Family Photos (Ask for Them!)

I've posted something like this in the past, gosh, it must at least a year or more now, but I want to share it again.

When I first sponsor or get assigned a new child, I always send a simple introduction letter to them about myself, my job, my interests, etc.

Sometime later (I must admit it's been quite awhile), I write another letter sharing about my immediate family members, telling about their interests, jobs, etc. I also include family photos. In this letter, I always ask my child if they have a family photo that they can send to me. If they don't have one, I ask them to ask one of their project leaders if a photo can be taken of their family and sent to me. I never put pressure on them to send one, I just ask, and see what happens. I figure, in this situation, the worst thing they can do is say no to me.

However, several of my kids have sent me a family photo, some were sent after my letter asked them to and others were sent after a financial gift was sent to their family. All of these photos have been posted in individual posts, but I like the idea of having them all together in one post.

I hope this encourages you to ask your children for a family photo. I have several newer children that I haven't asked yet and I think it'll be nice to ask some of the kids again, since it's been awhile since their last family photo. It'd be nice to see an update.

Without further ado, family photos:

Sadiya (bottom, right) with her parents, older brothers, and younger sister.

Sagar with his lovely mama

Kwizera with his dad, holding letters that I've sent him.

Sandesh with his older sister and his grandma

Sandesh with his parents, showing off a family gift

Fongwin (white tank) with his parents and older siblings

Enantenesh with her parents and older brothers

Daniel (front, in white) with his family. So sweet!

Swapna, with her mother, with what they bought with a family gift

Elias with his mother, showing off food they bought with a family gift

Eric and his mother, with a gift I was able to send him. 

(Cheater photo) This wasn't sent to me, but I think it's a nice family photo, anyway. :) 

Now get writing and ask for those family photos!

Three New Teen Boys

Lately, I've noticed that the waiting list for correspondent kids from Compassion, from the day people are being put on the list to the day they receive kids, has been extremely quick. I was able to resist it for several weeks, figuring the list would fill up again and wait time would slow down, but it didn't and I could no longer resist. 

Just last week, I asked for three new teen boys and I asked for them to be from countries that I didn't already have kids from. I figured with such a specific request, I would be waiting for, at least, a few weeks. Boy was I wrong! I waited less than a week, in total, and now have three new boys in my family. Here they are: 

13 year old Hassane from Burkina Faso

He lives with his father, who works as a driver, and his mother, who sells porridge in the market. He is in charge of caring for animals, carrying water, and helping in the kitchen. Like most kids in the world, he likes playing soccer. He also likes to sing. 

14 year old Jose Armando from Mexico

He lives with his father, who works as a farmer, and his mother, who is unemployed. His chores include washing clothes, farming, and cleaning. His interests include soccer, basketball, and cars. Sounds like a typical teenage boy to me. 

17 year old Jose Romario from Peru

He lives with his father, who works as a driver, and his mother, who works as a farmer. He helps at home by making beds, carrying water, and helping in the kitchen. His interests are group games, riding a bike, and running. He sounds like a very active young man. 

I'm very excited to get to know these guys and to encourage them in those hard-to-navigate teen/young adult years. 

Also, if you're counting, I am now at 47 kids. Only 3 away from my goal of 50, total. I know that I've said it before, but 50 will be my absolute limit. I'm not going to ask for anymore for awhile, but after I reach 50, I will only add more kids as others graduate. 

Who ever would have thought I'd be so blessed to be able to care for this many kids in other countries, on top of the ones I've been entrusted with in the United States. I thank God for them everyday. 

Fongwin's New Photo

I love photo updates! Fongwin's updates right around 23-24 months each time, but it's always so worth the wait. Doesn't he just look adorable in all of his photos?

I think he looks small for 12, but maybe he just hasn't hit that growth spurt yet.

(You can click on the photo to make it bigger)

Letter! (x3)

It's been over a week since I last posted, but that's simply because I haven't had anything to share. No letters, no photos, no updates of any kind. Did you miss me?

Well, I'm back. Today, I received 3 letters, from some of my dear boys around the world.

First up, a letter from Xhuliano. I sent my WV boys a list of questions for them to answer. Xhuliano is answering these questions. For question #5, my question was "If you had your own garden, what would plant in it?" As you're going to see, it seems there was a translation error.

Xhuliano lives in Albania and is 14 years old. His letter is not dated.

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Dear My Friend Kayla,

I'm answering your questions: 

1. If one day I was invisible, I would do wonderful things in my life, those things that I adore. 

2. If I could put a new law, it would be that the rules apply in parliament. (I have no idea)

3. No, I haven't won any prizes. 

4. I discovered that you are my sponsor from World Vision. Thank you for choosing me. 

5. If I had my own kindergarten, I would collect toys for the children to entertain there. 

6. The books that I like most are with different scientists. 

I liked your questions. How are you, my friend? How is the weather? I hope that you write me soon. I close this letter.

With Love,

Xhuliano

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Onto my letter from Alexander. This letter was written by Alexander's tutor because apparently Alexander was too sick to write, but was still dictating the letter. Poor guy! I sure hope he's feeling better. 

Alexander is 14 and lives in Honduras. This letter is dated February 20th, 2015. 

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How are you dear sponsor Kayla?

I hope you are in good health. I am Arnold Torres, Alexander's tutor. He did not write his letter because he was sick, but he is taking his medicine. He says he will write the next letter. He is happy to communicate with you. He says he learned to pray in the CDC and in the project he learned about thinking skills. His favorite bible story is Noah's Ark and his favorite verse is Psalm 23:1. His favorite biblical character is Jonah. What he has learned about Jesus is that He loves him and is his best friend. He says that he prays for his mom and brothers. He thanks you for the letter you sent him and his family is in good health, thank God. He says he hasn't gone to any wedding, these days. He also says that he prays for you and ask you to have him in your prayers. What season do you like most? He says goodbye with kisses. See you later. 

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Lastly, a letter from Jhon. He's a chatty guy in his letters. I love that. 

Jhon is 16 years old and lives in Bolivia. He wrote this letter on February 24th, 2015. 

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Hello dear sponsor Kayla,

I greet you with the peace of the Lord. It's a pleasure to write this letter. Thank you for the postcard, stickers, photos, and birthday gift. I bought a pair of shoes and a t-shirt. I didn't move to another place or to another school. (Something must have been translated wrong in my letter). My family and I are in good health. Thank you for caring for my family. I didn't have the opportunity to attend a wedding, yet. The gift I would give Jesus is to be a faithful and obedient son. On Christmas, we had a meal at midnight. We had barbecue and it was very delicious. I spent it with my family, cousins, and aunts. People also set of fireworks of all kinds. I want to tell you that classes started on February and I'm attending school. I want to share this bible verse with you, Pslam 23:1-4. I say goodbye with the peace of the Lord. May he bless you and your family.

With Affection,

Jhon

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Enatenesh's New Photo!

Today, I got a beautiful photo update of Enatenesh, who lives in Ethiopia. I love her skirt!

Longest Waiting Indian Boys

I know that I have been sharing a lot of children that need sponsors lately, but that's the main point I want to get across in this blog. Yes, I like to share about my children and the letters that they write, but I always hope that I'm sharing the joys of sponsorship with my readers and hopefully lead them to sponsor a child themselves.

For those that have been around my blog for any period of time, you know that I have a heart for boys in India. There is just something their cute faces that I just love. I often search specifically for boys from India on the Compassion site to pray over them. This time around, I found so many boys that have been waiting around a year, some of them even longer! I've been told by a few Compassion workers that, on average, out of all of the Compassion children in all 26 countries that they work in, Indian girls are sponsored the fastest and Indian boys wait the longest. I am over the moon happy for those beautiful girls, but my heart breaks for the boys. Especially the older ones, that wait the longest out of all of them.

Today, I am going to share six Indian boys that have been waiting a long time for a sponsor. If you can end the wait for one of these boys, or know of somebody who would love to sponsor one of them, I think that would be just fabulous!

Parthiban found a sponsor! 

Sivanand has found a sponsor!

Netaji is sponsored! 

Aditya has a sponsor!

Smiley Kiran has a sponsor!

Pal has been sponsored! 

I know that I shared some heartbreaking details in this post. I did not do this to guilt you into sponsoring one of these boys. I shared these details so you will know exactly how life is for these children and their families. If anything, it's to make you aware of the real-life conditions that exist in India. Compassion is working to save children from these conditions, one child at a time. Sponsors provide the funds needed to save one of these children and give them a hope for their future. 

Can you give hope to one child today? 

The Final Days of Jesus: A Photo Journey

The Triumphal Entry

Jesus Washes his Disciples' Feet

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

Judas Betrays Jesus for 30 Silver Coins

The Last Supper

Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial

Jesus Weeps in Agony and Fear in Gethsemane

Jesus is Arrested

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin

Peter Denies Jesus Three Times

Jesus Before Pilate

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

Jesus is Sentenced to Death

The Crucifixion

Jesus Dies on the Cross

Jesus is Buried

I try to think about how the disciples felt as they buried Jesus. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the person that was supposed to come and change the world. Jesus was supposed to be their Savior. But, Jesus was dead and they were burying him. Had they wasted all those years following Jesus? Were all of those parables and miracles in vain? What were they supposed to do now? I can only imagine the confusion and the sorrow that lasted from that Friday evening to that wondrous Sunday morning. The pain must have been unbearable. Saturday must have been the longest day of their lives.  

Christmas in Colombia

I received letters from my two boys at project CO-384. They both shared with me how they celebrated Christmas at the project, among other things.

Here is Caleb's letter. He is 7 years old. He wrote his letter on February 10th, 2015.

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Dear Kayla, 

Caleb greets you with love. At the CDC we celebrated Christmas with a field trip, we swam, played, and shared there. We had a meal of stew, rice, and chicken in the Christmas celebration. I received a toy truck and a ball as my Christmas presents at the CDC. The activities that I did on my break from school were riding a bicycle and playing hide and seek and other games. My favorite fruits are apples, pears, bananas, and mangoes. Both of us like apples. My family and I are fine. I haven't been in any wedding yet. I like the story of the birth of Jesus so much. I thank you for the letters, stickers, and coloring guide that I received from you. I want to tell you that I really like the ball and games that you sent to me on Christmas time. I had a lot of fun playing with my friends and brother. I send the verse 1 Peter 3:15-16 to you. 

Jonatan Caleb 

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Daniel is 9 years old and wrote this letter on February 13th, 2015. I was interested to see that it was written on a different day than Caleb's letter. I wonder if different age groups attend the project on different days of the week. 

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 Dear Kayla, 

Daniel writes and greets you (he wrote this himself in the 3rd person). My family and I went to a farm and a swimming pool and I ate delicious chicken and masato (a drink made of rice) there. I got a multi-game table as my Christmas gift. I thank God because my family is united and we all love each other. I'd like to give my heart, life, and time to Jesus because this is the most precious. I'm happy because you liked the drawing that I made for you. I thank you for the nice photo and beautiful words that you sent to me. Which is your favorite sport? Do you have cousins? What are their names? I want to know this. I thank God for you. I thank you for all that you sent to me. I want to share the beautiful verse Psalm 46:1. With love and care, wishing that you like it. I close with love. 

Juan Daniel

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Last Letters of March

I received two more letters before the end of March, but forgot to post them, for some reason. I was responding to letters today and realized that I hadn't shared them on my blog, so now is the time to do it.

First, a letter from Ernest. He is 9 years old, but is only in 2nd grade. He is not yet able to write on his own.

Ernest lives in Ghana. This letter was written on January 20th, 2015.

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Dear Kayla, 

Ernest says he thanks you so much for your sponsorship and also loves the pictures and the letters you sent to him. He says his family is fine. He says he did not attend any weddings recently. He says they grow vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and garden eggs. They also plant cassava and maize. He says the have fruit trees like mango and orange trees in Ghana. Ernest says he was given a shirt, a pair of sunglasses, and boxer pants for his birthday presents. He says the project also organized a party for them. He says the weather conditions here are dry and wants to find out whether you are experiencing the same. Ernest says the family and the project will always pray for you, for God to bless you and to give you strength, to take care of the children. Ernest says pray for him to be intelligent and perform very well this academic year. Memory Verse: Isaiah 9:6 "A child is born to us, a son is given to us and he will be our ruler. He will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace." 

Ernest and Patrick (Person Writing)

Garden Eggs. I had to look them up. :)

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I also received a letter from Nikko, one of my best and most consistent writers. 

Nikko is 16 years old and lives in the Philippines. He wrote this letter on January 7th, 2015. 

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Dear Ms. Kayla, 

Hi! How are you? Me, I'm fine with my family. Thank God. 

I would like to thank you for the Christmas gift you gave me. I bought shoes and a shirt. I was able to celebrate Christmas with new things I bought. I am thankful to you. On September 22nd (Nikko's birthday) I celebrated with my family, eating food and in November me and my family visited my grandmother in the cemetery. 

In our church, we had activities. We had a coastal cleanup and it was enjoyable. We also had our Christmas party. There were a lot of games and prizes and also presentations. Our class presented caroling. I really had a great time during Christmas and New Year. There were lots of fireworks here. It was nice watching them. How about you? How did you spend your Christmas and New Year? I hope that it was awesome, too, like mine. 

In the last part of this letter, please help me pray for my family's protection and blessings and I will help you pray for your protection and that's all, thank you and God bless. Merry Christmas and happy New Year! 

Love, 

Nikko

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." 

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