Karanja Answered My Questions!

I am so excited! Recently, many of my kids have been answering the questions that I sent them all about their home, their project, their school, and their community. It's really great.

I know that many people have issues getting their sponsored children to answer their questions, and I was having the same issue. Awhile back, I decided that if I'm going to ask questions that I want to be answered, I'm going to send them in a letter absolutely on their own, with no information to get in the way.

Here is the list of questions I send to each of my children as soon as I sponsor them/are assigned to them as a correspondent sponsor. List of 11 Questions

Anyway, here is the letter that I got from Karanja today. He answered all of my questions!

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Dear Kayla,

 

My name is Francis Karanja and I am happy to be your friend. I have been receiving your letters.

 

I wear a uniform to school. I stay at school each day from 6:30 a.m to 5:00 p.m (That is a long day!) . I got to school by foot. My favorite subject is Christian Religious Education and Kiswahili is difficult for me.

 

Our house is made of iron sheets. I sleep in the house and I do have a bed. We do not have electricity. We fetch water with my grandmother's donkey. Most adults in my community are peasant farmers. People travel using buses.

 

There are 270 children in my Compassion project. Some are older than me. The food that is typical here in my community is a mixture of beans and maize, locally called githeri. When I grow up I want to be a pilot. My favorite colors are green and blue. My favorite sport is netball.

 

I thank you for being my sponsor.

 

God bless you

 

Francis Karanja

 

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Eric's Updated Photo and Info!

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a new picture of Eric on my account and then today, his information updated. So exciting!

I will share the progression of photos I have of him first and then I'll share his new information.

Age 14

Age 16

Age 17 (Almost 18)

 

 

 

 

U.S Grade Equivalent: 5th Grade

School Performance: Average

Completion Date: August 1st, 2017

 

Family Duties: Washing Clothes, Animal Care, Carries Water, Kitchen Help

 

Hobbies and Sport: Group Games, Soccer, Bicycling, Walking, Running, Reading, Art, Singing, Listening to Music, Story Telling.

 

Guardian: Mother (Peasant Farmer)

 

A Nice Letter from Melaku

Yesterday, I got a letter from Melaku. It's so nice to hear from him again, especially so soon. I just heard from him last month. He seems like a great guy.

After reading this letter, I found out that Melaku's financial sponsor sent him a large family gift. With that gift they were able to buy wood and nails to add onto their house. That is so cool!

As an added bonus, this letter came with a picture of Melaku with his younger brother and mother. They all have the best smiles!

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Dear Kayla,

 

How are you doing? Thank God, my family and I are doing well. I have received the letter and postcard you sent me. My plan for my life after departure from the Compassion project is to be engaged in car driving. Therefore, I want to learn car driving. Thank you for the letter you wrote me. I saw the picture of the plane. I am so happy. I want to travel by plane someday.

 

I have received the birthday and family gifts and with the amount I bought materials for home construction, like corrugated sheet, nails, and wood. And for myself I got sandals, trousers, t-shirt, and shorts. God bless you for your generous present. Thank you. I want to see you in person. God bless. Bye.

 

Melaku

 

 

 

 

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A First Letter from Solomon!

It's been over 5 months since I first started corresponding with little Solomon in India. I always thought that perhaps his first letter got lost in the mail, especially since he transferred to a new project during that time period. Today, I got a letter from him and it was one of new template letters, so I think that his first letter is definitely lost somewhere.

But, today's letter was great! I'll share the template part first and then I'll share the letter part.

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

My Friends

 

 

Bharat and Bishal are my friends.

 

My friends and I like to: play Kabaddi game

 

My best friend is: Bishal

 

I met my best friend at: School

 

I like my best friend because he: is good to me and plays with me.

 

 

Dear Kayla,

 

Greetings to you in Jesus name. Since Solomon is a small boy, I am project staff Susan writing this letter on behalf of him. He is asking you How are you? Solomon and his family are doing well by God's grace. He is very happy to receive your 5 letters, scripture verses, and photo of snow, which he liked it very much. When he grows up he wants to be a policeman. His favorite color is yellow. He likes to learn math (addition sums). His father is a coolie (day laborer) and mother works as maidservant. Here it does not snow. Right now here the season is summer season and the weather is hot in the morning and at night we get a cool breeze. We come outside and enjoy the weather. He has one elder brother, one elder sister, and younger sister. He and his family convey their love and blessings to you. He and his family are praying for you and for your family. Thanking you.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Three Letter Saturday!

Today I opened the mailbox and saw three cream colored envelopes. I did my little happy day right there and then ran down the stairs to my apartment and tore into them. There were letters from three of my boys: Elias and Gemechu from Ethiopia and yet another letter from Jhon in Bolivia.

I will share each letter with you, with a brief introduction before each letter. Just some commentary. You know how I am.

Up first, we have Elias's letter. This is the very first letter I've gotten from him. It's a typical intro letter. Here it is:

__________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

My name is: Elias Binyam

I am: 14 years old

 

My Parents' Names: Mother: Zemzem, Father: Binyam

 

My Sisters' & Brothers' Names: I have no brothers or sisters

 

My Best Friends' Name: Zakir & Melechem

 

My Favorite Things

 

Game: Soccer

Food: Macaroni

School Subject: Math

Pets: Sheep

Bible Story: Story Books

Color: Red

Song: Dil Bedil

Holiday: Christmas

 

I live in: Dire Dawa City

 

Message for my sponsor: I am grade 9 student now. I live with my grandparents in Dire Dawa city. The weather is warm now here. Thanks a lot for being willing to be my sponsor.

 

Question for my sponsor: Are there animals in your surrounding?

 

Please pray that: I may succeed in school

________________________________________________________________________________

This next letter is from my boy Jhon in Bolivia. He is definitely a frequent writer and I could not be happier about that. He writes great letters with a lot of details. In this letter, he is responding to a letter that I wrote asking questions about his school, his home, his project, and his country. He answered all of the questions. Yay!

________________________________________________________________________________

 

 



 

Hello Dear Sponsor Kayla,

 

I greet you with the peace of the Lord. I thank you for the letter, stickers, and photo. They are very nice. My uniform has blue pants made of fabric, a white shirt, and shoes. I stay for 4 and a half hours at school. I like to use the student's uniform. My favorite subject is Language because I like to write and make cross words. The hardest subject is Chemistry. My house is made of bricks and the roof is made of corrugated iron. Yes, I have a bed and I sleep with my younger brother. People in our country travel by bus, car, or plane. There are 300 children in my student center. Our typical food is Majadito. (I looked this up. It's a dish of dried meat, yucca, rice, and plantains) There's a famous place here named Salar de Uyuni and it's between two cities (This is the world's largest salt flat). My family and I are in good health thanks to the Lord. It doesn't snow in Bolivia; it's very hot. We are in summer here. I'm thankful and happy for the questions that you sent and for the bible vereses. I say goodbye with the peace of the Lord and my God bless you and your family.

 

With Love,

Jhon

 

________________________________________________________________________________

Lastly, I got a very interesting first letter from Gemechu, who is also in Ethiopia. I was just assigned him as a correspondent child in April. This letter was written to his financial sponsors in November.

I can't quite figure out why I'm his correspondent sponsor. It appears that Gemechu is sponsored by a group called Compassion Living Sponsorships. This group has sent him a financial gift every month since July. In November, they even went to visit him! Maybe just the president of company, or whatever it is, went to visit. It just seems like these people are so involved in his life already, I wonder why they aren't writing to him too.

I'm grateful they are able to send him financial gifts so often. I won't be able to do that, but I will definitely write him a lot of letters. Perhaps we are the perfect sponsorship team!

_________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Compassion Living Sponsorships,

How have you been? My family and I are fine. Praise the Lord! It was on November 17th, 2012 that I missed you. You came here for your child's graduation. I am happy that you introduced me and my family to your formerly sponsored child. I am very glad that you had played soccer with me and different kinds of games with me at Awassa Lewi Resort. I am so glad about it. Thank. My God bless you for giving a camera to my father, and ball, bag, chocolate, and other gifts to me. I am so happy. We had no gift for you, but you have given us a lot. My God bless you.

I received your gift in July and with it we bought 40 woods and a small stick. In August I got your gift. With it I bought shoes and a sweater. In September I got your gift. With it, we bought 4 packets of nails of different sizes, trousers, and a t-shirt. I've enclosed the picture of things I bought with the gift. In October, I got your gift. My God bless you. With it, we will make a new house as everything is ready.

Gemechu

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Xhuliano's Letters Will Always Be A Gift

Xhuliano is, by far, my best letter writer. He writes often. He writes long letters. His letter are always full of so many details.

To me, my relationship with Xhuliano is a textbook example of how a sponsorship relationship should be. Sponsorship is not just about sending that monthly money to an organization. It's about building a relationship with a child from far away. It's about getting to know them, learning about their family, and loving this family unconditionally, even though you know that you (probably) will never get to see them in person.

Man. It's just great.

Here's the letter:

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Dear Kayla,

 

Your letters are very special to me and every time I get your letters, I get happy when I read them. During winter holidays, I stayed at home because my mom works to help dad. Dad got sick and he had two surgeries in his kidneys. I care take of Marsela, I feed chicken, sheep and her little lambs. Also, I have a cat and two kittens. They are so sweet. Marsela likes them very much and gives them food to eat. Stelina takes care of the house, she does housework, wipes the house, washes the dishes, and helps mom because she comes home exhausted. (Poor mom!)

 

Yes, I decorated the Christmas tree with Stelina. We decorated it with small lights, cotton, and little balls. I like your photos. You look so beautiful and with a sweet smile. I am glad that you had fun that night and I hope you to be happy just like that night. Happy birthday to your sister and God bless her. I love my sisters and we all love you very much for giving us those stickers. We have spread them around our refrigerator (Oh no! Those are going to stick forever! I hope mom doesn't care!) Marsela liked them and she sticks them on it.

 

I hope you will write to me continuously (Man, continuously, that is quite an undertaking). I wish you and your family a good health and luck in your life and God bless you.

 

With lots of love,

Xhuliano

 

__________________________________________________________________________________

Blessed to be a Blessing

If I haven't said it enough to you already, I am so happy to be part of child sponsorship. I truly believe that God has called me to help children and their families in this way and I couldn't feel more blessed about it. I feel as if I am fulfilling my life's purpose by being involved in child sponsorship.

I need to share that without God's help and provision, child sponsorship would not be a possibility in my life. I am so grateful that God chose to bless me in this way.

Anyway, onto to today's blessing...

For the last, probably...half a year, anytime Xhuliano wrote me a letter, he talked about how he loves to ride a bike, but he doesn't have one of his own. He told me that his cousin and him take turns riding his cousin's bike. Xhuliano talked about how his cousin always beats him to school because he gets to ride his bike and Xhuliano has to walk.

Sure, a bike isn't a life necessity. But, I feel like every child should have their own bike. I saved up enough money to send a financial gift to Xhuliano through World Vision. I sent the money at the beginning of March. Then, I sat back and waited for the picture and letter to arrive.

Today, it arrived.

 

My boy got his bike! Plus, with the leftover money, he was able to buy plates and forks for his whole family. Yay!

 

 

 

Don't you just love his smirk?

 

With this picture, I got a nice letter from him. Here's the letter:

 

__________________________________________________________________________________

 

Dear Kayla,

 

I was very happy to receive the envelope that you sent for me to get some pretty gifts. My family was very happy too and we all thank you because you are such a wonderful friend. I am very happy to have the opportunity of being chosen by a smart friend that writes beautiful things about me and my family. You have always been there for me during the toughest time. I feel much better close to you, my friend Kayla.

 

I am very happy to receive your letters from time to time and I hope to hear from you again and again, because I am very excited to read them and you will always be a very special friend in my heart and in my family. Thank you very much. I hope you will have some beautiful and warm days and I wish you and your family enjoy good health. May God bless you wherever you go!

 

With the money you sent, I got a bike, 6 plates, and 6 forks. I am glad because I bought the present that I wanted and I have fun playing with my cousins and sisters. My parents also got happy for my new present because my dream came true. They thank you from their heart and you are a special friend for my family.

 

With much love from my heart, I send you a hug and I love you so much, my friend Kayla.

 

Xhuliano

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Letter from Karanja

I got my 2nd letter from Karanja, in Kenya, today. I last heard from him on March 30th, so it hasn't even been two months. I hope this is a sign of a really regular writer.


___________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Kayla,

How are you? I hope you are all fine together with your family. How is work?

I want to tell you that I am still going on with my work here at school. I'm now remaining with two years in grade 8. (I'm not sure what this means, but perhaps he was held back in 8th grade?) I pray I do well. Pray for me.

I want you to know that I have spiritually grown. I go to church every Sunday and I'm in Sunday school. Our Sunday school teacher is called Moses. He teaches us songs and memory verses. John 3:16 says "For God so love the world that the gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

I usually pray for you. Please pray for me to be a good boy (He wrote the word "bug" and his tutor corrected it. Funny!) I wish you a happy year. Goodbye.

Karanja

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A Nice, Long Letter from Sandesh

The more I hear from Sandesh, the more I love him. Here is his latest letter:

________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Kayla,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! I hope that you are all doing well by the grace of God. I got your letter. I am really happy for your writing skill. Belated happy new year! Here, we also celebrate new year and Christmas. My father is Sunil. He is 40 years old and he is working at MIDC Company. Mother Maya is 38 years old. She is in school. My brother is Sagar. He is 20 years old, also working in MIDC Company. Sister Pratiksha is 16 years old. She is learning in college 11th year. They are not in Compassion program. My friend Sharan is also 9 years old. I like to play with marbles, dancing, and singing. I am belonging to Christian family. I like to pray and sing God's songs.

How are you and your family? Give my all love to you and your family and friends. Just we all celebrate you and my favorite holiday, Easter. Easter was good for me and my family. I attended church to celebrate Jesus's Resurrection Day. We shouted "Jesus is coming soon!". I also like Daniel story. I strongly believe in Jesus Christ. Please pray for my school exams. I love my project very much. Here, I learn more about Jesus Christ. God will keep you safe too, Kayla. I hope you are having a good day. I love you very much. I like your new picture. You are so beautiful. I will pray for you often.

Your Loving,
Sandesh

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A Very Special Letter from Sadiya

Sadiya's letter arrived in my mailbox in a large envelope. We all know what that means. Something besides just a regular paper is in there! Sometimes, it's two papers, etc. because the letter went longer than the sheet provided. But, other times it's something extra special like a drawing or a picture.

Today, it was a picture! A nice, glossy photo of Sadiya and her family. It's great. I could stare at it all day!

I'll share the letter with you first and then the picture. The first part of the letter tells me about Sadiya's project and the back left room for her tutor/Sadiya to write me a message.

The letter was written December 12th, so it took A LONG TIME to get to me.


__________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

My Project

 

 

The number of children registered in my project: 143

 

It takes me 10 minutes to reach my project from my home

 

The favorite food I enjoy at my project is: Curry Rice

 

I go to my project by: Walking

 

At my project I like: Drawing

 

 

Dear sponsor Kayla,

 

I, with Sadiya, wishing you a Merry Christmas and happy new year 2013. Sadiya and her family are doing good. Here in our project she is the girl who is regular in every activity. Her study is going on well. Upcoming month she is going for a picnic with all project children. There's wonderful preparation going on in our project for the Christmas party. She is going to dance with her team. Here attached is a photo of Sadiya's family, as for your request. Let me tell you: Back line 1. The person tallest is her father, 2. Mother , 3. Brother. Front line 1. Brother, 2. In the middle sister, then comes 3. Sadiya on the right. Here, her elder brother is missing because he is in her hometown. She like to thank you for your help. She extend her wishes towards your family. Kindly pray for her family and good study. May God bless you and use your for His kingdom service.

 

Yours in the Lord

Tutor and Sadiya

 

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________

 



A Letter from Celeste!

I was so happy to open my mailbox and have three letters in my mailbox! I am going to post just one letter a day. I have to hold back all of the excitement! Haha.

Today, I will share the letter I received from Celeste. She filled up the small section on the template and then she also attached a piece of notebook paper. She filled up the entire front of the paper and a few lines on the back. Go Celeste!

I can't wait to meet this precious girl in August!

Here is the letter:


___________________________________________________________________________________

My dear sponsor Kayla,

I greet you with great love and affection to be able to wish you the best and to know a little more from you. I hope that the grace of God reigns in your home always. I would like to tell you of all the beautiful things you have sent me, but I am going to answer your questions. For example, my question of do I see the stars in the sky. Yes, I have seen the stars because I live in a village where we do not have many electric lights so I can appreciate all the good that God make for me to enjoy.

I do not know your song but I will try to learn it. I want to send you Philippians 2:14 because it says something very nice. I told my grandmother your message. She is very special to me and she pays a lot of attention when I talk to her. I am going to try to be better with her so we can both be very happy.

I also play with my friends after classes. I have school in the morning and in the afternoon I go to the project, where we are treated very well and they give us time to play. In school, I like free play. We play a game where you have to follow a group that gets together and runs and somebody has to follow them and touch them. (Sounds like tag to me!) Well, my best friend is Yeili. We are 20 children in my classroom at the project and 35 children at school. My teacher at the project is Zoila and my teacher at school is Ergin.

I want to tell you that you look very beautiful in your photo when you were only 10 years old, like me. It seems that math gives problems to everyone because it also gives me problems. (I sent her a letter and told her what I was like when I was her age).

Here, in our country we had a great new year's celebration, as well as Chritsmas. We had fireworks and we shared with our neighbors. We cooked baked pork and tamales and they were very tasty. And let me tell you that you need to learn more about God because he is real and my tutor says that without God we are nothing and he has given his life. (She must assume I don't know God)

I feel very grateful and happy to be the only girl you sponsor. I saw the boys that you sponsor and I know that they are older or equally my age. (I told her about two of the boys that I sponsor and that she is part of my sponsorship family.) Say hello to the other children for me. I am happy to be a part of this big family too.

It looks like I am going to be a little short (She actually wrote small in statue. Poor thing. She is pretty tiny.) I like music but I don't play an instrument. I praise God by singing. Give a big hug to your classmates (I'm thinking she means my students), the ones in the photo you sent. They are very smart.

I pray for you always. Please pray for me and my family. Kisses and hugs to you. I love you very much.

Until later,

Celeste

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"First Letter" from Fongwin!

I got a "first letter" from Fongwin today!

I was assigned him as a correspondent child on March 15th. The letter is actually dated March 14th and the part he wrote is addressed to Lori. The translation is addressed to me. So, they wrote it on March 14th with Lori in mind and then I'm guessing when they looked at this records during translation, they saw my name. Funny.

Either way, it's talking about things that don't really apply to me, but it's nice to hear anyway. He's a nice writer. It makes me excited to get a letter where the messages are for me!

Side note: This little guy's name is Thawatchai, but he goes by Fongwin. I'm wondering if that's a nickname, or perhaps his middle name.

Here's the letter:


____________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

Dear Kayla,

 

Hello. My name is Phasinee, project staff. I write on behalf of Thawatchai. He is so happy to write to you again. He thanks you for your sponsorship and your care. Thank you for the birthday gift. He spent it on some study aids. His school is closed. He is asking if it is the school break there yet. He and his family are fine. It is so hot here. He likes to swim to cool down. He is asking if you like swimming. Please pray for him. He hopes to write to you again next time. Finally, may God bless you with joy and good health.

 

Love in Christ,

Staff

 

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Abu's 11th Birthday!

I cannot believe the title that I just typed. When I sponsored Abu 5 years old, he was just turning 6 years old. He was so little, had sweet chubby cheeks, and I fell in love with him the moment I saw his precious face on my computer screen. I can remember the day vividly. I was in my dorm room, I told my roommate that I was going to sponsor a child right then, and we looked at the World Vision website together. Abu was only the 2nd face that I saw and I knew he was meant to be mine.

I could have never predicted what a wonderful journey it has been to love this boy. I hope we have many years left together.

 

 

Dear Abu,

 

Happy 11th birthday, my friend!

 

You are certainly growing into a very handsome young man. I think back to how much you have grown over the years and I know that you will continue to grow as time goes on.

 

But today, I will love you as a beautiful 11 year old boy.

 

You are intelligent, kind, and extremely loving. The letters that you and your grandmother write to me make my heart soar with love.

 

I hope that today your grandmother is cooking you your favorite meal of rice and cassava leaf sauce. I hope you eat until you burst! :) After a good meal, and after your finish your homework, I hope you have some free time to play soccer with your friends. I know it's your favorite sport to play.

 

I pray that God washes his love and grace over you today, Abu and blessed you as you begin your 11th year of life.

 

I love you with my whole heart.

 

Your Friend, Kayla

Photo Update Watch

Compassion photos and information update every 18-24 months.

If you're anything like me, as soon as it hits the 18 month mark, you're checking your account for those updates every day.

I am now in the photo update waiting room for four of my kiddos.

It's been 20 months since an update for Eric and Wendjy. I can't wait to see these boys looking older and more mature. Wendjy is set to graduate this October, so I hope his new photo updates before then, so I can see what he looks like right before he graduates.

 

 

 

It has been 19 months for sweet Fongwin.

 

 

 

And I just hit the 18 month mark this week for Melaku. He is going to graduate from the program in January. I'm looking forward to seeing a new picture of him.

 

 

 

 

 





Dafyne's 5th Birthday!

Today is the youngest member of my sponsorship family, my baby girl's 5th birthday. Isn't she so cute?

 

 

Dear Dafyne,

 

Happy 5th birthday, precious girl!

 

On this day, I can't help but think of the students in my class. We have celebrated many 5th birthdays this year. If you were in my class, you'd get to wear a birthday crown, receive a new book as a gift, and everyone would sing happy birthday to you. I would be honored to have you in my class on your birthday.

 

I hope that you are having a wonderful day. You are a beautiful princess and you deserve to have a beautiful birthday.

 

On your special day, I pray that God watches over you and your family. I hope you get to have some extra fun on your birthday today.

 

I hope the princess themed gift I sent you arrived in time for your birthday. I think you're going to really like it.

 

I love you very much, Dafyne!

 

Love, Kayla

Letter from my Sagitaria

It was lovely to get another letter from Sagitaria. I feel as if she is really starting to open up in her letters. She even said "ha, ha, ha" in this letter, though, I'm not sure why, haha.

Plus, I can't get over the fact that she calls me Mama Kayla. *Heart Melts*

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

 



Dear Mama Kayla,

Shalom to you, Mama Kayla! How are you there, Mama Kayla? I am in good health. Mama Kayla, I pray that the Lord Jesus will bless you more and more, amen.

We are learning mathematics at our project now. Learning mathematics needs concentration and thoughts, ha, ha, ha. Mama Kayla, please pray for me that I will get smarter and fear God.

Mama Kayla, I thank you for the stickers, card, and bookmark and also your letter.

Last week our project held an event called "The Project Talents." I was happy that I could take part in a contest, although I didn't win. I must win next year, amen.

These are the answers to your questions:

1. I want to go to Jerusalem

2. God meets our needs with the fish we can in the sea and the vegetable garden we grow.

3. I believe that Jesus saved us all.

The Lord Blesses You

_________________________________________________________________________________

Three Letters from Florenc!!

What a blessing today when I opened up my mailbox and saw three letters from my dear friend, Florenc.

Three letters!

I will share each one of them with you, with a little description before each one, just to fill you in on  some past information.

This first letter is very short, but full of details. Florenc has nasal polyps that have been bothering him recently and making it very hard for him to breathe. He is due to have an operation. Also, I sent a card with flowers on it to his mother.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Hello My Friend,

I hope you are in good health. How is your family doing?

I liked your family very much. You looked nice in the pictures.

I will get my nose operated, but I am taking pills now.

I was glad you sent flowers to my mother. She was very happy. Thank you. I love you very much.

We celebrate Mother's Day on March 8th. I gave my mother a flower. She was very happy.

I am sending you a photo of me.

I love you very much my friend.

 

Here's the picture! He's so tall!

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

Now for a long letter! I'm shocked to learn that he has another brother, I've only ever heard of his one, younger brother. I'm guessing the one he mentions in this letter is older and not staying with him at home. I will definitely be asking Florenc about this other brother.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

My Dear Friend,

 

I was glad to receive a letter from such a good friend like you. My dear, when I learn that you have written to me I feel so happy. As soon as the letter arrives, I tell my mother and little brother about the letter and we read it together as a family. We are interested in your health and it makes us happy to know you are all in good health. We are all in good health, except my mother who is ill. I feel bad when I see her in bed. When she is ill, my brother Sotir and I do the housework. We do them with my mother at times.

 

I received the letter before March 23rd. I do not known if you remember but this is a historical day for us. It was on March 23rd, 2012 that our friendship started so we have been friends for a year now. May the friendship of ours always be happy just like a family!

 

My dear friend, I would like to ask you about your mother. How is she? How is she doing? Is she in good health? I would like to know about your family's health. It is very cold here and it rains a lot. We are far away from the city. We are in a mountainous village.

 

My dear friend, you were asking me about sport. Yes, I like sport very much, especially soccer. I like Real Madrid football club of Spain best.

 

I do well at school and so does my brother.

 

Please give my regards to your family. My family hugs you from far away.

 

Respectfully,

Florenc

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

In this letter, Florenc is answering many of the questions I asked him. What hand he writes with, what he does in his free time, what family member he looks most alike, etc.
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My Dear Sponsor,

I was happy when I received your letter. I like reading your letters very much. I like staying with my family very much especially with my mother and helping her with the housework. I like staying with my brother and my friends in my free time. I am scared of spiders too. I write with my right hand. I sleep at 10:00 and I wake up at 6:00 in the morning.

I think I take after my grandfather (my father's father).

World Vision brought me your letters. I am glad I have a friend like you and I like our friendship. You are a part of my family.

When I feel sad, I want my mother to caress me and it make me feel better. I feel happy when I see she is in good health because she stays most of the time in the hospital. She often does not feel well. I pray God to make my mom feel better.

Thank you my friend for sending letters to me and making me feel better.

Love,
Florenc

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Whew! That was a lot of typing! I can't wait to write him back!

Touching Thursday

This week, I would really love it if these three children could find a loving sponsor.

 

Isn't he so sweet?!

 

Name: Bayulign

Age: 7

Birthday: November 20th

Country: Ethiopia

Guardians: Father & Mother

Number of Siblings: 1

Chores: Running Errands

Hobbies: Playing Group Games

School Performance: Average in Kindergarten

Activities: Church Activities

 

You can sponsor Bayulign here

 

 

 

Such a handsome guy!

 

Name: Richard

Age: 15

Birthday: March 5th

Country: Philippines

Guardians: Father & Mother

Number of Siblings: 3

Chores: Carrying Water, Buying/Selling in the Market, & Gardening

Hobbies: Basketball, Swimming, & Playing with Marbles

School Performance: Average in High School

Activities: Vacation Bible School & Camp

 

You can sponsor Richard here

 

 

 

How precious is she?!

 

Name: Dilcia

Age: 5

Birthday: January 12th

Country: Honduras

Guardians: Father & Mother

Number of Siblings: 0

Chores: Gathering Firewood, Running Errands, & Cleaning

Hobbies: Playing House, Art, & Playing with Dolls

School Performance: Too Young for School

Activities: Church Activities & Bible Class

 

You can sponsor Dilcia here

 

Happy Birthday July Friends!

I should've written this entry a few weeks ago, but for some reason, I didn't. Better late than never, right?

In my sponsorship family, I have two kiddos with birthdays in July. And believe it or not, both of these birthdays are on July 6th and they will both be turning 14 years old.

First, my sweet young man from Kenya. I correspond with him through Compassion and I sent him this gift:

 

I sent him bicycle notecard, a decorated photo, birthday candle paper, a postcard of the three wismen, stickers, and two difficult coloring pages.

 

 

Then, I also will be sending this gift to my guy Florenc in Albania. Mail to Albania takes less than two months to arrive, so I always wait a little longer to send mail to my Albanian boys. I don't want the birthday gift to get there too early. Here is what I put together for Florenc:

 

 

I HAD to send him a tie-dye shirt. It's what I do. I made him this shirt and poured all of my love into it. I'm also sending him a custom made dog tag necklace (it has my picture and his picture and it says Family), a sketch pad, and some colored pencils.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Karanja and Florenc!