Holy Letters, Batman!

It's official, this is a record month for letters! In fact, between January and February, I have heard from all but a few of my kids! Isn't that amazing?! I'm also preparing for not getting as many letters in March, but that's okay. This month has been awesome!

Over the weekend, I received four letters! Let the fun begin!

I'll share a letter from my littlest guy first, Rodrigo. He wrote on the My Dreams template.

Rodrigo is 5 years old and lives in Bolivia. His letter is not dated.

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When I grow up, I want to be: A Policeman

Someday I would like to meet my sponsor and tell them: I love you

The person that I admire is: My mother

Because: She is good

Someday, I'd like to visit: The ocean 

Dear Kayla, 

It is a pleasure to greet you in the name of Jesus. I am Jorge, Rodrigo's teacher. He liked your letter, knowing about your family and knowing what you do. I let you know that his father's name is Hugo, his mother's name is Nataly, and his siblings are Juan, Pilar, and Ventura. His father works as a watchman in a school and his mother is the queen of the house. His siblings study at school. Rodrigo says that he has never seen a moon eclipse, but he thanks you for the information about it. 

Love, 

Rodrigo and teacher

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Next, a letter from Jhonrex. It's always good to hear from him. I haven't been writing to him for very long, but he is mine, for as long as he needs me. Receiving him as a correspondent was an absolute miracle and I won't let him go. Even if I have to stop eating, I will pick up his sponsorship if he ever needs me to. 

Jhonrex is 15 years old and lives in the Philippines. He wrote this letter on November 27th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla,

Hi! How are you? Are you okay with your family? If you ask me, I'm okay, thanks to God. Thank you for the letter that you sent. I'm so happy to hear about your family. I saw the lunar eclipse and the color of the moon was red. Thank you for telling me. Thank you for all your support. I enjoy it a lot in the center because I learn and do a lot of activities. I enjoy our school because we train how to play basketball. On Christmas, I want to have my complete family together. Please pray for good health for me and for my family and also that I will pass my studies. Thank you for praying for me to eat healthy food like vegetables. Merry Christmas! I share Psalm 31:1. 

Your Sponsor Child,

Jhonrex

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Next, a letter from Jhon, my sweetheart from Bolivia. I don't know why, but I have always pictured him as sensitive, young man. Who knows, I may be wrong. Haha. Either way, I love reading his letters. He's always great at sharing details about his life with me. 

Jhon is 17 years old and lives in Bolivia. He wrote this letter on November 24th, 2015. 

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Hi Dear Sponsor Kayla, 

About your question, no, I didn't see the lunar eclipse. I want to tell you that I am on vacation. I passed to the next grade and I will be coursing 6th year of high school. Before going out on school vacation, we went on a field trip with my friends and teacher to an aquarium. We also got to play soccer with all the girls and boys. After playing, we also got to get in the pool to refresh us a little bit because it was very hot. Everybody had a good time. Goodbye, with the peace of the Lord. 

With Love,

Jhon

Please pray for my family and for the people that have nothing. 

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The last letter for today is from Swapna. I got some startling news in this letter, but I am so happy to hear that things were worked out. I know that arranged marriage is a thing in India and honestly, I'm not against, for adults, of course. But, I do like that Swapna will get to finish school before marrying. She is such an intelligent, young lady. 

Swapna is 18 years old and lives in India. Her letter is dated November 16th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for your love and care. I am fine here. I attended VBS in the month of May. We had three days of VBS. I am glad to hear from you. Yes, we can feel God in our day to day life. Now here, winter is knocking at our door. We are welcoming winter by wearing winter garments. I want to complete my graduation but my parents were arranging for my marriage. One of my sister-in-laws helped me to stop that arrangement. I completed my first year final exam. I passed with 53% marks (I looked it up. Under 40% is failing). We got new managers and social workers in our center. I remember you in my prayers regularly. Please pray for me and write to me. 

With Thanks, Your Sponsored Child, 

Swapna

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Words from India

February is shaping up to be a record letter month, for me. It's been pretty exciting to receive so many letters from so many kids! I've already received 19 letters, so far, and the month isn't over yet!

Today, I heard from two of my Indian boys. I received letters from Chintada and Sandesh. I'll share each of them now.

I was surprised to hear from Chintada, as I had just heard from him last month. This is the third child that I've heard from in both January and February of this year.

Chintada is 19 years old. His letter is dated December 14th, 2015. The translator for this letter has some seriously sloppy handwriting and I am not sure what some parts of the letter say. I will try my best to decipher...

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Dear Kayla,

At first, loving greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ. I am fine with my family. I hope that you are also fine with your family. 

I am very excited to receive your letter. You asked about the moon being red. It was not red in our country. But I did see a white moon in the sky. 

We are preparing dances, songs, and skits at the project. I got a new outfit as a pre-Christmas gift from the project. We had World AIDS Day and Compassion Day at the project. We also had a GIK (?) competition on the project. Now it is the winter season here. Please pray for my future and my family. I also pray for you and your family. 

Thanks,

Chintada

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Now, here is Sandesh's letter. I cannot for the life of me figure out whey Sandesh does not write his own letters. He's the only one of my older children who still has a tutor write for him. The only theory I have is that his tutor writes them directly in English, so the letters can skip the translation process. While I enjoy the letters coming a little bit faster, I would still prefer to hear directly from my boy and not have someone else's thoughts influence the letter. Yes, that is fine with little kiddos, but Sandesh is fully able to read, write, and share his own ideas. I think I'll address it in my response to him and see what's up. 

Sandesh is 11 years old. His letter is dated November 13th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

Greetings to you in the precious name of Jesus Christ. I am a child development facilitator writing this letter to you on behalf of Sandesh. 

Sandesh is fine. He is doing well in our project. He is coming regularly to the project. He likes to eat apple, banana, and rice. He likes to hear about your church. Gage is sweet. They both are cute, as you said in your letter. 

Thank you for your support and help. Please pray for him. He is praying for you and your family. You are special to him. 

Thank you, on behalf of Sandesh

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Another Four Letters!

February has been a great mail month! I have four more letters to share. I sure to have a lot of letters to respond to. If I've shared a a letter here this month, I haven't responded to it yet. I need to get some downtime and get to writing!

First, I'll share a letter from Sadiya. I was excited to see a letter from her, since I just received one from her last month. In the past, letters from her have come every 5 months or so, so this was a nice surprise!

Sadiya is 11 years old and lives in India. Her letter is dated December 7th, 2015.

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Dear Kayla,

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ. How are you and how is your family? Me and my parents and my brothers and sister are doing good. I am very glad to read your letter. Thank you very much for your letter and pictures. In our church, we celebrated Vacation Bible School. I will pray for Sagitaria. My studies are going on well. We had a bible quiz in our project. I am very happy to get school shoes and sports shoes from our project. Our Christmas preparations have started in our project and so many children will participate in the program. We will get a jacket from our project. I always pray for you. Thank you so much for your prayers. I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year. 

Yours Lovingly,

Sadiya

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Sticking on the India front, a letter from Kalpesh. When I first started writing to Kalpesh, I got long, detailed fill letters. Then, for awhile, I stopped hearing from him as often and his letters were often short. Now, it seems my old boy is back! 

Kalpesh is 13 years old. He wrote this letter on October 21st, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

Greetings to you in the matchless name of Jesus Christ, from me and my family. Once again, I'm very happy to write this letter to you. Thanks to the Lord for this precious opportunity to share with you. I'm happy to receive your letters, which had beautiful photos. I was glad to see brother Gage and sister Chloe. Both are very cute. Thank you so much for your lovely letters and love for me. Here, by the grace of God and through your prayers, we are doing well. We hope and pray that you are also doing well over there. My school and studies are going very well. This academic year, I'm studying in 8th grade 

I would like to share some good things which have happened to me. We had a wonderful VBS program on our project, held in April. In that program, we learnt the story of Queen Esther. We also learnt other short stories from the bible. We had various cultural activities, sang action songs, and played games. We enjoyed the word of God. Here, the rainy season has started, but still the rain has started. Which season is going on there? Please keep praying for my studies. We are also praying for your family. 

Once again, thank you so much for your precious sponsorship and praying for us. May God bless you, give you good health. 

Take Care With Love,

Kalpesh

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Next up, a letter from Brian. He writes in English, which I enjoy, so nothing is lost in translation. 

Brian is 14 years old and lives in Kenya. He wrote this letter on November 21st, 2015.

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Dear Kayla, 

How are you? I hope you are fine together with your family. My family is fine. How is the weather in your country? The weather in my country is rainy. We have already closed school for the holidays and I am helping my mother at home. When I finish helping my mother, I usually go to Bible study, where I praise the Lord. After Bible study, I always share with my friend what I have learned. I have a Bible verse that I would like to share with you. It comes from the book of Pslams 139:14. "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well." Thank you for supporting me and may you have a good celebration during Christmas festivities and may God bless you in 2016. 

Brian 

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Lastly, a short letter from Enatenesh. Like my earlier letter from Sadiya, I just heard from Enatenesh last month, so this letter was a surprise! 

Enatenesh is 18 years old and lives in Ethiopia. Her letter is dated December 7th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

Greetings to you. How are you doing? Thanks to God, I am fine. Thank you for your support through the project, I get school support through the project. Thank you. I attend Sunday school class. I study hard to pass from grade 8 to grade 9. I didn't see the moon changes. Thank you for your letter. I wish you a happy new year. Bye bye. 

Enatenesh 

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February Photo Updates!

Photo updates have been rolling in this month and, of course, that's super exciting! No more chitchat, here they are!

Rujikorn from Thailand

Sevenson from Haiti

Swapna from India

I have some great looking kids, don't I? 

Love from Rwanda

Today, I received a nice letter from Kwizera. He's never been a chatty guy, but he does share some important facts. I'm guessing that as he gets older, he'll get better at sharing details in written form. It's great to watch our kids learn as they grow, isn't it?

Kwizera is 10 years old and lives in Rwanda. His letter is dated November 23rd, 2015.

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Dear My Parent, 

I greet you in Jesus Christ's name. We are doing good. We have rain here. We are in 2nd term in school. Last term, I was 10th out of 74. I will join Primary 6 soon. My family loves you a lot and prays for you to be blessed. We also have children vacation camp. My family wishes you a lucky year in 2016. My family and I are glad for your letters. Thank you a lot. 

Kwizera

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Long, Lost Letters from Florenc

I need to start out by telling you that I am not a clean home kind of person. I actually prefer things to be cluttered. In my living room, I have a coffee table. That coffee table is my catch-all. It's where I work on letters, stack things I need for later, and eat meals (my apartment isn't big enough for a kitchen table). This coffee table tends to get very messy. Every couple of months or so, I de-clutter a bit and often find things I meant to store away, but never got around to. Well, today, I found a stack of three letters, all from Florenc, all that never blogged before. These were all received sometime between November-January. I have no idea when they were written or when I received them, but I know that I want to type them up to have record of them. I also feel bad because I haven't responded to any of these letters, so I will have some work to do to acknowledge everything that was written or asked. Good thing Florenc likes me or he might be mad at me. ;) 

So, without further ado, three lost letters from Florenc: 

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Dear Kayla, 

I was really happy to hear your kind wishes for my birthday. I am having a great time today with my parents and some friends, but it would be much better if you were here with me, my dear friend. 

You are my best friend. I finished school and now I am becoming a year older and entering another grade. Now I am closing my letter. I love you very much. 

With Love,

Florenc

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Dear Kayla, 

How are you? Gage and Chloe look so cute and beautiful in the photos. I'm glad that you take care of these wonderful children. So far, I am doing well at school. A week ago, we celebrated a national holiday, Flag Day and 103 years of independence as a nation. It was a very beautiful day. The school organized a cultural activity and some of the students said verses and sang songs about our patriots. I liked it a lot. Afterwards, we all celebrated with music and dancing and everyone dressed in black and red colors, just like our flag. It was a lot of fun! 

Have you ever been a part of such activities? Do you recall the emotions? We're not in winter season and the weather is getting colder everyday. Is it cold where you live? I'm looking forward for the first snow. Although it is cold, I like snows white color. I want to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year! Write me back soon. 

Love, Your Friend, 

Florenc

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Kayla, 

How are you, my friend? It's true that your letter arrived very late and I was expecting another letter from you. However, I'm very happy that I'm writing to you again. I always enjoy writing letters to you because you're such a good friend for me. I'll never forget about you and I hope you won't forget me. In your letter you were telling me that you've started a new job. I'm very happy for you. What kind of job is it? What do you do exactly? Do you like what you do? 

As for the games that we used to play as kids, it's fantastic to remember them. We used to play football, mostly every night. We played against the other neighborhood. Sometimes we won and others we lost, but it was great fun. We still play football and I would love to become a great football player like Christiano Ronaldo. I'm a big fan of him and I would like to have his t-shirt one day. 

I'm in the 11th grade this year (next year is my final year of high school). School is going well. I have to go now because I have homework and other things to do, my friend. 

I hope to hear from you very soon. 

Your Friend, 

Florenc

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Goodness gracious, I love him. He's such a wonderful young man! 

After Holiday Letters Part 2: Gentlemen

To continue my post from yesterday, I share my after President's Day letters with you. This time, the letters from my boys.

Up first, a letter from Enmanuel. He wrote on the How I Have Fun template, then wrote a nice message for me, with help from his tutor.

Enmanuel is 7 years old and lives in the Dominican Republic. This letter was written on November 17th, 2015.

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During my free time, I like to play with: My toy car

When I am inside, I like to: Play with my toy horse

When I am outside, I like to: Play in the sand

One sport I like to play is: Baseball

Hi Dear Kayla,

May God bless you a lot! Your boy says: I an my family are well and my studies are too. You mentioned that you want me to pray for one of the boys that you write to. I would like to know more about Jonatan Caleb. How is he and his family? My church has a bible school in the summer. I was sleeping when the eclipse passed. I thank you for your letters that you sent me. For Christmas, I will play with cars and share with my brothers. What do you do for Christmas? I ask for prayers for my relatives. 

With Love,

Enmanuel

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Next, a letter from Sevenson. I just received a letter from him a few days ago, so this was a nice surprise. 

Sevenson is 14 years old and lives in Haiti. He wrote this letter on December 9th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

I feel glad to greet you in the Almighty name of Jesus. My family and I are okay, thanks to God. I think you and your family are okay. My school activities are not okay because I didn't pass the first term exams. Pray for me to pass the second term exams. My church activities are okay, thanks to God. I want to share this verse with you; Genesis 1:27. "And God created man in his image, he made his portrait, he created male and female." Thank for the letter and your prayers. I didn't see the moon when it was red. I like math the most. 

Sevenson

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To round out this set of letters, a letter from Elias. He's pretty chatty in this letter. :) He talks about being in 5th grade....still. He's been in 5th grade since I started writing to him two years ago. I wonder why that is? Anyway, I love hearing about how his life has changed! 

Elias is 16 years old and from Ethiopia. His letter is dated November 30th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

How are you doing beloved sponsor? My family and I are well. I am learning in 5th grade. I am attending Sunday school and my life has been changed. I have learned to obey God and love Jesus. I used to sing secular songs. I have since realized that secular songs are wicked and I stopped. Now sing only hymns. I am pleased that I have received your letter. I am doing good work at school. I help my family by doing household tasks and I play with my friends in my free time. How is the weather in your country? Bye! 

Kayla

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After Holiday Letters Part 1: Ladies

While I love holidays that give people a three day weekend (even though I don't get holidays like that off work), I don't like the fact that there is no mail delivery. But, the day after President's Day, I opened my mailbox to find six letters! Three from my girls and three from my boys. I decided to split the letters up into two, separate posts. Today is Girl's Day!

To begin, a letter from little Carolin, the youngest kiddo in my brood (is that a negative word?). She filled out the My Hopes for the Future template. I think she had some persuasion filling these things out. The answers aren't exactly at a preschool level. :)

Carolin is 3 years old and lives in the Dominican Republic. Her letter is dated November 11th, 2015.

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In the future, I hope to learn about: Art

In the future, I hope to do the following activity: Go to College

In the future, I hope to meet: My Favorite Singer

When I grow up, I want to be a: Teacher 

Dear Kayla, 

May the peace and love of the Lord Jesus be in your life today and always. How are you? My family and I are doing very well and happy for the letters that I have received from you. The church celebrates bible school and I wasn't able to see the red moon, but I heard it was very red. See you later. I say goodbye with love. 

Carolin

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Now, a letter from Maria. She is always so great about sharing details about her everyday life. I can really picture what she writes about. 

Maria is 11 years old and lives in Brazil. She wrote her letter on October 20th, 2015. 

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Hello Dear Sponsor, 

How are you/ I hope you are doing well. My family and I are well. I really like to receive your letters. I liked to hear that you work with children. I attend Catholic church and we had a party to celebrate Children's Day. It was very nice. We had games and clowns. Brazil's Independence Day is celebrated on September 7th. My country is divided into 26 states, distributed over five areas. I live in the Northeast area, in the city of Fortaleza, in the state of Ceara. I'll send some pictures of my area and the animals we have here. 

Hugs, 

Maria

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Last up, a letter from sweet Celeste. Whenever one of my children tells me what they want to be when they grow up, I ask them "what makes somebody a good ____". Celeste answered this question beautifully. If she does end up growing up and becoming a teacher, she'll make a great one. 

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

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Hello Beloved Sponsor Kayla, 

I hope you are fine, you and your family. I want to tell you that I passed my grade and I am going to go to 7th grade. Thanks to our God, I am going to middle school. Yes, roses are beautiful. I think that a good teacher teaches her class of students well and has patience. An amazing teacher gives a lot of love and understands. I would like to be a good teacher and to teach a good example. I would like to help our country to develop some greenhouses , the same as in our project. It is nice to plant trees and we put names on them. It is really fun to plant them. I am grateful and happy because you always respond to my letters and that makes me better. I wish you a happy and prosperous new year. Hugs and kisses!

Celeste

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Letters from some Expressive, Young Men

Man, my teen and young adult men from around the world sure do write some great letters! They're engaging, detailed-filled, and ask wonderful questions. It's just such a blessing to communicate with these guys.

Over the last few days, I've received four letters from four of these young men. I will share them with you today.

First up, a letter from Sevenson. He is 14 years old and lives in Haiti. His letter is dated August 3rd, 2015. I have no idea what's up with the 6 month delay in delivery, but I'm happy to receive it now.

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Dear Kayla, 

I greet you in the name of Jesus, the almighty. I am doing fine with all my family. I am in my time of vacation and I now play ball with my friends. I always go to church with my parents. Thank you for the letter and the encouraging words and the prayers for me. What do you do as special things for vacation? I would ask you to pray for me to spend a good end of vacation. I love you. 

Sevenson

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Next, a letter from Florenc. He was full of questions in this letter. I will have to make sure to answer them all in my next letter. 

Florenc is 16 years old and lives in Albania. 

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Dear Kayla, 

I was glad I received your letter! How are you doing? Are you having cold? It hasn't snowed here yet, but according to the weather forecast, it's going to snow very soon. As for my class, I would say that we haven't changed much. We are still playful and mischief-making students, but I believe we will change. 

After the holidays, school started again with a lot of studies and exams. How were your holidays? Mine were fine. How is everything going with your job? I hope that you are satisfied with it! Is there anything interesting that you've done during these days? Do you have many friends? Can you tell me the name of your best friend? I'd like to receive your letter very soon! I love reading letters from you! 

Have a great day, full of love and family and harmony. Keep smiling and live long! 

Love, 

Florenc

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Now, a long, beautiful letter from Abbas. I can tell, through reading his letters, that he is a very intelligent, young man. He writes very eloquently. 

Abbas is 18 years old and lives in Uganda. His letter was written November 23rd, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

I hope everything is okay on your side, because I know that God is always with you. How is your country and your family? I hope that my friend is doing well. Back to me, I am very well, the family is okay, and the country is well. It is preparing for the visit of Pope Francis of Rome. 

I am very happy to write to you again an, as usual, I thank you for all the support you give me, as you know them very well. Thanks for the letters you sent to me, which are good because of their information. I am very glad to hear that you had your annual Vacation Bible School. Through that letter, I got to know about Gods power for each day. Send my greetings to my friend in Tanzania. Ask him what he does in his leisure time. 

On the school side, we have completed our year of studies, so next year we are to be in the next class. I thank God for that and I pray to him to continue blessing me such that I next year in Senior Six, I also perform better and then join university. Our home is very well because all my family members are well. I pray to God to continue blessing them. 

As usual, the project is doing well for us. We have many good things, like we got new uniforms which are beautiful. We are going to have a Christmas party next month. I am very sure that the project loves us and because of its love, we can do many things. I told you that I do break dance. I cannot wait for our Christmas party because we are having a dance competition. I am going to show my talent. 

Though I wrote this letter to thank you for your letters you sent to me, the main issues I want to share with you is about the beauty of the Pearl of Africa (Uganda). Uganda is called that because we have beautiful things, like physical features, good fertile soils, formidable climate, and other things. Uganda is located along the Eastern part of Africa. Before 2008, Uganda had 72 districts, but now it has over almost 100 districts. This shows that it is a developing country. We have a presidents, many members of parliament, and also councils. Uganda has physical features like lakes, rivers, mountains, and others. It has a good climate. In this, I mean sometimes it rains and sometimes we experience sunshine. Our climate is favorable compared to other countries in Africa. Uganda also has good security, which also helps other countries in times of war and conflict. 

I would like to stop here because if I continue, I will not stop writing because we have many attractive things in Uganda. But the best thing is for you to come and take a visit and see everything with your own eyes. If I decide to write about all of them, I may use an entire ream of paper. 

Thank you. I love you from back to the moon! Merry Christmas and happy new year! May God bless you. 

Abbas 

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To end, a letter from Wendjy. Wendjy is another one of my super intelligent young men. He gets great grades in school and has big plans for his future.

Wendjy is 20 years old and lives in Haiti. He wrote this letter on November 26th, 2015.

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Dear Kayla,

As usual, it is a great pleasure for me to write a letter to you, each time I find the opportunity. As you and your family doing well? I am very well, by Gods grace, except for my sister, who has had an accident. But she is getting better now. Thanks for your letter and pictures. It is always a pleasure to answer your questions. I will still be in the project while I am in college, but just for two more years. My church has bible study and VBS. I always feel God's presence in nature and through what he has done for me. When I sleep, I am able to wake up again. I haven't found a job yet. I am more interested in my studies now. I was happy to read the stories you shared with me. I am glad you shared my birthday with me again. I wish you a Merry Christmas and may God bless you. 

Wendjy

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1st Sunday Advocate: February 2016

I've decided to try something new.

On the 1st Sunday of each month, I will share photos of children that need a loving sponsor. All of the children that I feature will be children that attend one of the projects that one of my kids attend.

If you have room in your sponsorship family for a new child, maybe you will feel drawn to one of these kids. Then, we would have kids at the same project and can talk about them all the time. :)

After each child, I will put the name of the children that I sponsor in that project. Then you can find them in the side bar and click on their picture. Doing so, you will be able to read letters that I've received from that child and learn more about their community and project.

Here are this month's kids:

9 Year Old Rossy from BO-370 (Jhon)

Sweet Lyan has a sponsor! 

Sweet Erika has a sponsor! 

5 Year Old Orlyn from EC-521 (Allison)

Deepsikha has a sponsor! 

17 Year Old Mintesinot from ET-439 (Taye)

Biritukan has found a sponsor! 

Alejandra has a sponsor! 

Puneeth waited over a year, but is now sponsored! 

18 Year Old Vhea from PH-924 (Jhonrex)

Foot has a sponsor! 

12 Year Old Antoni from TZ-215 (Emanuel)

3 Letters from 3 Boys

The first week of February was pretty successful. I heard from three of my boys!

First up, a letter from Solomon. This letter is actually a copy of the original letter. It had been about 8 months since my last letter. When I inquired about it, I received this copy from Compassion. I have no idea what happened to the original letter.

Solomon is 10 years old and lives in India. He wrote this letter on December 12th, 2015.

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Dear Aunty, 

Greetings to you in Jesus's name. How are you? Here, I an my parents, my brother Praveen, and my sisters Esther and Shradha are fine by the grace o God. I received your letters. I am very happy to see and read all your letters, Aunty. Even I learnt about God's creation in my Sunday School. God created the whole world in 5 days. On the 6th day, God created Adam from dust and Eve from Adam's rib bone. ON the 7th day, he rested, so we attend church on the 7th day to thank you to God. We had VBS in April and I learnt about the same content. We saw on TV five testimonials from people. God provides, God forgives, God heals us, God forgives our sins, and God gives us enternal life. Aunty, I learnt about the 9 fruits of the spirit. It is very nice and a blessing. I will pray for Ernest, Aunty. I celebrated my birthday by eating cake and distributing sweets, in a very simple manner. I can't read all your letter content, so my Aunty helped me to read and understand and write this reply. I wish you a happy Christmas and a happy new year. 

Thanking You, 

Solomon

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Next up, a letter from Xhuliano. I had a bit of a slowdown from him, so it's great to hear from him again!

Xhuliano is 15 years old and lives in Albania. 

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Dear My Wonderful Friend, 

I enjoyed when I got your letter again. Not only me, but my sisters too. 

Yes, my friend, I enjoyed a lot your information that I read about Gage and Chloe. I am happy that you take care of these wonderful children. I wish them 100 years. I am very proud of you. Those children are lucky to have you to take care of them. They grow up very quickly. They are smart children that are learning to write, color, and recite. My sister Marcela also knows how to write her name, color, and recite too. She is in preschool now. I wish your children to be lucky in life and to be healthy. God bless you!

On November 28th, I will be 15 years old. I am very happy and I can't wait to celebrate. Now, I close the letter. 

With Lots of Love, 

Kayla

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Lastly, a letter from Taye. It has taken a very long time, but he has become so open in his letters. It's great to see behind the mask and know about things going on in his life. 

Taye is 18 years old and lives in Ethiopia. He wrote this letter on November 18th, 2015. 

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Dear Kayla, 

How are you doing? May the grace & peace o the Lord be with you forever bountifully. Are you doing well? Praise the Lord, my family and I are doing very well. I praise the Lord for he safeguarded us all! You told me about the children's programs in your church. In the same way, we have children's and youth worship program on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. It is very nice and interesting. We do sports, like football. Recently, our football teams played against the district football teams and we won the cup! We gave it to the project office. Thank you so much for everything you have done for me! I hope we will meet in the next letter. 

Yours, 

Taye

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