Updates Galore!

Some of these new photos, I have already shared, but I wanted to share them again in collage form. Some of these updates will be new information for you. Enjoy!

I welcomed a new correspondent child to my family this week:

This is Chintada. He's from India. He's 15 in the first photo and 17 in the second. 

Yesterday, I received a new photo of Sagar, from India: 

In these photos, he's 9, 10, and 11, respectively. 

Today, I received a new photo from Florenc, in Albania: 

You can see him grow from age 12 to age 15. The top right is the newest photo. 

Here are two more collages, including photos that you've already seen: 

Xhuliano is 11 in the first photo, 12 in the middle two, and 13 in his newest photo.

Lastly, you can watch Abu age from 6 years old to 12 years old. The top right photo is his newest photo. 

Reach for the Stars!

The school year has begun. In my city, the schools opened up on August 18th. While I do not have children of my own, I work with children in a formal setting. I lead, teach, encourage, and comfort children on a weekly basis, every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. At my church, I lead the programs for the children that are Birth-Age 5. Every summer about this time, I get the love on the crowd of kids who will be off to kindergarten for the first time.

I listened to worries from soon-to-be kindergartners as they wondered what their teacher would be like, if they would make any friends, if they would be able to learn to read, if they would still have time to play, and if riding the bus by themselves would be scary.

The following week, I tried to follow those same ramblings of those same children as they excitedly rambled details of their first week at school. Their new friends, their new desk, the cool colorful carpet they get to listen to stories on, the big playground outside, music class, gym class, snack time, and their silly teachers that love them so much.

In my job, I love squeezing the little babies, I love watching toddlers grasp language for the first time, I love hearing kids thoughts on Jesus, but it is these moments, watching kids go from scared of something to completely confident that I love the most. New kindergartners are so sure of themselves, so inspired, ready to take on the world.

We teach our kids that they can be anything they want to be. We tell them to dream big and reach for the stars. Kids dream to be teachers, doctors, football players, bakers, race car drivers, and mermaids. And we encourage that.

Sadly, there are kids in our world who don't have these dreams. Sure, they may have had them at one point. "Mom, I want to be a doctor when I grow up." Instead of being able to tell their children, "Sure, you can do that, reach for the stars!" these parents have to tell their children, "Oh honey, you have to go to school for that and _______ (we can't afford school, we can't afford school supplies, we need you to work, we need you to take care of your siblings, etc). I know this is a heartbreaking situation for the child and the family. Nobody who cares for children wants to shoot down their dreams. But all too often, that's reality.

"Worldwide, nearly 80% of primary school-aged children attend school. In least developed countries, the figure is around 66%"

That means, that 20%-34% of the world's children do not attend school. 

Guys, primary school age is, generally, 5-11. Can you imagine your 5-11year old not going to school, for any reason? 

"Worldwide, only 49% of children of secondary school age actually attend secondary school."

Secondary school is typically what we known as middle school and high school. These are kids aged 12-18. 51% of 12-18 year olds in our world, are not getting an education. There are several reasons for this: some drop-out because the material is too hard, some get involved in gang activity, some get pregnant and get married, some have to stay home and care for younger siblings. But, I'd be willing to guess that most children at this age are required to get a job and earn money to support their family, who already can't afford to feed their children. 

Without a quality education, these children are, essentially, doomed to repeat the past. They are stuck in the cycle of poverty. No education, no decent job, having children, can't afford to send the children to school, those children grow up to have no education and no decent job themselves. It's a slippery slope and for most families, it's the only choice. 

But, there is something to be done about this. There are many organizations that help children living poverty attend school. One of these organizations is Compassion International. When you choose to sponsor a child living in poverty, you give them the opportunity to get an education. They will be able to attend school. If they run into difficulty, Compassion offers tutoring. These children will not have to work to support their family because Compassion provides that child with the things their family may not be able to afford (school supplies, uniform, school fees, school medical physicals, etc). 

I encourage you to visit Compassion International's Website , look over the pictures, pray for the children, and find a child you would like to help get an education. You can also write them letters of encouragement, ask them about what they are learning at school, send them math or handwriting worksheets, ask them about their grades, and let them know that you're praying for them to do well at school. Sometimes, it just takes that extra boost of confidence that comes from knowing that somebody loves you and wants you to do well. 

Help a child reach for the stars! 

A Short Letter from Sadiya

I got a letter from my precious Sadiya, from India. Sometimes, I think her project workers have to force her to sit down and write a letter. Either she hates writing or she would rather be off playing with her friends. Either way, her letters are usually short and general. But hey, at least I'm hearing from her, right?

Sadiya is 10 years old. The date is hard to read, but I think this letter was written April 17th, 2014. It took a long time to get to me!

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Dear Sponsor Kayla, 

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Me and my family are doing well. I will pray for your work. The weather here is very hot. I am very happy to receive your letters. Our project is open now and I go there every day. My studies are going well. Through the project, I got a school bag and school dress. I am very happy to receive it. Thank you very much. Pray for me and my family. 

Yours Lovingly,
Sadiya

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Abu's Progress Report: 2014

It's always great to get a new picture and progress report of one of my World Vision kids. Not much has changed since Abu's last progress report, but it's still great to know. Plus, he's smiling in his new photo! The photo is a little blurry and dark, but you can at least see his smile. And his awesome motorcycle shirt. :)

Abu is now 12 years old.

________________________________________________________________________________

My Name Is: Abu-Bakarr 

My Health Is: Satisfactory 

World Vision Helped Me Receive: Sanitation, Primary Health Care, Health Education

In the Academic Year Sept. 2013-July 2014, I am in: Grade 3 (He was in grade 3 in his last progress report too. Hopefully he's in Grade 4 this year)

Benefits/Support that my Family and I Received from World Vision: Training or Learning Workshops, Educational Materials, Training on HIV/AIDS Prevention, Clean Water. 

My Best Friend's Name is: Samuala

The Animal I Like Best is: Goat

My Best Season in the Year is: Raining Season

My Favorite Sport Is: Football

At Home, I Help With: Cleaning

The Subject I Like Most is: Mathematics

My Annual Progress Report was Completed By: Myself 

Letters from Central America

I received two letters today! One from my Antonio and one from little Debora! It was great to hear from my sweet boy and such a blessing to receive a letter from Debora the day after I learned that I won't be sponsoring her anymore. I know there is also a final letter coming from her, which has apparently already left her country, but isn't in the U.S system yet. I should have it in about a month or so, as far as I can guess.

First up, the letter from Antonio. This boy has beautiful handwriting. I'm actually pretty jealous of how clear and easy-to-read it is. My handwriting can be so sloppy. Haha. In this letter, he talks a little bit about his previous sponsor, David, who I still keep in touch with. I asked David's permission, and I'm going to share with Antonio a little bit about what David is doing now. As long as Antonio wants to talk about David, I will share with him what I can.

Antonio is 10 years old and lives in Nicaragua. This letter was written June 26th, 2014.

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Hello dear sponsor Kayla,

I am very happy to know a little more about you. It's a joy for me that you chose me as your sponsor kid. Answering your questions, the kids are cute and they make a happy home and the whole family. I have met new friends at school and with the teacher I have learnt many bible stories. It is something special for me. Something that has happened lately that was exciting and sad at the same time was when I knew that David was not going to be my sponsor any longer. But God knows why things happened because now I have you and that is something very special for me. I like to play video games and soccer. Me and my family are having good health, thanks to God. You are always in my prayers. Keep me in yours. I send my greeting with love. 

Antonio

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The letter I got from Debora is on the My Medical Checkup form. On the back, again, her mother wrote me a lovely message. It is sad to know that this will be the last time that I read words written by this lovely woman, but I feel blessed that I was able to receive this last letter from her. 

Debora is 5 years old and lives in Honduras. This letter was written July 20th, 2014. 

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My Medical Check Up

1. I got to my medical check up: By Walking

2. Who came to my medical check up with me: My mom

3. My results in my medical check up were: 37.4 pounds, 138 cm tall, In general I am well. 

4. In my medical check up, I received: Physical Exam

Hello my beautiful friend, Kayla, 

May God bless you and keep you safe. This is Gladis writing again. We are very happy to hear about you. Debora is very happy with the letters you've sent. She says that you are very pretty and that she loves you very much. She took all the letters out that you've sent her and she was very happy because they all had pictures to color. She really likes to color. Debora has been enjoying good health. She's growing strong and healthy and is always very happy. I really enjoyed writing this letter and hearing from you. We say goodbye with many kisses and hugs, wishing you success in your life. God bless you. We love you very much. 

Gladis

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Bad News Bears

Unfortunately, I don't mean the funny, adorable, inspirational baseball movie.

Lately, I have gotten two pieces of bad news from Compassion. One bit of news, I've known about for about two weeks, but I didn't know if I was going to share about. Today, I got the 2nd piece of bad news and figured it was time to write about them both.

First, I will share the news that has a potential to get better. IN-860, the project that my Sagar attends, my all-time favorite project, the project that serves families living in the Miraj Red Light District (all things you know already) is on probation. Compassion has found that the money was not being used according to Compassion's high standards and that they children were not benefiting from the money in the way that they were supposed to. Compassion worked with the leaders at the project for two months, but wasn't able to work out the problems. At that point, sponsors were contacted. This project has three months, until November, to get the problems solved. At that point, if things have not been fixed, the project will close.

This project, which is a beacon of hope in a dark, dirty, degrading community, could close. All of the beautiful children, that I have come to know, by name and face, may not have a safe place to go, a place to receive the love of Christ. Without Compassion, many of the children may end up being trafficked into the sex trade, because they won't have another option.

Sadly, also when it comes to Sagar, his updated photo is now almost 2 months overdue. Unfortunately, Compassion will not put in an inquiry about his photo because his project is on probation. I will either have to wait until November to either receive a new photo or even to simply begin asking for me. Or, if the project closes down, I will not receive one. Heartbreaking.

I have to admit, I have been mourning this quite a bit lately. I have also been praying very hard. I suppose I will have to continue praying for the next few months until Compassion makes their decision.

Will you join me in praying for this project, these children, and for sweet Sagar?

Selfishly, I do not want my contact with Sagar to end. Of course, I don't want Compassion to lower its standards and support a project that can't follow the guidelines. But, I am having a hard time imaging my life in the future without this sweet boy in it. 

Well, let's add insult to injury, shall we? 

I got a call from Compassion today. I didn't immediately recognize the number on my phone screen, but it was an 888 number, which I guessed was either from Compassion or World Vision. I knew that the phone call would not be good. A sponsorship organization typically does not call a sponsor unless there is bad news that needs immediate attention. 

I was right. 

I learned that my precious little girl, Debora, has moved out of the area with her family and will no longer be attending her project. Compassion looked into where she is moving and there is no Compassion project nearby that she could attend. My sweet girl, who is going to turn 6 years old next month, is gone from my life. 

I can only pray that she has moved to a safer neighborhood. The community that she lived in, a community that I visited and walked through, is very dangerous. Its gang activity has gotten so bad that a young child was murdered right outside of his school, for no apparent reason. I can only hope that Debora is moving to a better neighborhood. 

I find comfort in the fact that her parents are both very strong Christians. I attended church at this project and Debora's dad was front row, center, clapping and singing and dancing his heart out while the praise band played. He prayed fervently with his hands up in the air. He and his wife held their children closely with love. I know that, as long as the family can stay together, the family will be okay, under God's protection. 

I will miss seeing this sweet face on my account. I will miss finding cute things in pink and purple (her favorite colors) to send to Debora. I will miss the long, detailed, loving letters her mother wrote me. 

I was told that a final letter is on its way to me. I was told that the letter was written by a project worker, so maybe I will get some more information about why the family moved. I hope the circumstances are good, but I also know they might not be. Because she moved, I will not be able to write her a final letter. I just pray that Debora knows how much I loved her. 

With this loss, and the threat of more loss in the near future, I can't help but feel discouraged. 

From Uganda, With Love

Whew! This may have been the longest stretch of time I've gone without vlogging. But, I am back and it's with wonderful letters to share.

Today I received three letters, one from each of my kids in Uganda. Compassion must be doing something right in Uganda because all three of my kids challenged me spiritually. I think I'm really going to have a great time replying to their letters. All three of these kids write in English.

First up, a letter from Derrick. Derrick is 11 years old. This letter was written June 19th, 2014.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Dear Kayla, 

Thank you for all my letters. I was happy to know you received my letter. I am doing well and I was happy to see you in the photo. I also loved the picture of Rend Collective Experiment band. 

The stories of Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law and calming the storm are also good. I too love the story of Jesus calming the storm. 

Yes, I know the story of Easter. It is when Jesus' defeat of death is celebrated. I think when Jesus returns there will be both joy and sadness. Believers will have joy and those who refused him will be sad. 

School is on for term two and it will continue up to August. Uganda is warm. God is and is taking good care of us. 

Derrick

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Next up, a letter from Brenda. Brenda is 14 years old. This letter was written June 14th, 2014.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Dear Kayla,

I am greeting you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. How are you and how are your family members? Back to me, I am okay. In our area we are receiving both sunshine and rainfall. We are weeding beans and harvesting potatoes. At school I am doing well. I am in Senior 1 and my position for term one was 146th out of 219. Pray for me to do well next term. 

I am writing this letter to inform you and to thank you for sending me the letters because I have gotten them all. 

Now I am in bible class and choir. I am the one who is the choir leader and I love God. Do you love God? Why do you love God? 

Here I have a verse, Isaiah 26:2. It says that "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith." It teaches me to keep faith and follow Jesus Christ. 

May God bless you! 

Your's Faithfully,

Brenda

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Lastly, is a letter from Eric. He has improved so much academically since I first began writing him, but he still struggles a small bit with sentence structure and order. But, I am so proud of him! In this letter, Eric includes a message that he wrote himself, then his tutor added more for him. I'll put the part he wrote in bold italics and the part the translator wrote in regular italics. 

The letter was written when Eric was 18 years old. This letter was written June 4th, 2014. 

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Dear Kayla, 

I am happy for reading the letters from you. I am happy for feeding children on write letter for me. Thank you, Kayla, for writing a letter. On Monday I will go to school. Next year, I will be in Primary 6. The person from picture on the letter is very good. What are some wild animals in your forests? We have animals from soil that eat plants. How can you hand write a letter for me? I sometimes have bible for you. I want to see your home. Thank you, Kayla. So read the verse from Matthew 17:20, "Because you have so little faith, I say to you, if you have faith as mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "move from here to there" and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you." Thank you Jesus. 

Above is what Eric, your friend, managed to write to you. Eric once again says that he is so happy for you and for how much love you have towards him. Eric is happy for your children's ministry and for the good care you offer to the young ones. Eric informs that the school reopened on May 19th, after a short break. Now he is 2nd term. 

Eric appreciates the nice photos you always send to him. He was happy to see them. How is Gage and baby Chloe? How is your mother and her husband? How is your sister? Eric prays for you and loves you so much. Eric asks do you like animals? Which animals do you like? Here in Kisoro there are gorillas and elephants. 

Eric attends bible class and loves reading bible stories. He also goes to church service on Sunday and love singing. He says that he loves Jesus Christ and requests you to love him too. He encourages you to put all your trust in him. Eric says thank you Kayla and thank you Jesus. God bless you. 

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Sponsors Needed in Projects I Sponsor In #2

Over the past few weeks, since my first post of this kind, there have not been any children waiting for sponsors in projects that I sponsor in (at least not on the website). But, I checked this weekend and there were tons of children waiting! A few of the projects I sponsor in even had more than one. For this post, I decided to just choose one child from each project. Even with cutting it down to just one child like that, I still have 10 children to share with you. Almost all of them are older teens. I pray that they all find a sponsor very soon, especially since the older children have all had, at least, one sponsor previously and then lost them.

If you could join me in prayer for these children and maybe even prayerfully consider them sponsoring them, I would really appreciate it.

Tegemu attends project ET-419, the same project as my Melaku. This is a great project. I hear from Melaku often and they send great photos when you send a financial gift. 

Tegemu is 18 years old. His birthday is June 6th. He lives with his mother an 5 siblings. He has average grades in high school. He enjoys soccer, art, and riding a bike. 

You can sponsor Tegemu here.

This is Biruk. He attends project ET-439, the same project as my boy Taye. I don't hear from him too often, but what I know from his project, they are doing great things for the children. 

Biruk is 18 years old. His birthday is February 8th. He makes his home with his father, stepmother, and 6 siblings. He is still in middle school, but has above average grades. He enjoys soccer, running, and riding a bike. 

You can sponsor Biruk here.

This handsome guy is Ephrem. He attends project ET-513, the same project as my Enatenesh. I receive great letters from her in the mail. I'm sure the same would go for Ephrem. 

Ephrem is 17 years old. His birthday is November 23rd. At home, it's just Ephrem and his mother. He is in middle school with average grades. He enjoys playing soccer and other ball games. 

You can sponsor Ephrem here.

This serious boy is Jahir. He attends HO-352, the same as my boy Alexander. Projects in Honduras always have their kids write great letters, and HO-352 is no different. This project works in a very dangerous area with a lot of gang and drug activity. The project offers a safe place for the children to go. 

Jahir is 10 years old. His birthday is December 5th. He lives with his mother and 1 sibling. In primary school, his grades are average. He enjoys playing soccer, playing group games, and reading. 

You can sponsor Jahir here.

This is Ravidas. He attends IN-905, with my boy Kalpesh. The communication with this project is phenomenal! You won't regret sponsoring there!

Ravidas is 12 years old. His birthday is June 22nd. He lives with his parents and 1 sibling. His grades in primary school are average. He enjoys art, ball games, and reading. 

He has been waiting 283 for a sponsor. 

You can sponsor Ravidas here.

This cutie is Mohit. He attends IN-967, the same project as my Khushi. This project is in a very poor, rural village situated in the Himalayan Mountains. Most children in this project are now having well-rounded meals for the first time in their lives. It's really quite amazing. 

Mohit is 9 years old. His birthday is May 9th. He lives with his father and 1 sibling. In primary school he is getting average grades. For fun, he enjoys walking, running, and art. 

He has been waiting 283 days for a sponsor. 

You can sponsor Mohit here.

This beautiful, young lady is Wairimu. She attends project KE-908 with my boy Karanja. Letters from this project are like clockwork, every 2 months and are always in English. I like this because it ensures that nothing is lost in translation. 

Wairimu is 17 years old. Her birthday is April 18th. She lives with her grandmother. In high school, her performance is average. For fun, she enjoys singing, jumping rope, and playing ball games. 

You can sponsor Wairimu here. 

This little guy is Henry. He attends project NI-221, the same project as my Alexander. This project serves one of the poorest of the poor communities in Nicaragua. The community is a very dangerous place to live because of gang activity. Most houses don't have running water, electricity, or even four walls. 

Henry is 9 years old. His birthday is October 7th. He lives with his parents and 2 siblings. In primary school, he is getting average grades. He likes playing soccer, playing with cars, and singing. 

He has been waiting 277 days for a sponsor.

You can sponsor Henry here. 

This is Quinnee. She attends project PH-594, the same project as my boy Nikko. I hear from Nikko often and I'm always hearing of new and exciting things that are going on at the project. 

Quinnee is 18 years old. Her birthday is October 23rd. She lives with with her parents. She is either an only child or all of her siblings are older and out of the house already. She is in college where her grades are average. She enjoys swimming, playing ping pong, and playing a musical instrument. 

You can sponsor Quinnee here.

This precious boy is Antoni. He attends project TZ-215, the same as my Emanuel. I have only been writing to Emanuel for 4 months and I've already heard from him twice, which is right on par with Compassion's writing system. 

Antoni is 10 years old. His birthday is December 11th. He lives with his parents and 2 siblings. His grades in primary school are average. He enjoys soccer, playing with cars, and singing. 

You can sponsor Antoni here. 

Whew! And that's that. I'll be praying for these 10 children until they find a sponsor. Thank you for joining me. 

Friends from All Over the World

Everytime I get a letter from one of my sponsored children, I just think of how much of a blessing it is to be able to communicate with such wonderful children from so many places that are so different from where I live. Yet, even though we live such different lives, I find that we have some of the same experiences, thoughts, and feelings. It's just remarkable. 

I received three letters today. Side note, I noticed that letters are getting to me much quicker these days. Taking just about one month to get from my children's countries to me. 

First, I received a letter from Khushi. She is 10 years old and lives in India. This letter was writtin June 27th, 2014. 

________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Sponsor Kayla, 

Greetings! I hope all is well with you and your family. Me and my family are well. I have receiving many letters from you and I enjoy so much to hear from you and learn about you. Are you still taking care of Gage and Chloe? I am enjoying school and the project. I am now in 7th grade in school. My school is closed for summer, so I am happy enjoying at home. I have two older sisters. Priyanka is 23 years old and she is married for past two years. Another sister is Sinka who is 17 years old. She studies in 12th grade in school. My father is working far in the city. I always love to talk to my father on the phone and I am waiting for him to come home soon. My mother does lots of work at home. She raises and takes care of cows and also goes to the fields to work. We are growing rice plants in our garden and fields. I want to thank you very much for your love and prayers. You are so good. I also loved knowing about your sister and her boyfriend. I am praying for you too. 

Yours,

Khushi

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Next up, I will share the letter from Jhon. He is 15 years old old and lives in Bolivia. This letter was written on June 10th, 2014. 

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Dear Kayla,

Hello! I greet you with the peace of the Lord Jesus. 

I am so happy for the letter you sent me; the bible verse is very nice. I want to tell you that in April we remembered my school's anniversary and we had many activities and I had a good time. In May we celebrated Mother's Day and we cooked special food at school. We had barbecued meat and all my classmates congratulated their mothers. We also had an evening party at school with dances and our mothers had a good time. At the project our mothers played and the students danced. There were snacks for our mothers. 

In June we will finish the 2nd quarter at school and I am doing well in all the subjects. My family and I are in good health. How are you? I want to share a Bible verse, please read Isaiah 40:31. My prayer request is that you pray for me and my family. 

With Love, 

Jhon

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Last up, is a letter from Emanuel. He is from Tanzania and is 17 years old. This letter is dated June 16th, 2014. 

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Dear Kayla,

I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. My family and I are doing well. How are you doing? 

I am doing well in my studies for now I am in class 3 (secondary school). The studies which I like most are Kiswahili, English, History, and Civics. 

I'd like to give you a memory verse from Pslam 133:1. "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." 

Thank you for the letter which you sent to me. You asked me in your letter "Do you like children?" Yes, I like children, especially the children at the project. You also asked about me, in general. I am fat and tall. I have 87 kilos. I am trying to reduce my weight. You also asked who I live with. I am living with my father and mother. I like keeping livestock like goats, sheep and rabbits. Do you like to keep livestock? I wish you a good life that pleases God. 

Emanuel

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Letters from India

Today I received two lovely letters from India, from Solomon and Sandesh. It has only been about one month since I last heard from them both, so I was definitely pleasantly surprised.

I got the How I Have Fun template from Solomon. I love these template letters for the younger kids. It really helps me get to know them. Like always, Solomon also included a lovely letter on the back.

Solomon is 8 years old. This letter is dated May 27th, 2014.

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How I Have Fun

1. During my free time, I like to: Watch Cricket

2. I usually have fun with:  My Friends

3. For me, fun is: Drawing

4. What I am at the project, I like to: Do Coloring 

5. I have the most fun: During Holidays 

Dear Sponsor Kayla,

Greetings to you in the Jesus' name. I am Mrs. Umakumar, project staff member, writing this letter on behalf of Solomon. He is asking How are you? Solomon and his family are doing well, by God's grace. He is very happy to receive your letter and the scripture verse in it. He liked it very much and he was happy to hear about the story of Easter and how Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the 3rd day. He and his family also celebrated Easter on April 20th. He is very happy to hear that Easter is your favorite holiday. He liked it very much this year too. I explained the question to him that you wrote in your letter. (In my Easter letter, I asked my kids what they think it will be like when Jesus returns back to Earth) Solomon answered "Faith." School will be open again on June 2nd. He is waiting to see his friends and enjoying the school day. Please pray for him. He is also praying for you. 

Thanking you

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This letter from Sandesh was really interesting. He shared a trip that he took with the other children from his project. He sounds like he really got to experience and learn a lot. He sounds like he had a very inspirational day. 

Sandesh is 10 years old. This letter is dated June 21st, 2014

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Dear Kayla, 

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus. Myself, Priyanka, child development facilitator, am writing this letter on behalf of Sandesh. 

How are you and your family? Sandesh always remembers you and your family. What's going on? Sandesh and his family are happy here by the grace of God. Now this month, school reopened and Sandesh was promoted to 6th grade. He is enjoying the project and school. He regularly goes to the project and school. Sandesh is good in his studies. 

He is excited about your letters. He is really happy hearing about you in your letters. Now, it is the rainy season here. What type of season is it there? He really thanks you for the blanket and cross. Thank you for the gifts. They are really useful for him. 

A picnic was organized by the project and Sandesh was there with us. He was very happy. We also visited Pune City. There is an orphan mission there named Pamdita Ramabai Mukti Mission. Pandita Ramabai was from the Brahaman family. She was studying about different religions and when she was studying about the Lord Jesus, her life changed and salvation came in her life. She accepted Jesus as her savior. After this, she opened the mission for orphan girls, blind women and girls, and young widows, so that they will be safe there. She was really a spiritual and helpful woman. Seeing such a beautiful place and knowing such a touching story, Sandesh was really happy. He learned many things from that. There are many blessings in that place. 

He is inviting you to India. He sends you a lot of love and prayers, and to your family. Thank you so much for your help, support, and prayer. 

On Behalf of Sandesh

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Domenik's Progress Report 2014

Domenik is 7 years old and lives in Albania.

This year I go to: Primary School Grade 1

My Favorite Subject Is: ABC

My Grades At School Are: Very Good

My Close Friend At School Is: Ervin

There Are 29 Pupils in My Class 

My Health Condition Is: Satisfactory 

Dear Sponsor, I want to share a poem/song/tale/other with you: ABC. I love you very much. You taught me to write and read. 

The animal that represents me best is: A lion because it's big and strong. 

Things or people that have inspired/motivated me during this year: Studying & My Family 

What Happened in My Life This Year

I was very happy when:

- I received a photo from you

- I received a letter/gift from you

- I took part in different child-friendly activities

Benefits and Trainings/Activities Participation

- Birthday Celebration