Another 6 Letters! Another Long Post!

I have been receiving so many letters lately! As soon as I answer one, another two letters come rolling in. I'm not complaining, I swear. It's a wonderful "problem" to have. However, I now have a large pile of letters I can't seem to catch up on responding to. For example, I'm mailing off 6 response letters in the morning and I still have 17 letters to answer. Whew!

I have another 6 letters to share with you today. Get ready...Go!

First up, a letter from Faith. She's just recently begun writing her own letters, without a template. I think she's doing a great job!

Faith is 9 years old and lives in Kenya. Her letter is dated October 3rd, 2015.

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Dear Kayla,

How are you, my sponsor? I am fine together with my grandmother and the other children in our family. What about you and your family members? I am still abiding in the Ten Commandments that God gave us. I am very happy since I got your letter and I really appreciated the remembrance. I say let the almighty God crown you with a lot of blessings and keep remembering me. I love you, my sponsor. My elder sisters and brothers are preparing shambas (a cultivated plot of land) for planting since we are waiting for the rain. I wish to pay a visit to your home one day. I really want to learn more about the word. In fact, I finally read Philippians. God will bless you. 

Faith

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Next, a big jump in age. I really need some more little ones in my family. :) A letter from Celeste. 

Celeste is 13 years old and lives in Honduras. Her letter is dated October 20th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

I am happy to be able to write to you and wish that you are fine with all your family. Thank you for the stickers and for the science letter, but let me tell you, it was a little bit difficult. I went to visit my father with my friends and we went out and conversed and ate together. I am fine and so my siblings and my grandmother. At the project, we the Plan For Tomorrow and we fill it out every year. My goals for this year are to pass my school with good grades. I like your bible verse because it talks about prayer, faith, and power. My family is fine. I congratulate you for the labor you do by writing to other children. That is for the goodness and love that God has placed in your. I will pray for the children you sponsor. I would like to know in what part of Honduras does Khushi live. She must be very smart. As her if she goes to any church. My dad is going good on his job. Vicky and Mario are in good health. It sounds fun how you enjoy camp and divide the children by age. Here we do it as a whole group for 3 days. We do not have Vacation Bible School, but we study the bible one day every week. Though, I like the way you do it too. In September, we celebrated Family Week. There were concerts, chats, and campaigns. 

Blessings, 

Celeste

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Next up, a letter from Kalpesh. He is one of my very first correspondent children (nearly 4 years ago now!) However, I don't hear from him as often as I'd like. I only hear from him about every 4 months or so. His letter also take a VERY long time to get to me. He lives in a remote village and mail is extremely love. 

Kalpesh is 13 years old and lives in India. His letter is dated July 23rd, 2015 (5 months ago!). 

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Dearest Kayla, 

Greeting you in the matchless of Jesus, from me and my family. Once again, I am very happy to write a letter to you. Thanks to the Lord, I have this precious opportunity to share with you. I received your letters. I'm very glad to see the photos and hear the story of the purple sheep, the sequoia trees, and also see your funny faces. I really like those pictures and both stories. 

I really like the purple sheep story. Sometimes, my schoolmates tease me and I feel sad, but now hearing the story of the purple sheep from your country, I feel proud of myself. God creates us all. We are all special and important. I really thank you for such a beautiful story that you shared with me. I really enjoyed the story of the sequoia trees. I learnt that sequoia trees are connected together and help each protect each other from bad situations, just like Jesus Christ protects us when our life is difficult. I also really liked to hear about Broomball. 

Here, we are safe and sound, through the grace of the Lord and through our prayers. We hope and pray that you are also doing well. My school and studying are going on well. Once again, thank you so much for doing everything for me and my family. May God bless you and your family and God give you good health. 

With Love,

Kalpesh

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Now, ANOTHER letter from Jose. I've received three letters from him now, in just a matter of weeks. The funny thing is, all of his letters were apparently written on the same day. I am beginning to wonder if mail is received in chunks at his project. In that case, he would be receiving several of my letters on the same day. In that case, I wonder if his project requires him to answer each letter. Poor guy. He's going to be a writing fool! 

Jose is 17 years old and lives in Peru. His letter is dated September 28th, 2015 (the same as all the other letters). 

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Dear Sponsor Kayla,

I greet you with a big hug and a kiss, with the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ, hoping that you are in good health. Thanks for praying for me and my family. I am praying for you and your family. I want to tell you that we had a formal dinner at the student center. All the young men wore tuxedos and the girls wore their dresses. It was really nice. My parents are very well together with my siblings. We are doing well with our parents. In January and February we are going to go camping and it is going to be a lot of fun because we will meet other people from other parts of Arequipa. It will be a week in which we sing and play. We'll read our Bible have a time of reflection. How did you get to know God? I would like you to pray for me and my family. We will pray for you and your family, as well. I say goodbye with a big hug and kiss. 

Jose

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Onto a letter from Taye. He's my young man of constant mystery. He's never been a real chatty letter writer, but I can usually learn a good fact or two in each letter. In this letter, I learn of his hopes for the future. He has above average performance in school, so I have confidence he will reach his goals. 

Taye is 18 years old (his photo is waaaaay overdue) and lives in Ethiopia. He wrote this letter on September 18th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla,

My dear sponsor, how are you doing? Peace and grace be with you. My family and I are are very fine. Praise the Lord. My winter vacation lasted for two months. I am attending my new year education, since September 5th. Thank you for your helpful letter. For your question, I am interested in Biology, as it is part of the science subjects. I want to become a physician. Thank you for your kindness. My family and I are praying for you, so that the Lord may help you in all aspects, as you told us you lost your job at that moment. May the Lord be with you. See you soon. 

Your Child,

Taye

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Last up, a letter from Emanuel. He wrote a long, lovely letter. 

Emanuel is 18 years old and lives in Tanzania. His letter is dated October 17th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that you are fine and continue well with your family. I now continue well with school and I will soon take my Form Four National exams. I believe that I will score good grades and then join Form Five. I thank you for the nice letter. I like it. You asked me about our church. In our church we have bible teachings for the children. The children also memorize the verse. We also learn songs of praise to God. I would like to tell you how we are doing at home. I thank God because my sister has a baby boy called James who is one month old. I would like to share a verse from Genesis 28:15. "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you." I would like to ask you a question. Do you like to read the bible? I wish you a long life pleasing God. 

I thank you for your nice letters that you sent me. I liked it. In your letter, you asked me about my grades. I would like to thank God because my grades have improved a lot. I hope that I will have enough scores to join Form Five. My favorite subjects are History, Kiswahili, and Geography and I expect to take them in Form Five. You told me that you are no longer working at the church. Why did you leave church work? 

I thank you for the bible verse. 

Emanuel

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