Hearing from the Boys

On Saturday, the child care staff and I worked for a special event at my church. We spent about 6 hours at the church playing with a great group of kids. When I got home, I found five letters in my mailbox! Two were from Debora, which I posted a couple days ago. The other three were from three of my boys:

First up, I'll share the letter from Sandesh. The translation on this letter was rough, so instead of typing it out exactly as it's written, I'm going to reorder and add/take away some words and make complete sentences to get Sandesh's point across better. :) In my Easter letter to my all the kids, I asked them what they think it will be like when Jesus returns to Earth again. Sandesh's answer is pretty great:

Sandesh is 10 years old. This letter is dated April 28th, 2014

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Dear Kayla ,

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus. I am Priyanka, child development facilitator, writing this letter on behalf of Sandesh. He and his family are happy here by the grace of God. What about you? How are you and your family? 

He is always asking about you. He is very excited about your letter. He likes all of your letters. He is always thankful to God because of you. 

Sandesh is a very active boy. He always prays for you and your family. Sandesh is having a holiday from school. He is enjoying his holiday. He participates in all the activities at the project. He hopes you had a great Easter! Sandesh enjoys listening to your letters. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. 

He also likes the Olympics events, but he only watched them on TV. (I talked about how I watched the Olympic events. It seems like he thought I was watching the events in person). 

Thank you so much for sending some coloring page. He colored it. He enjoys coloring and feels proud. 

He invites you to our country and our project. What's going on there? 

In India, the weather is very hot. What cold weather in your country! (I sent letters about the snow back in February). He is very happy to see your photos: you dressed warmly and the snow on the road. It is very pretty. He likes the snowball fights. You were having a lot of fun. 

He is also happy about your Easter story letter. He thinks when Jesus returns to earth, that day will be really awesome. Thank you so much for sending him cross necklace. (I was able to send a cross necklace to three of my boys with a sponsor on a trip). 

Yours In Christ, 

Sandesh and Priyanka 

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Next up, a letter from Kalpesh. I also sent one of the necklaces to Kalpesh (and Sagar), but have not heard about them. The trip was in March, so either they aren't going to be mentioned or just not yet. Either way, I'm sure they all received them. 

I was happy to hear in this letter that Kalpesh visited his mom. Kalpesh and his sister are both registered in a Compassion project and live with their uncle and aunt. Kalpesh's mother and two brothers live in another city and they don't get to see each other too often. 

Kalpesh is 12 years old and this letter was written May 7th, 2914. 

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Dearest Kayla, 

Greetings to you and your family in the great and holy name of Christ Jesus. Thank you so much for the letter. I'm very much glad to get your letters and to hear from you. Praise the Lord for this wonderful opportunity which God has given in my life. Once again, I'm glad to write this letter to you. 

By His love and grace and through your valuable prayers, I am doing fine. Only last week, I went to see my mom and siblings. They are doing fine. They say hello to you and your family. 

I got good marks in the last exam, which was held in the month of November 2013. I also got good marks in the annual exam which was last month. Praise the Lord for that and we thanks you so much for praying for me. 

I celebrated my birthday at the project only. Our Sir (The title of the leader of his project) brought cake for us. We all (whose birthday was in April) cut the cake. Our local church pastor served us the cake. He also prays for all the children, including me. Thank you so much to Compassion and to you too for caring for us. May God bless you a lot! 

In his Love,

Kalpesh

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Lastly, a letter from Melaku. Melaku is 21 years old and will be graduating from the project in January. He's currently attending vocational school and learning various skills in construction. In this letter, Melaku mentioned receiving a financial gift from his financial sponsor. He used the money to buy a satellite dish and a stereo system. I love that! I know that some people don't like when their children spend money on electronics and things like that, but I think it's great. I think it shows that Compassion's work really does make a difference. Melaku's family has moved beyond having to constantly worry about basic needs. Melaku is now able to indulge a little and buy something that he enjoys. I am happy to know that he will enter into his adult life with job skills and less of a worry about where his next meal will come from. Go Compassion!

This letter came after about a 7 month wait since the last letter. I am hoping to receive one more letter from him before he graduates in January. This letter is dated May 17th, 2014.

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Dear Kayla,

How are you doing? I am doing good. You have beautiful children (the kids I nanny for, I'm assuming). God bless them. I love you all. Thank you for the letter you sent me. I am grateful for the verses you quote from the bible. God bless you. I bought a shirt with the money you sent me for Christmas. I have received a family gift of money. We bought a satellite dish and stereo. Thank you for your gift. I have enclosed a picture which shows the materials we bought. We are longing for you to come here. I learn the word of God. Pray for me and my family. Goodbye until the next letter. God bless you. 

Melaku 

Love the smiles! Isn't his mother so beautiful? 

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