Welcoming Sandesh to the Family

This handsome young man is Sandesh. He is from India. He's 9 years old. And he's now a part of my family!

The first time I saw his photo, I fell in love with instantly. I love everything about him: The way his hands rest calmly on his legs, the kind, serene look on his face, his handsome outfit, even his hairstyle. I knew that I needed to sponsor him. I also knew that there was no way that I could do it on my own. Not enough money in the month.

Two weeks ago, I posted him on my blog trying to find him a sponsor. No deal.

I posted him on Our Compassion asking for people to help me. I basically told them that I knew that I was meant to sponsor Sandesh, but I wouldn't have the monthly money until May, when I get my yearly raise.

The wonderful community of people there responded amazingly! I had four people offer to pay a little money towards his sponsorship so that I can sponsor him for the next four months with no problems.

I decided that I could probably get even more help from my wonderful blog readers. So, if you're feeling in your heart that you want to help me out for the next 8 months, until I have extra money, I would really appreciate it.

You can use the Chip-In Box at the top of my blog to donate some money. You can also go to this link to get to the same place: Sponsorship of Sandesh

If you cannot donate any money, could you pray prayers of Thanksgiving for those who choose to help out. No good deed goes un-noticed by God and all of you guys are just wonderful!

New IN860 (Miraj Red Light District) Kids!

For those of you hearing about the IN860 project for the first time, let me tell you a little bit about it. This project is located smack dab in the middle of a red light district in India. Many, many women in this community work as sex workers. They stand on the street and wait for men to come by and purchase them. Many men and older women run many brothels where these women work. Most of the money that is earned goes to the owner of the brothel and the sex workers themselves don't make much money. Most women are enslaved and even when they try to run away, they are caught and brought back. 

 

Compassion started a project here to bring hope to the community and to save the children. These children see things on a daily basis that we probably can't even imagine. Both girls and boys alike are being taught that there are careers out there for them that don't require sex work. Both girls and boys are being taught how a woman should be treated with respect and love. 

 

My heart just cries out for these children. Today, I received three packets of children in this project. I would love to see all three of them sponsored before these packets expire on November 2nd. 

 

To sponsor any of these children email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu

 

This is Yashmin. She is 6 years old. Her birthday is February 2nd, 2006. 
 

In her home, Yashmin helps by carrying water and caring for children. She lives with her father, mother, and one sibling. Her father is sometimes employed as a laborer and her mother maintains the home.
 

For fun, Yashmin enjoys art, running, and playing group games. She attends church activities regularly and she is in primary school where her performance is average. 

This tiny cutie is Manasi. She is 4 years old. Her birthday is January 1st, 2008. 
 

Manasi lives with her father, mother, and one sibling. Her father is sometimes employed as a laborer and her mother maintains the home. Manasi helps at home by carrying water. 
 

Art, running, and playing group games are Manasi's favorite activities. In preschool her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities. 

This super cute boy is Aslam. He looks so sad and dirty. He's also 4 years old with his birthday on January 1st, 2008. (A January 1st birthday usually means the birthday is unknown, just the year is known).
 

Aslam lives with his father, mother, and two siblings. His father is sometimes employed as a laborer and his mother maintains the home. Carrying water is Aslam's household duty. 
 

As part of Compassion's ministry, Aslam partcipates in church activities. He is also in preschool, where his performance is average. Hide-and-seek is his favorite activitiy. 

Again, to sponsor any of these children please contact me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu

 

Letters to My Kids: September 2012

This month, I sent two letters to my sponsored kids. At the beginning of this month, I wrote a letter to each of my children that was essentially just a list of questions about their homes, communities, and projects. Here's what I sent to them:

__________________________________________________________________________________

Today I am writing you a letter because I want to learn more about your home, your community, and your project. I'm going to use this letter to ask you a lot of questions. You don't have to answer them all if you don't want to. I just want to learn as much about you as I can. Here are my questions:

1. What is your house made out of?

2. Who lives in your home with you?

3. Where do you sleep? Do you have a bed?

4. Do you have electricity in your home?

5. How do you get water in your community?

6. What do most adults do as jobs in your community?

7. How do people travel around in your community? Do they walk, ride bikes, drive?

8. How does Compassion help your community?

9. How many kids are enrolled in your Compassion project?

10. What do you like the most about being in the Compassion project?

11. What foods are typical in your community?


Remember, you don't have to answer all of these questions. I just wanted to ask a lot so you can choose which ones you want to talk about. I will be happy to learn anything that I can about where you live. Thank you!

Love,
Kayla

________________________________________________________________________________

At the end of this month, I wrote to each of my children about Christmas. I wrote out the entire story of Christ's birth starting with the angel Gabriel telling Mary that she was having God's son, to their being no room at the inn, the Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethleham, to Jesus being born in the stable, and then the shepherds and wise men visiting Jesus and worshipping him.

I told them why we celebrate Christams and why gifts are given.

I had a lot of fun writing these letters and decorating them with manager scene stickers from the Oriental Trading Company. I hope my kiddos love these letters as much as I loved writing them.

That's September for ya! Onto October where I will be writing about New Year's Resolutions, Noah's Ark for the younger kids/Prodigal Son parable for the older kids, and then a letter asking the children what chores they do at home. It'll be a three letter month!

Yay! Get writing to your kids!

Two Page Letter!

My Xhuliano in Albania has always been such a great writer, but now he's writing two pages instead of just one. Wow! And he's only 11! Here's his letter:

I'm pretty sure he's responding to several letters here, but I can tell for sure that he's answering the letter I wrote about his schooling and also responding to the letter I wrote about how he should be a good example amongst his friends (obeying parents and making good choices). He's also responding the letter I wrote about visiting my friend Rosie in Texas.
___________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Dear my wonderful friend,

 

I was very happy to receive your letters and I get very happy when I read them. My school is near my house and we have a uniform (white shirt and tie). Even I have difficulties in math, but my mother is helping me to achieve what I want. (I told him about how when I was his age, math was a hard subject for me). My friend, cook all the desserts and when you eat them, you will think of me. (I told him in school one of my favorite classes was cooking). Even I prefer the food that you like and when my mom cooks, I eat everything she has prepared. I'm not choosy.

 

When I learn English, I'll write a poem to you. (Can't wait!) My sister Stelina knows English better than I and she knows how to write and she's got good grades.(His sister is 9, maybe 10 now). Yes my friend, parents are important because they educate us, teach us how to behave, give us advice to be good, and they are proud for their children.

 

I have chickens, sheep, dog, and cat which has 3 kittens. i love and take care of them. My mom and dad have a good relationship, they help each other. My dad is sick. He has perforated his kidney two times and my mom helps him. I pray for my dad. I pray that God gives him power and health, and not only me, but my sisters are praying too, because they love him. He got sick in spring and we all take care of him and help him. We pray to God that he gets well soon. (His faith is inspirational)

 

I want to thank your friend for helping you about me and for choosing me as your friend. I am very happy. I am glad that she wrote the poem in Albanian. (A friend of mine shared a poem in Albanian that I sent to Xhuliano)

 

I also hope your family is good and healthy. I do well in English. I thank your friend Rosie. I'm grateful to her. Even I like to travel by plane, but I don't have many chances. My mom and dad can't give me everything. I asked my dad to go to Italy with my mom and my aunt, but I couldn't go because of the economic situation. I have a desire to travel like all of my friends. I'm closing for now.

 

Lots of love from Xhuliano

 

________________________________________________________________________________

 

Seriously, how wonderful is he?! He's just so open and honest. I can't wait until the day that I get a poem in English from him!

 

I will definitely be praying for his dad. It sounds like kidney problems are pretty common in Albania. I wonder why that is.

 

I completely understand how he feels about wanting to travel! Haha. 

God Provides (I Won!)

Remember last week when I posted about my Pinterest board that I made about Compassion and my sponsored children? Well, that board was part of the Compassion blog month contest. Each repin of the Compassion blog pin got me an entry into the contest to win money for my sponsored child.

Well...

I WON!!!!

I got a phone calling tell me that I won one of the first prizes! $100 for one of my sponsored children. I wasn't able to answer the phone because I was at work, but I checked the message they left on my phone. I had to listen to the message twice because I just couldn't believe it.

I decided that the money will go to Sagar. My lovely new boy from the Miraj Red Light District in India.

I wonder how he will spend the money.

Will he buy clothes?

Food?

School Supplies?

School Tuition?

I don't know how he will spend it, but I do know one thing: This money will change his life.

$100 USD goes a very long way in India. When I sent $25 to another one of my Indian children, he was able to buy two pairs of jeans, a shirt, underwear, and a hankerchief. That was $25. Sagar will get $100.

Another perk to this contest win? $100 will get me a picture of Sagar with what he bought. Amazing!

I can't wait.

Touching Thursday (One More Week)

I currently have the packets of three children from Honduras and Nicaragua. I am posting them one last time on my blog in the hopes that they will find their loving sponsors. I love how God has worked through me in finding sponsors for so many children already and I would love to see his work continue.

Here are the precious children I've been praying for. I only have these packets until October 4th and then they will have to be returned to Compassion.

If you are feeling drawn to sponsor any of these children, or if you have any questions about what sponsorship means, please email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu .

 

This sweet girl is Kimberly Judith. She is 7 years old and she's from Nicaragua. Her birthday is December 25th. She lives with her grandmother, who is unemployed, and one sibling. Kimberly helps her grandmother by running errands. For fun, she enjoys playing house, playing with dolls, and playing ball games. She attends church activities and bible class regularly and is in primary school where her perfomance is average.

 

Kimberly lives on the plains of Sabana Grande, home to around 5,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of dirt floors, tin walls, and corrugated iron roofs.  The language spoken in her community is Spanish.The regional diet consists of maize, beans, chicken, guinea pig, bread, rice, and potatoes. Working adults in her community earn the U.S equivalent of $78 a month, but Kimberly's grandmother is unemployed.

 

Her community is in need of employment opportunities and vocational training.

 

 

Update! If you decide to sponsor either Katerin or Omar, my friend Hannah will take a gift to them for you. She's visiting Honduras in December and is taking bags of toys/clothes/anything you can think of to other Compassion children. This would be a quick and wonderful way for your child to know you love them.

 

 

This sassy, serious girl is Katerin Sarai. She is 9 years old and lives in Honduras. Her birthday is September 11th. She makes her home with her mother, who is sometimes employed . Katerin helps her mother at home by carrying water, making beds, and running errands. Singing, playing with dolls, and playing group games are Katerin's favorite activities. In primary school her performance is below average and she also regularly attends church activities and bible class.

 

Katerin lives in the hillside community of Colonia Lomas del Norte, home to around 4,600 residents. Typical homes are constructed of dirt floors, wood walls, and tin roofs. The spoken language in her community is Spanish. The regional diet consists of maize, beans, bananas, plantains, and rice. Adults in her community work as day laborers, in domestic service, or as street vendors, and earn the equivalent of about $250 a year.

 

Her community is in need of a sewer system, employment opportunities, high schools, safe parks, and substance abuse rehabilitation centers.

 

 

Last, but not least, this is Omar Antonio from Honduras. He will turn 9 on October 12th. He makes his home with his father, mother, and three siblings. His father is sometimes employed and his mother maintains the home. Omar helps at home by running errands and cleaning. Playing soccer, riding his bike, and running are Omar's favorite activities. In primary school, his performance is average and he also regularly attends church activities and bible class.

 

Omar lives in the coastal community of Pueblo Nuevo, Omoa, home to around 3,200 people. Typical houses are made of cement floors, brick walls, and corrugated iron roofs. The regional diet consists of maize, beans, bananas, fish, and rice. Most adults in his community are unemployed, but some work as fishermen and earn about $125 a month. The spoken language in his community is Spanish.

 

His community needs employment opportunities, teachers, and vocational training centers.

 

 

Again, if you want to sponsor any of these children, please email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu .

 

See Your Impact Results: August 2012

I am finally able to share these results with you!

Each month, I donate money to a wonderful organization called See Your Impact . Through this organization, you can choose a charity and donate a small (or large) amount of money. You can search the charities by cause, country, gender, age, etc. The charities are always changing and updating so it's always new and fresh and up on the most current needs of the world. The causes that require a small amount of money are paid by one or two people. The larger causes collect money from several people and then combine everything together to help one person.

The coolest part of See Your Impact is that after the money is collected and sent to the person being helped, the company takes a picture of that person and writes a story about it. That picture and story is then emailed to you so you know exactly who you helped. Usually the pictuers take only 2-3 weeks.

This time, it took about a month and a half to get the picture, because it took awhile to get enough donors to complete the project.

This month, I chose to donate $20, along with seven other donors, to get $160 to the daughter a an Indian sex worker. A home is run in India for girls who are daughters of sex workers who know longer live with their mothers, for various reason. This $160 is used to feed this child for three whole months. Just amazing. Here is the picture and story showing the sweetheart that I helped feed.

Sadhna loves helping the other children!

Dear Ojus, Kayla, Nabeelah, Michelle, Valerie, Tiffany, Sally, and Amy,

Six year old Sadhna's mother is a victim of the sex trade and used to work in a red light area in Mumbai. When her mother passed away, Sadhna was brought to Anandalay, a shelter home run by Sahaara for daughters of trafficked women. These children are brought up by house-parents in a loving and conducive family environment in the home.

Initially, Sadhna communicated through sign language as she did not know Hindi and the house parents did not know Bengali. She also struggled to cope in school as her foundational skills were poor. With encouragement and guidance from her houseparents and tutor, Sadhna worked hard. Being studious, diligent and intelligent by nature, she enjoyed completing her homework and obtained excellent results in the examination. Sadhna is now very talkative and has become very fluent in hindi. She comfortably understands English as well and manages to communicate well.

Sadhna has now emerged confident in various other skills like reading and writing. She particularly enjoys reading English story books. She has been selected to be a part of the school hockey and football team. Sadhna was also chosen to be a part of the carol singing group.

Your generous donations will enable Sahaara to provide fresh and nutritious meals to Sadhna, thereby ensuring that she remains healthy and continues doing well in her studies.

Thank you, Ojus, Kayla, Nabeelah, Michelle, Valerie, Tiffany, Sally, and Amy, so much for coming together in support of Sadhna!

Letter From a Sponsored Child (Sponsor Today!)

As most of you know by now, I sponsor children through Compassion Internationl and I am participating in Compassion's blog month. Sadly, this the last blog of the month (of course I'll keep writing, do not fret!). This week's challenge is to write from the perspective of a sponsored child. I'm going to pretend that I'm a young girl in India, writing to her sponsor about her Compassion project.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Sponsor,

I am so happy to have you as a friend. Thank you very much for sending me and my sister a letter. We are very happy.

 

We are very grateful that you choose to support us. I want to tell you the kinds of things Compassion provides us. Each time I visit the project, I get a healthy and nutritious meal. I like this very much because at home, my family cannot afford much food.

 

 

Compassion helped our community out by building a tap where we can get clean water. We don't have to spend hours each day carrying water from the dirty river. This saves my sister and I much time each day, so we can focus more on our studies.

 

 

Your sponsorship helps me attend the local school for girls. I am very happy to be getting a good education. Math is my favorite subject. I hope that someday I can become a teacher to help teach children just like me.

 

 

After school, I am able to go attend a sewing class that Compassion holds for girls. Learning this skill will help me earn extra money for my family when I am older. I am learning how to sew pretty clothes.

 

 

After sewing class, I sometimes have time to play with my friends on the playground that Compassion built for us. I like the slide very much.

 

 

 



Compassion has trained a few good doctors in our community. Last month, when I got sick, they were able to give me the medicine I needed and now I'm feeling much better.

 

 

 

Every Saturday, I go to the project to attend church and bible lessons. My teachers have taught me how to read the bible well and how to pray for everything. I pray for you, sponsor, every day. I pray that God blesses you and keeps you healthy.

 



 

 

My family is very happy that I get to be a part of the Compassion program. My parents also get to attend classes on how to make more money and how to take care of me and my siblings. Our whole family is learning a lot. We love you, my sponsor, very much.

 

 

 

With Lots of Love,

Your Indian Daughter

 

________________________________________________________________________________

 

If you are feeling inspired by this blog and are as amazed as I am with how much good Compassion International does in the lives of children and their families, maybe it's time for you to sponsor a child too.

 

For only $38 a month, you can give a child everything I mentioned in the letter that I wrote. It really is amazing how that little of money can give a child so much.

 

Please visit Compassion International's Website by clicking on the link I just posted or clicking on the flashing banner on the right on my blog.

 

You won't regret and you won't miss that money at all when you get that first letter from your sponsored child. 



 









Letters from India Mail Call!

Oh my goodness, remember six months ago or so when I was whining that I wasn't getting any mail? Haha, well that's all certainly changed now, hasn't it. I get mail so often and I love it!

I want to start with a dear first letter. I got my very first letter from my Indian princess, Sadiya. This is a wonderful letter. Typical first letter in the aspects of her listing her family and favorites, but then the message to me is just wonderful. She wrote the first half (family and favorites) herself, in English! The message to me was written by a tutor. Here we go:

_______________________________________________________________________________
Hello, I am: Sadiya

Mother's Name: Mrs. R
Father's Name: M.
Brothers: Vasim, Simbar, Shakil
Sisters: Chutki

Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Game: Rope Jump
Favorite Food: Rice and Potatoes
Best Friend: Preeti (What a great name!)

My House is Made of: Bricks

Dear Sponsor Kayla,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, on behalf of Sadiya. She is very happy by knowing that she got sponsorship. The family of her are so happy to know that you have chosen her to sponsorship. They extend their heartful thank for your kindly nature. She is pretty and cool natured, loving girl. She attends all the activities which conducted here and very regular and punctual too. She wanted to know more about you for the best relation. She is studying in the school, most probably she is going to appear at her first exam in September. Please to pray for her study and family. They may know God and be blessed.

_________________________________________________________________________________

I am so excited to have a cool natured, loving, punctual girl in my life. I just know we're going to build a great relationship!

This next letter is my absolute favorite. It's from my love, Kalpesh. I sent him $25 in February for his birthday. He received the money in May. This letter tells me what he bought with the money and the things he says give me goosebumps and just make me love him even more. I'm going to put my favorite sentence in bold because it's another sentence that sums up why I sponsor children.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

Kayla,

 

I bought two pairs of jeans, a t-shirt, innerwear, and hankercheif as my birthday gift. I receive these in the month of May, 2012.

 

I like it very much, because few months before my dad is passed away and my mom is only bread winner and we are four siblings, so I can't expect more from my mom. We are living happily with which we have.

 

But God is great. Through you, He has blessed me.

 

Praise the Lord and thank you very much for your love and support for me and my family. Wishing you may have good health and God bless you.

 

With Lots of Love,

Kalpesh

 



________________________________________________________________________________

Love, Love, Love, Love, Love.

I'm linking this post up to Michelle's Mail Call Monday, over at Blogging From the Boonies . Visit her page to hear about her mail, as well as letters from other people who also have mail to share!

Kwizera's Birthday Package

My newest kiddo Kwizera's birthday is on November 15th. He'll be turning 8 years old.

Due to the fact that things for special occasions and holidays need to be sent 2-3 months ahead of actual date, I needed to get working on Kwizera's birthday package A.S.A.P. I didn't have the time or the money to go shopping for anything or to choose a specific theme for his birthday (like I usually do for birthdays), so I just shopped at home, haha.

I'm a big collector of things so I went through my stashes of stickers, postcards, and decorative paper and chose things that I thought a young boy would like.

I also went on Pizap and decorated Kwizera's picture, one to match the interests listed on his profile and one for his birthday.

I wrote the letter yesterday and this is what I came up with. I think it turned into a pretty wonderful 8th birthday packet. What do you think?

 

 

I wish I could see this little guy's face when he gets his birthday gifts.

 



Less Than a Week

Out of the five older boys I've been advocating for, four of them have found sponsors!

 

Sagar was sponsored by me!

 

 

Rohit was sponosred by a wonderful young woman on Our Compassion

 

Azad was sponsored by a very eager woman in Canada.

 

Shivraj was sponsored by an excited youth pastor from Colorado

 

 

That leaves just one more precious boy:

 

This is Saifali. He's 9 years old and needs your love. Look at the concern in his eyes. He lives in a horrible slum in India. As he walks through his community he sees women selling their bodies, pimps running brothels, drug use around every corner, men traveling from far and wide to use and abuse women, perhaps even the women in his family.

 

Saifali deserves to know that he is loved. He deserves to know that there is a God who is bigger than the situation he was born into. He deserves to be told that his future doesn't have to revolve around sex and drugs. He deserves to have hope.

 

For only $38 a month, you can provide Saifali just that help and hope. In the Compassion program, he will receive nutritious meals, clean water, a good education, and a safehaven away from the horrors of his life. The Compassion staff will give him the love he deserves and you'll get to share even more love with him through letters and gifts.

 

 

Saifali has been sponsored by a good friend of mine! 

 

 



 

My Surprise Correspondent Child!

Okay, here's how my evening went...

I got home from work and I decided to call Compassion and ask them about this "elusive 2nd list" that they have for correspondent children. Apparantly, Compassion puts people on this "2nd list" to get correspondent children over the allowed limit of three.

Well, I called them and asked and the man I was talking to had no idea what list I was a talking about. He put me on hold (for quite a long time) and talked to his supervisor...who also had no idea what list I was talking about.

When I was back on the phone with him, I told him that I would call again some other time and see about getting a 5th correspondent child added to my account. After I said that, here's the conversation we had:

Compassion Guy: "Well, I see that you're already corresponding with 5 children."

Me: "No, I correspond with 4 children (utter confusion in my voice)"

Compassion Guy: "No, I assure you that there are 8 total children on your account. 3 sponsored children and 5 correspondents."

Me: "What?! Let me go look (I sign onto my account). I can't believe it! He was added there today. I didn't even ask for him."

Compassion Guy: "Well, that's odd."

Usually, Compassion correspondent children have to be requested. I didn't request one. Compassion has no record of me requesting one.

This boy just showed up on my account.

God must really want this little guy in my family. I must be meant to write to him.

I am absolutely happy to introduce to you Kwizera from Rwanda:

 

 

Name: Kwizera

Country: Rwanda

Age: 7

Birthday: November 15th

Grade in School: 2nd

School Performance: Average

Chores: Cleaning, Carrying Water, Running Errands

Interests: Soccer, Rolling a Hoop, Marbles, Cars, Running

Guardians: Father and Mother, Married, Both Famers

 

 

The regional diet in his community consists maize, beans, bananas, and potatoes. Common health problems in this area are malnutrition, worms, and malaria. Most adults in his community work as farmers and earn only the U.S equivalent of $9 a month. This community needs scholastic materials and more suitable land for farming. 

Touching Thursday (More Boys, What Can You Expect?)

Every Thursday, I post the pictures and information of three children who are registered in Compassion International's sponsorship program. These three children are waiting for sponsors love love and encourage them.

If you're not familiar with Compassion's work, it's wonderful. For only $38 a month you get to help one child have a better life. That $38 a month provides your sponsored child with nutritious meals, clean drinking water, a quality education (including school fees, uniforms, and school supplies), good healthcare (including vaccienes, check-ups, and treatment when it's needed), life skills trainings (to help give them a job in the future), and biblical teaching (bible study, VBS, prayer groups).

Can you do all of that for only $38 a month? Yeah, I didn't think so.

On top of that list of wonderful things, you'll also get the pleasure of writing letters back and forth to your child. That is my absolute favorite part of sponsorship. Writing my kids letters and receiving them back is just amazing to me. I'm friends with kids from all over the world!

Without further ado, here are three boys who would love for you to be their sponsor:

 

10-17-12 Rafael has been sponsored!

 

 

9-30-12 Sandesh was sponsored by me, with help from the OC and blog communities!

 

 

 

Carlos has been sponsored!

 

 

Two Letters from My Abu

Another rocking day at the mailbox yesterday. I got two letters from Sierra Leone, from my handsome boy, Abu. His letters are always so full of love. One of his letters came with a completed coloring page I sent him. Exciting and so cute!

 





__________________________________________________________________________________

I told Abu about my trip to Texas to visit my friend Rosie. This is his reply.

Dear Kayla,

Abu and grandparents say thank you so much for your love shown to them all, not only to Abu.

They have heared of your travels always and by plane, which they have not seen boldly with their eyes.

Seeing the face of Rosie brings joy to them. They pray that the relationship between you, your family, Rosie, and her family are like a circle but larger. (Yeah...I have no idea what this means).

Abu will soon be on summer holidays with his friends. He hopes to gain promotion to a new class.

He sends his greetings to Rosie and family and all your family too.

Once more, Abu and grandparents say thank you and wish you good luck.

Abu-Bakarr

________________________________________________________________________________

I asked Abu about how he spent his 10th birthday. This is his response.


Dear Kayla ,

Abu and grandmother say thank you for the postcard and stickers you sent for Abu. His friends and himself love to play with any toy you send for him. Same way with the toy stickers, which they say are lovely.

On his birthday his grandmother cooked a lot of rice with cassava leaves sauce and groundnut soup, which they ate and then danced the whole day at home. (What a great way to spend his birthday!)

For the summer plans, Abu to send you Abu's picture and the result of his school report for this year (World Vision told me this report was sent in June. I still haven't received it. I didn't receive last year's progress report at all. I hope it comes since he actually mentioned it).

Schools will be closed in July for the summer holidays. He hopes to get promotion to a new class.

It is raining here and Abu's grandmother, like any farmer, is busy working on the rice farm. They say thanks to you.

Abu-Bakarr

 

Here's the artwork Abu sent me!

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sponsor Through Pinterest? Awesome!

As you may know, September is Compassion Blog Month! Each Monday, Compassion gives us a new topic to blog about in the hopes that 3,108 children will be sponsored this month through blogs. So far, we're almost halfway there!

This week, we were asked to create Pinterest boards to show off our sponsored children and to share pictures of things having to do with Compassion. I must say, I've had a wonderful time creating this board on Pinterest. I am a huge fan of this website, but I've never actually uploaded my own pictures. Crazy! I quickly taught myself how to do it and I'm having a blast!

Please check out my board here: My Sponsored Children . If you could all do me a favor when you get to my board, I would appreciate it. If you are a Pinterest user, please repin the yellow pin that shows a little girl and says "Pin It For My Sponsored Child." The more repins I get, the more entries I get into the contest.

If my name is drawn in the contest, I could win either $25 or $100 to give as a gift to one of my sponsored children. How great would that be?!

I already know that if I win one of the money prizes, the money will be given to my child, Sagar, who lives in a red light district in India. I know that he can desperately use it.

Think of his handsome face and repin for me!

Also, if you are interested in sponsoring a child through Compassion International, visit their website and check out those kids!

For only $38 a month you provide a child with a quality education, nutritious food, clean water, quality healthcare, important classes, bible and faith teaching, and most importantly, you get to write letters to your child! And get letters back!

Seriously, how can you not want to sponsor a child? It's easier than you think to set aside $38 a month. I should know, I do it X6!

If you missed the link the first time, here it is again, more boldly this time.

SPONSOR A CHILD!!!!

Sunday Praise (And Plea)

For about two months or so now, I've been an advocate for Compassion International. Basically, that means that Compassion sends me packets of children who are waiting for sponsors and it is my job to find those sponsors and get the relationship off to a great start.

I feel so extremely blessed that God has called me to be an advocate. Since I've started as an advocate, I have found sponsors for four beautiful children. All four of those children were sponsored by people who are so eager to get to know their children and to begin writing for them. I just praise God daily that I am able to have this wonderful job.

I want to share with you the five lovely children I currently have in my possession. I ask for you to pray for these children. Pray that they know the love of Jesus. Pray that they stay healthy and continue to try their best at school. Pray that they find loving sponsors who will tell them how wonderful they are and how they do matter in this world.

If, while praying, you feel drawn to sponsor one of these children, please email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu and let me know. I will get you started on the adventure that is child sponsorship!

These first two boys are from IN860. This project is smack dab in the middle of a red light district. Most adults in this community are either unemployed or they work in the sex industry, as prostitutes, pimps, or sex traffickers. These two boys deserve to know that they do not have to enter that life. There is a future for them outside of sex work. They deserve a sponsor to tell them that they do count in this life. These two packets expire on 9-28.

 

This is Rohit. He's 9 years old and his birthday is January 20th. Rohit lives with his mother and two siblings. His mother is sometimes employed as a laborer (sex worker?). Rohit helps at home by carrying water and caring for children. In primary school, Rohit's performance is average and he also participates in church activities. His favorite things to do are art, running, and playing group games.

 

 

This cutie is Saifali. His is 9 years old and his birthday is January 11th. He lives with his father, mother, and four siblings. His father works as a laborer and his mother maintains the home. Saifali helps at home by carrying water and caring for children. For fun, he enjoys art, running, and playing group games. In primary school, Saifali's peformance is average and he also attends church activities.

 

 

These next three children are super cuties from Central America. The same as above, if you're interested in sponsoring one of these three, please email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu . These three packets expire on 10-5.

 

 

 

This sweetheart with the curly pigtails is Kimberly from Nicaragua. She is 8 years old and her birthday is December 25th. Kimberly lives with her grandmother and one sibling. Her grandmother maintains the home and doesn't work. Kimberly works at home by running errands. For fun, she enjoys playing house, playing with dolls, and playing ball games. In primary school, Kimberly's performance is average. She also attends bible class and participates in church activities.

 

 

This serious faced girl is Katerin from Honduras. She 9 years old and her birthday is September 11th. Katerin lives with her mother is sometimes employed. Katerin helps at home by carrying water, making beds, and running errands. Singing, playing with dolls, and playing group games are her favorite things to do. In primary school her performace is below average. She also regularly attends church activities and bible class.

 

 

Lastly, this is handsome Omar from Honduras. He is 8 years old and his birthday is October 12th. He lives with his father, mother, and three siblings. His father is sometimes employed and his mother maintains the home. Running errands and cleaning are his household chores. Soccer, bicycling, and running are Omar's favorite activities. In primary school, his performance is average. He also attends church activities and bible class.

 

 

Remember, to sponsor any of these five children, please email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu