Pastor Letter from Nikko's Project

As I've mentioned, a short time ago, I received new correspondent boys. After getting myself calmed down from the excitement of new faces on my account, writing the first letters, and getting their pictures on my blog, I go onto Our Compassion and check to see if there are pastor letters posted. Unfortunately, Taye's project does not have a letter.

But...Nikko's did! I love reading these letters and hearing about what things are like at the project. It also gives a sense of some of the things these children go through and experience on a daily basis. I will share this letter with you know:

____________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Sponsor,

Greetings in the name of Jesus from Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines.

My name is Edgardo. I am the pastor of The Great Shepherd Christian Fellowship, the church that ministers to your Compassion-sponsored child. I am so thankful to your for your kindness by sharing your support, prayers, and love with your sponsored child. May God bless you!

I would like to share some thoughts to help you understand more about our children's community and about the Green Valley Child Development Through Sponsorship program, our local Compassion program here.

Our child development center is making a big difference in the lives of the children. Right now we have 199 children who have sponsors and another six who are registered but are still waiting for sponsors.

I know that the children are very happy to come to the center here at our church because they face many stressful needs in their homes and in the community. There is much unemployment in this part of the country, and for those who do have work, they often cannot make more than 200 pesos, which is equivalent to about $4 US, per day.

The children live in homes that are very small and crowded. Conditions are quite unsanitary and many of the children have skin rashes, respiratory diseases, and other illnesses. Also, the spiritual needs of the children are very great. There are Christians in our community, but we are in minority.

I am proud of our many workers and teachers - all of whom are Christian brothers and sisters from our church - who devote themselves to the children. They truly love them and know each one by name. We teach them many things about health, hygiene, and good behavior. Most important of all, we teach and lead them to Jesus, making every effort to help them develop their personal relationship with the Lord. We pray for each child and have regular bible classes for them. During the past year, by the Grace of God, our children made first-time professions of faith and several family members have been attending our Sunday church services.

My vision is to serve this community in the name of our Lord and Savior. I am so thrilled when I see children and youth come to our center and learn about our heavenly Father and lives are truly being changed.

Your support as a faithful sponsor means so much for your sponsored child. If you could only witness how thrilled and excited children are when they find their name on the bulletin board informing them that a letter has arrived from their sponsor. You could behold a moment of unspeakable joy overwhelming a child, not even bothering by being in need, but enjoying the reality of the moment that someone out there loves and cares for them. Our children need to feel loved and valued.

Please pray for all our children here at the center. And please pray for us here at the center as we work for these children to help them know Jesus and grow up to be healthy and better educated. Sometimes the work is very hard, but we love to minister to them.

Thank you for being our partner in ministry,

God bless you!

Edgardo

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There are many children from the Philippines currently waiting for a sponsor. I encourage you to pray over these two sweet children and see if you are being called to sponsor one of them. Help Compassion help these kids!

 

 

This sweetheart is Jonna. She is 5 years old. She lives with her father, mother, and one sibling. She likes to play house and play group games. She is currently in preschool with average performance.

 

You can sponsor Jonna here

 

 

 

This adorable boy is Joseph. He is 9 years old. He lives with his parents and four siblings. For fun, Joseph enjoys swimming, singing and playing with marbles. He attends church activities regularly and is in primary school where his performance is average.

 

He has been waiting almost 500 days for a sponsor!

 

You can sponsor Joseph here!