recently told me she was switching degrees to computer programing.


I do feel I've become quite close to Sheena, and I know her frequent letters have helped. We both refer to each other as sisters. She is a college student, and recently mentioned she was choose as a youth leader in her church.

This is the first photo I have of her, taken prior to my corresponding with her, but I love to look at how much they have grown up.

And this was her current photo when I started corresponding with her. I absolutely love her smile!! Isn't it contagious?!

She is probably by far, my best letter writer. I usually hear from her about once a month. Her letters are always full of so much love, and lately have been full of news, about her schooling, meeting new friends, and and about her church.

The only down side to falling in love with an older child, is you have less time to spend with them. Her purposed graduation date, is 2014. While she will only be 20 at the time and her plans can change, I will be very sad to no long have this special young lady in my life.

On a bright note though, my church on a state level has partnered with several of our churches in the Philippines, as several members from some of our churches are from the Philippines. And they take yearly missions trips over there to do building projects, and I've got an open invite, and I'm praying that maybe next year or even the year after I would be able to travel with them, and in turn get the opportunity to this special young lady. I would love to meet all of my Compassion kids, and while I understand that the reality is I probably won't, I would jump for joy to meet Sheena.

Will you join me in prayer for God's will on going, and when?

Jerika

I would normally post either just photos, or music today, but I really felt she needs a few words to go with her photo.

This is 9 year old Jerika, from the Philippines. Yeah, I know her photo may look a little familiar. I did post about her earlier here. She is still looking for a sponsor. And I knew when I saw her photo, there seemed to be something that caught my attention; something special. Well at closer examination of her packet, my sister noticed that she is a medical needs child, with asthma.

My sister has her packet until December 30th...that's 2 days away. Jerika has already been waiting 7 months to find her special sponsor. Do you know someone who may be interested in sponsoring this precious girl?

Can you commit to $38 a month, prayer and most importantly writing regularly to encourage this special little girl? If so, please comment here and/or you can also email my sister at: bradley4034@msn.com

Monday Mail Call

This week I was blessed with one letter. One precious letter from my Compassion International kids.

Each letter I treasure, just as I treasure each and every child that God has bless me to encourage through letters and befriend half way around the world. While I may never get to physically hug or meet any of these precious children, I am able to connect through each and every letter we exchange. It's through these letters I better understand who the faces of poverty are.

Not just that extreme poverty exists and I'm helplessly unable to do anything. But in a very tangible way, I know God has used some simple letters to lift the spirits of these youth; the generation of tomorrow. And these letters, along with sponsorship are changing the lives of young people forever!

This week's letter was from 18 year old Sheena in the Philippines. While last week I noticed her profile information was updated along with her photo (which was updated for a while), I also noticed the information said she wasn't attending school; she dropped out due to peer pressure. While her letters have never mentioned anything with the exception of a change in degrees, I would appreciate prayers for her. I did ask if Compassion could look more into the situation also.

She referenced me in this letter as sister Heather. We've become quite close, and because we are so close in age, we are more like sisters. She tells me of a new teacher at the center named Maam Elvie and how she is very nice and caring with both her and her other classmates.

She mentioned more about her Youth Completion Program Fellowship and how people came in and gave their testimonies and were very encouraging. She also mentioned a guest speaker that talked about needing to be a good example to their friends and other classmates.

She mentioned she is not working right now, but if she has the opportunity to work she will "grab" it. The extra money will be for her needs and school needs. And she again asks for prayers for her exams. I know she did much better than she expected to last time. I pray she continues to excel and gain confidence in who God has created her to be!

Have you received any letters from your kids lately? Or more specifically any Christmas letters? I haven't received any Christmas letters, but I believe it was Sheena in a few letters back did mention they were preparing for Christmas celebration.

My Ornaments

So yesterday after reading and seeing Jill's ornaments over at Compassion Family Blog, I was super excited about making some for us. So excited in fact, I started last night! I was given a ton of beads and the peg boards for those kits where you use an iron and melt the beads to form the creation you lay out on the peg boards, and as a kid I remember making picture frames with them before. So I pulled out all the stuff, and got 3 of the boy frames done, and 2 of the girls.

Salomi from Idia

Sattawat from Thailand

Razac from Burkina Faso

I thought I would start with my sister's kids first, that would be why you probably don't recognize any of them. I started sort of randomly, so after I finished the frames, came the hard part of trying to find the extra pictures of the kids to put in the frames. 

I also probably could have completed the frames faster too, if I hadn't decided to become Hulk on Sunday while helping a friend break into her car after locking the keys and the dog in the car. I ended up breaking a pudding scrapper/knife in my hand and slicing my hand pretty well in the palm thumb area.

Though the first frame I finished was John's for my nephew Jonathan to hang on the tree. Then I quizzed him on the different kids in the frames I finished. He knows all our kids names, but doesn't always connect every face with a name. So it's good recognition for who he's praying for.

John from the Philippines

Thanks Jill for the great idea! How do you display your kids? Do you do anything special for the holidays?

Two More Precious Priority Kids

A few days after my Compassion International child packets arrived, so did my sister's. We've been a part of this Compassion journey together, since the sponsorship of Zaira and Zarai. So when one of us was considering becoming an advocate (I really can't remember who's idea it was first), we both decided to, in effort to work together. So I asked if I could also post pictures and profiles of the two children she has packets for. So I would like to introduce:

Jerika Ampie Baquilod

Beautiful Jerika (I absolutely love her name!) recently turned 9 years old on October 1. She lives with her dad and mom who is sometimes employed as a worker in her Compassion student center. She has 3 siblings and is above average in school! She lives near Calbayog City in the Philippines. And attends UCCP Maydolong Child Development Center (PH 862). She is considered a priority kid as she has been waiting over 7 months to find her sponsor.

Satheesh T V

Handsome Satheesh also recently turned 9 on May 21st. He lives with both his mom, dad and 4 siblings. He lives north of Cochin, India. He attends Shanthi Bhavan Child Development Center (IN 792). Satheesh is also considered a priority child too, and has also been waiting 7 months to find his special sponsor. 

There are about 6 fellow sponsors on OurCompassion who sponsor in Satheesh's project that you could possible connect with. And there looks like one lady who sponsors multiple children in Jerika's project and a couple other sponsor's from the UK and Australia, one of which I know is pretty involved with his kids.

If you or someone you know may be interested you can email me (kute_queen@hotmail.com), or even my sister directly (her name is Sam; bradley4034@msn.com) or leave me a comment here :) If you'd like to know more about these kids, their countries, or the areas in which they live, feel free to ask!

The cost of sponsorship through Compassion is $38 a month. Which connects your child with a project through a local church which provides food and clean water, medical care, educational opportunities, important life-skills training, and most important of all, your sponsored child will hear about Jesus Christ and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God.

**Edit, I will also send you a correspondent kit, with your new child's packet in the mail, to help you get started!

Mail Call-Jonathan Edition

On Saturday my nephew also received a letter from his 'Sponsor Friend' John in the Philippines. He was so very excited when he got in the car after visiting at Grandma's.

Jonathan sponsor's 5 year old John from the Philippines, with help from his mom. He has been sponsoring him since late spring, shortly before their birthday's in June. I guess you could say it was a dual gift. And this would be letter 4 I believe. John's mom assists him with his letter writing, though John did write a short message on his last letter.

Jackie Lou, John's mom always thanks Jonathan for being such a good friend to her son. She said that John Ryan (as his little brother's name is John Ian) really liked the stickers he send because of it's colorful colors. :) She also mentioned his favorite food is fried chicken. She tells Jonathan that at the center John learns Bible stories like Moses and the 10 commandments and at school he continues to study and that he likes art. She asks what Jonathan learns at school and if he has many friends.

She tells him they always pray for him! And asks continued prayers for John and his family. And John drew a cute picture at the top of his paper!

Jonathan was very excited! And I can only begin to imagine John's mutual excitement on letter day at his project. After watching the Missions in Action videos, we talked about John's family and his house. Jonathan became worried when he saw all the flooding in the first video, as John had mentioned flooding in a letter he sent. We talked about a family gift, and how Jonathan could do some extra chores around the house to earn money to send to John for a family gift. Jonathan was given a challenge. That both Mommy and Aunty would double whatever money he raises for John's family gift. But he had to work to raise the money. But was also allowed to use any money he gets for Christmas, if he decides to.

It's only been about 2 weeks, but he has about $2.75 and he's excited...most of the time. He is 4 years old, and just starting to grasp the idea of how money really works. But with his money being tripled, he's practically got over $8.


How can your family bring hope to a child living in poverty.

A Teenager for Christmas?

I was so very excited yesterday to get home and find a small package setting by my door. One of my favorite parts of being an advocate is sharing my about my kids. And my second favorite part is sharing with friends packets of children still waiting to meet their new sponsor. While not always successful in helping match a waiting child, with an excited sponsor, I love taking the opportunity to share and pray for this kids.

I have never had the opportunity to share a child packet of a priority child. A priority child is one who has been waiting more than six months. Well yesterday when I tore into my package, like it was Christmas, I noticed staring back a me:

Junior Rafael Rincon Rosario

Junior is from the Dominican Republic. He is a very handsome 13 year old who has been waiting over 9 months for his sponsor. He was born May 20, 1998. He lives with both parents and is doing average in school. He lives near San Pedro de Macoris and attends the Paloma Student Center (DR 458).

Kristine Grace Albastro

Kristine is from the Philippines. A country that has become very near and dear to my heart. She will be 16 years old on December 17. What a great birthday present someone could give this young lady and make it a sweet 16. She lives with both her parents and is also doing average in school. She lives in Iliolo City and attends the Faith Student Center (PH 850). 

And though I can't find the exact distance on a map right now, I know Kristine doesn't live too far from my Sheena. I know Sheena lives on the plains of Iliolo City, and Kristine lives in Iliolo City, there are probably relatively close. Also I noticed over on OurCompassion, there are quite a few sponsors who sponsor in Kristine's project and also Junior's project that you could connect with.

So if you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring one of these kids, you can either post here or email me at: kute_queen@hotmail.com 

Because who wouldn't want a teenager for Christmas :) And if you sponsor one of these kids I'd be delighted to send you a correspondence kit with decorative paper and goodies to send to your kid :)

It's Monday!!

And with Monday, comes this weeks addition of Mail Call Monday.

I received my mail later in the week, on Friday and Saturday. Only two letters from my Compassion International kiddos this week, but one of my letters was from Ethiopia!!! And those letters are few and far between. So it's always excitement to open a letter and see the ET on the coding. My other letter was from the Philippines and those are always great letters!!

So when I first opened the Ethiopia letter I was thinking it was from Shoa, with everything going on with her lately, my mind got all excited and jumped straight to her, but it wasn't from Shoa to my surprise! It was actually from my second to youngest, Tekalign!

He's six years old, and I really haven't been corresponding with this little guy for long. I did get an intro letter from him, but like I said before, Ethiopia letters for me, so to be few and far between. But I was stoked when I say the headline said 'My Family' and it was a template letter, which means his project is on track for switching over to the new correspondence guidelines of writing more frequently, along with using more redesigned templates so I can get a better look into his life! Plus, I had a report card attached!!!! I have only received a report card one other time, and it was from Shoa in Ethiopia.

As happy as I was to receive this letter, I was completely saddened by the last section. The back let room for four smaller sections Prayer Requests, Thank the sponsor for a received gift, answers to sponsors questions and lastly Anything special you want to share. After reading on the front the names of siblings, and that he spends most of his time with his Mother (I did think this odd as I didn't remember him living in a single parent household), that his family's faith background is protestant and that his favorite thing to do with his family is 'Obey' my heart dropped when I read the last line on the back "My father dead. Our family's number is six. Bye" meaning now with his siblings and single mother, there are only 6 and not 7 people in the family. I couldn't believe it, my heart broke at that moment. This is the second letter I've receieved with information on the death of a father from Ethiopia. And the third child of mine to loose a parent while with me. I can't even begin to imagine what this little boy is going through.

front of the new template

On a lighter note, on Saturday I heard from my 18 year old in the Philippines, Sheena.

She is quite the letter writer and while last week it was a scheduled letter, this week was a reply letter, and filled with lots of good information! She tells me she is so impressed in my letter (not sure what impressed her). She says she agrees that computer programing can be fun, but sometimes it was hard for her, because she has to identify parts. And she also agreed it's a big work field. She switched majors to computer programing and I was telling her about how useful I'm sure her degree with be when she is finished. She also tells me "I'm not hopefuless because God is always there for me." I think it was in reference to her classes sometimes being hard. She told me that her home is far from school. And that her school is in the city. I know from google maps that there is a college very near to her project, but I don't believe it to be the same college. She shared the name of her church is Faith Bible Baptist Church and that she loves her church because they help her grow spiritually.

She again tells me this letter "I wish we can see each other . I thank God in a our communication through writing letters."  I would like to mention to her to pray and ask God for us to meet. Because recently I learned of our church doing missions work in the Philippines and was invited to join the team maybe next year or the year after. And it really looks like this may be a possibility, but I fear saying too much that might insinuate anything if God doesn't work out the details for me to go. I know she would be heart broken, and that meeting me is a deep desire of hers, and she mentions it almost every letter. So I guess I wait until I know if it's God will, and later on ask for her prayers.

I had some great letters this week, did you get any mail?! I'd love for you to share!

Missions in Action

I had the opportunity to watch some of the episodes from a new show Missions in Action, in which they are highlighting some of Compassion International's work in the Philippines.

The first episode highlight a specific project and their struggle with the severe flooding in the area.  Definitely worth while watching. But the second video takes you into and extremely dense squatter community and into the life of a young lady named Maan. Who grew up through Compassion's child sponsorship program, and was excepted into Compassion's Leadership Development Program and how Jesus has given her hope and the ability to dream! Hope is written all over Maan's face as she talks about her future and desire to give back to Compassion, who has given so much opportunity and hope to her.

Please take a minute to watch.

Mail Time, Mail Time, Mail Time!!!

I'm very excited this week to share my letters, I guess partly because I had no mail to share last week. I did received the hard copy updated photo of Mwanaidi in the mail, with the nice little bookmark, along with a letter from Sheena and Mame Abe.

My first letter was from 18 year old Sheena in the Philippines.

This was a regular scheduled letter, with stationary that was new to me. It has a boy writing a letter with the Philippines flag behind him. And then on the bottom on the back is has the Philippines national flower, the Sampaguita flower, and some trivia about it, like that it is commonly used to make necklaces and also as a car air freshener by drivers!

She starts out with Christmas and new year greetings (the letter was written in September, we as sponsor aren't the only ones thinking of the holidays early ). One of the first few lines that really made me smile was "Miss Heather I know that you are excited now reading my letter." I always tell me kids how happy I am to receive their letters, and how special their letters are to me. I thought it was neat she recognized this in her own letter. She goes on to tell me that she had a new event at school, a gathering for acquantances to get to know each other. And she mentioned something also of costumes. It as held in August. She said she enjoyed the party, and there was also games.

She asked for prayers for her grandmother (I just wrote her recently asking about her, because she hasn't mention her in a while and that is who she lives with. I know grandmother has very poor eyesight also.) because she injured her right foot and cannot walk so long. I know injuries in the elderly take a while to heal, let alone living in a third world country with limited access to medical facilities. Please pray with me for her grandmother.

She goes on to tell me that at the center she learned that God created her in His own image and likeness and made her special. Reiterating what I tell her often :) She goes on to ask how I'll celebrate Christmas, and gives me John 15:13 as her verse.

This letter made it to me in a little under two months, and it didn't need to be translated. She wrote the entire front page and almost half of the back also. This has been on of her longer letters, and since she wasn't replying directly to any of my letters, I feel she gave me a bit more information than she normally does.


Next is 15 year old Mame Abe from Ghana.

Her letter was a response letter, and it was written the end of October and got here in a little under 4 weeks. This letter definitely has more information that most of her letters do. And since it is a response letter from Ghana, it is a template letter with different sections, and it is suppose to be designed for 13 years plus.

The first section is a thank you message, and out of all the letters I've received from her in about the 6 months I've been sponsoring her, have all thanked me for choosing her as my sponsor child. She is definitely grateful! This time in addition she thanked me for all the letters and also my prayers.

She goes on to tell me about her excursion to Sajuna in the eastern part of Ghana. She said she learned how to swim and play football. (From the information I found, there is a "beach resort" on the Volta River where many Ghanaian students go, for fun. When I first learned the location, I was very nervous because of the time JD has spent in Ghana, on Lake Volta helping rescue child from slavery. So then I had to go back through my letters to find out more about the original mention of this excursion, to find out it was an excursion she took with her church, during her holiday break around August. Then my fear settled a bit more, after finding this information and looking up where on the map she was in accordance to where JD has been (and there are on completely different ends of the Lake Volta area, and after looking at the map, I now understand why the van ride was so excruciatingly long for JD and company!))

She also tells me what she was learning to do on the computer during her computer class. That she learned how to draw and paint. She also tells me in school her grades are good. She goes on to tell me in school she is learning to shade in 3 denominational form (most kids here would say 3D). At home she said she is learning to cook. And in her community she said she learned to tidy up the compound. Which I learned from reading JD's Ghana post that most of the homes are centered around a common area, or compound, with a central meeting area in the middle. I enjoyed learning more about this, as she has mentioned a compound in a couple of letters, and I just hadn't gotten around to asking more about it. JD answered without even knowing :)

Again she has mentioned in this letter learning to weave beads at the project, I will have to ask her more about this. In her prayer request, she asked for God to grant her more wisdom and knowledge. Most letters I've read from Ghana, the children ask for prayer for more wisdom. In my opinion, that makes them pretty wise already!

This concludes this weeks edition of Mail Call Monday. Button compliments of Michelle over at Blogging from the Boonies.